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Soon, Greater Cleveland could be home to a pair of cider houses.

(Roadell Hickman, The Plain Dealer)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - The folks behind Platform Beer Co. are planning on opening a cider house in the Flats. That makes at least two cider houses in the works in Northeast Ohio in the coming months.

"The cider market is growing," Platform's Paul Benner said. "Craft ciders have grown so quickly."

Real-estate investor Rafid Fadul owns the Tenk Machine Building on Center Street.

Benner and Carson "have a small stake" in Urban Apple. Reed Jaskula is the force behind the cider house. The goal is dual-pronged and ambitious: Open a tasting room and plan for a massive distribution push.

The goal, Benner said, is to produce "drinkable, lower-alcohol ciders."

And striving for that goal is Benner's colleague, Jaskula, who said he aims for half a dozen ciders on tap.

Benner said they considered putting the cider house near Platform, but decided on the Flats. They will have a press and will crush the apples they bring in. "To do that in-house is unique," Benner said.

Making cider is akin to crafting beer in that you can experiment with different yeast strains. Like beer, flavors and styles can range quite a bit. To the uninitiated, it's easy to say 'Well, cider is always going to taste like apple.' But it can take on the aroma and flavor profile common in, say, a Belgian ale. Others can vary in sweetness.

"To me, I think of it between wine and beer," Benner said. "There's not a lot of education on it."

Production goals are 400 barrels the initial year, doubled to 800 in the second year and then 3,200 in year three, Benner said, with the entire state a target for distribution.

"We're gonna try to hit it hard," Jaskula said.

"Because it's a locally made product and shelves are so limited, we can grow it over time. There's a need to go outside the state" for apples. Benner said.

Benner said it will take three to six months to make the cider, so opening this year would be "optimistic."

Ohio has just a handful of cider makers, according to the Cyder Market, which tracks the industry. And when it comes to distribution, most take a very parochial approach.

One of the cider makers in the area is Richard Read's Griffin Cider Works. Late last year, Read announced plans to branch out from his five-year old cider business based in Westlake to open a cider house in Lakewood. His initial goal was to open Last Voyage Cider Houses on Thursday, April 23 - St. George's Day in his native England. Read, who is now looking at opening the end of May, said Platform's cider-house venture is a good thing for the market.

"I think it's great because it brings more attention to real cider," he said. "I hope they do it well. ... I think more than not most people are going to say 'Oh, there's a cider house here and there, that legitimates it.' I think it's great."

Read said he is working on producing Spanish ciders and will include Black Box Brewing ales at his Lakewood location. Beer choices will be Ohio-centric though not exclusive. The biggest difference between Last Voyage and Platform's venture is distribution. Read's cider will be distributed in-house only.

Jaskula said the market - for now - is "niche" but "is starting to make its way."

"We have a unique opportunity to stay ahead of the curve," he said.

With the majority of the state's craft breweries already located in Northeast Ohio, it might be doing just that when it comes to cider.