FOREST, Va. – After seven years of producing beer for the community, the owners of Apocalypse Ale Works in Forest are expanding.
Austin John said it was time to branch into cidery.
"We worked with out local home brew club here and, every month, we had a meeting where they would test batch our cider trials. And we'd get feedback from them. We used that feedback to hone in on recipes," John said.
Legacy Cider has support from both the county and the state.
"We're especially proud of this project and the prosperity it will bring to Bedford County," Bettina Ring secretary of agriculture and forestry, said.
The John family was given $12,000 on Friday to help grow and expand on its property.
"We'll be making it more climate control. We'll be updating the deck and closing it, making it more of a year-round experience than as opposed to just a summer beer garden," John said.
Legacy Cider is expected to create five full-time and eight part-time jobs.
Virginia is one of the top apple-producing states in the country. So it makes sense that 100% of the apples used in the cider will come from orchards in Nelson, Amherst and Bedford counties.
"It'd be silly not to use those resources and not to support our community," John said.
Legacy Cider hopes to be pouring cider for customers in November.
"With our food partners, Fifth and Federal we hope to have table service here and continue to expand and really bring people to our community," John said.