Normal, IL – DESTIHL Brewery is excited to announce that it has acquired the requisite license to brew hard cider, wine and mead.
This announcement and milestone in DESTIHL Brewery’s history shortly follows the grand opening of DESTIHL’s new production brewery and Beer Hall located in Normal, IL. DESTIHL Brewery will join several other notable breweries that have expanded their portfolio to include other types of alcoholic beverages.
“We’ve always been enthusiastic about taking the next step as a company”, says Founder, CEO and Brewmaster, Matt Potts. “We’ve shown this through our innovative WiLD SOUR Series, our expansive barrel-aging program and, most recently, the installation of our large, dedicated sour brewing system at our new production brewery. The addition of hard cider to our lineup is just another way of widening our portfolio and providing products that satisfy the needs and wants of craft beverage consumers.”
DESTIHL’s first hard cider was brewed in late May and is available now for a draft-only release in The Beer Hall at DESTIHL Brewery.
The manufacturing of hard cider, wine and mead requires an alternating license to beer manufacturing due to the proportion and type of ingredients required in the making of the various beverages. Beer manufacturing requires the use of malted barley and grain in over 50% of the recipe bill. If a different ingredient comprises over 50% of the recipe bill, that beverage can no longer be considered a beer. Examples of ingredients that exemplify this distinction between beer and cider, wine and mead, would be apples, grapes and honey, respectively.
About DESTIHL Brewery
DESTIHL opened its first gastrobrewpub™ (DESTIHL Restaurant & Brew Works) in Normal, Illinois, in November 2007 and added its second gastrobrewpub in downtown Champaign, Illinois, in April 2011, where the company focuses on both artisan food and beers. The company’s original production brewery in Bloomington, IL commenced operations on May 31, 2013, but production was moved to its new facility in Normal, IL in March 2017. DESTIHL Brewery combines centuries-old, global brewing traditions and new American craft brewing ingenuity & artisanship to produce a wide array of beers for every palate. The result is a diverse offering of intensely flavorful beers that are anything but bland. The brewery currently distributes its beers in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin with availability in Washington, D.C. as well.