Popular New Brunswick craft cider company Yip will be opening its new production facility and taproom to visitors in June.
The new location is just a short drive from their Mackay Apple Orchard, where they currently produce their ciders from Hugh Mackay’s father’s garage.
“We basically outgrew the garage and needed higher ceilings for bigger tanks,” said Mackay, who co-owns Yip with his brothers and father. “The new tanks we have are 12,000-liter tanks and the ones we still use are 2000-liter tanks. As we’ve grown every year, we’ve wanted to become more efficient and have more space.”
There wasn’t room at the farm, so when property a short 2.5km away became available, the family decided to set up their cidery.
Yip’s taproom and production site is spacious and overlooks the Saint John River. The space will have many uses for their cider production and the community at large.
The interior of the facility includes a spacious taproom that will offer Yip cider, other craft brewers, and snack foods with patio seating.
“You can be a lot more nimble with creating new flavours at the taproom,” said Mackay. “So if there’s an interest in a different type of flavour or kind of cider that maybe isn’t for the mass market, we can do that really easily here.”
There will also be a boardroom available for rent that overlooks the taproom on one side and the production facility on the other. Tours and private tastings will also be offered.
Elsewhere on the property, there are plans to install two geometric domes that can be used for weddings, family reunions, and other community events. Next to the parking lot, there are remains of an old house that once stood on the property.
“We had a tiny little room [at the farm] that was our taproom that was maybe 12 by 10 with a little bar. It was pretty popular during u-pick season,” said Mackay, who says he is excited to welcome more events and grow their taproom at the new location.
Their orchard is a popular destination during apple picking season and will continue to provide the apples for their ciders and be open in the fall for apple pickers galore. Mackay credits the orchard for Yip’s success.
“We have experienced the growth and we were able to build this expansion because the people have been supportive and buying our cider.”
Yip Cider became available commercially in 2017, but their roots trace back three generations when Hugh Mackay’s grandfather, nicknamed ‘Yip,’ operated their family farm. While the family would sell their apples and juices at their farm, their fermented cider was kept within the family.
Even as they’ve grown, the Mackays have remained committed to using local ingredients and any additional apples they need.
“We started out as apple growers,” said Mackay. “We are rooted in agriculture and we support New Brunswick apple growers and hop farmers and blueberry, cranberry farmers.”
Liam Floyd is a reporter for Huddle, an Acadia Broadcasting content partner.
