Graft Cider co-owner Kyle Sherrer punches down grape skins that will be used to flavor products made at the cidery's 218 Ann St. production facility in the City of Newburgh. Graft Cider plans to add a new 16,000-square-foot production and distribution center, with a tasting room on Little Britain Road. [DANIEL AXELROD/TIMES HERALD-RECORD] ▲ The view of the future Graft Cider cidery from above Quassaick Creek in the City of Newburgh. The second floor of the structure will be a tasting room. The courtyard within the complex will be a seating area, and a production area will occupy the space near the creek. [DANIEL AXELROD/TIMES HERALD-RECORD] ▲ Hard cider on display at Graft Cidery in Newburgh. Graft makes 40 to 50 ciders per year, all of which are wild-yeast fermented, sulfite-free, unpasteurized and unfiltered. [ERIK GLIEDMAN/ORANGE MAGAZINE] ▲

NEWBURGH – A hard cidery, tasting room and event space proposed for an old textile mill could soon transform the City of Newburgh's upper Broadway section.

Backpack Brands Co.'s Graft Cider is helping to redevelop the 100,000-sqaure-foot former Powder Creek Mill textile manufacturing complex, a multi-million dollar project that could be done as soon as April.

The mill's front-side address is 637-641 Broadway, while Quassaick Creek bisects the property, and the rear address is 142-146 Little Britain Rd. That's where Graft Cider's new location is planned.

Currently, the 3-year-old hard cidery and maker of Flora Wines, operates out of a tiny, nondescript Ann Street production facility. But, as soon as the spring, Graft Cider plans to add a new 16,000-square-foot production and distribution center, with a tasting room on Little Britain Road.

The 4,000-square-foot tasting room will occupy a second level overlooking Quassaick Creek. The production facility, and a ground-level flagstone and grass courtyard with seating, will abut the creek.

"The tasting room will be another cultural asset in the community on the waterfront," Graft Cider co-owner Kyle Sherrer said. And the production facility will be "where Graft can really innovate and have a creative space."

Newburgh developer Victor Cappelletti is leading the old mill's redevelopment, which could be completed this spring, said Newburgh municipal leaders and Sherrer.

Newburgh leaders strongly endorsed the massive project and voiced confidence in Cappelletti's aggressive timetable. They noted that Cappelletti has building permits, and construction is well underway, but he'll still need final site plan approval.

"We're really excited that this multi-million dollar project is coming," said City of Newburgh Mayor Torrance Harvey, who thanked Cappelletti and his city government for facilitating the redevelopment.

"This is what I've been fighting for," the mayor added. "This project will not only expand our tax base, which will take some burden off our homeowners, but it also will provide economic stimulus and job opportunities."

The 637-641 Broadway portion of the building already is home to the architectural and development management firm Barton and Logiudice and The Print Shop, a commercial printer.

A law firm and other tenants are poised to occupy the rest of the hulking brick building, which Cappelletti bought in 2014.

Cappelletti was unavailable to comment, and he declined to provide a total project cost, but Sherrer said his contribution alone will total at least $1.32 million.

Sherrer said Backpack Brands may retain its Ann Street production facility, which currently employs 12 full-timers and a handful of part-timers. The company plans to add eight full-time workers and more part-time employees when the cidery's Little Britain Road facility opens.

The Mid-Hudson Regional Economic Development Council has named Graft Cider as a priority project to potentially win $264,000 in Empire State Development grant funding.

"Graft expanding, not just its manufacturing but also to have a tasting and event space, is really exciting," said Alexandra Church, Newburgh's director of planning and development. "It's really going to be a tourism draw."

A new cidery would culminate three years of gangbusters growth for Graft Cider. Kyle Sherrer, 30, of Beacon, and sister Sara Sherrer, 28, of Brooklyn, co-own the cidery.

The Maryland natives opened the Newburgh cidery in June 2016 and began production that October. Kyle Sherrer, who majored in finance at the University of Baltimore, had run a cidery with his father, Curt Sherrer, in Maryland.

The Sherrer siblings decided to start their own cidery in the Hudson Valley because it's known for apples and agriculture, and Newburgh was affordable and strategically located near highways and New York City.

This year, Backpack Brands is on pace for $2.1 million in sales, up from $1.7 million last year, and the firm expects to reach the $3.5 million mark next year. All told, it's producing 180,000 gallons of hard cider and it expects to reach 300,000 in its first full year of operation on Little Britain Road.

Graft makes 40 to 50 ciders per year, all of which are wild-yeast fermented, sulfite-free, unpasteurized and unfiltered. Its three core products include Farm Flor, a tart, earthy, dry table cider; Lost Tropic, a hot mimosa cider that's citrusy and juicy; and Comes and Gose, which is fruity, spiced and inspired by German Gose beer.

The Sherrers' ciders come in colorful cans. They're dry, flavorful, unafraid of being sour, and often infused with spices and natural flavors.

The craft alcohol maker also is rolling out wine spritzers, including Flora Tiki, infused with coconut, pineapple and lime, and Flora Rosé, infused with red raspberries, each of which have just 90 calories and one gram of sugar.

"Kyle knows his industry very well, and you see it in how everything is done with quality and with style, including his branding his product labels and his social media efforts," said Bill Fioravanti, Orange County's economic development director. Graft Cider is among "some real pioneers, folks who find Newburgh, in its current romantic state, an exciting place to be and revitalize."

daxelrod@th-record.com