Downeast Cider Is Upping Production With a New Eastie Facility

Charlestown-based Downeast Cider is moving to East Boston for at least the next five years, reports Boston Magazine. Back in May, the company announced that they were searching for a new space as they had outgrown their current one.

Coming in at 16,000-square-feet, Downeast's new space at Boston Harbor Shipyard will triple the cider company's room for production, ultimately increasing actual production by as much as a factor of ten. (Downeast currently produces 20,000 barrels of cider a year.) The new facility could open in the middle of next year, after a "substantial interior renovation."

Meanwhile, the four-year-old company expects to continue operating in Charlestown while the Eastie space is built out. As BostInno reports, it could remain open indefinitely as a "small-batch and developmental production site" as well as an event space for tours and tastings, music shows, and other happenings.

Downeast has squeezed a number of moves into its four years, starting in a room in a mill in Waterville, Maine before moving to Massachusetts — first Leominster, then Charlestown. The cider company's product line includes an "original" and an "unoriginal" blend, a cranberry cider, and seasonal ciders like a lemonade and a pumpkin blend.