B. Nektar Meadery doubles production, expands to 9 states

It's hard not to see B. Nektar Meadery's blue bottles on grocery store shelves in Metro Detroit, but the craft brewer has expanded way beyond Michigan to the eastern half of the U.S. and it has plans to go even further this year.

The Ferndale-based maker of fine honey wines doubled its production in 2010 and expects to do so again this year. That allowed the company to hire two people last year, and it's looking to add one more now and a few others later this year.

"We have been expanding outward into other states," says Brad Dahlhofer, co-founder of B. Nektar Meadery. "Last year was a big expansion year for us. We're in nine states right now, including Michigan."

They include Wisconsin, Maine, and Florida, and a number of other East Coast states. The company also plans to keep that North American expansion going, along with going international. Plans are in the works to open markets in Asia, Africa, and Europe.

That's a big leap for a company that seriously began production in August of 2008. Dahlhofer and his wife Keri, longtime home brewers of meade, began making their version of the oldest alcoholic beverage known to man in 1,500 square feet on Jarvis Street.

"We knew this was what we wanted to do," Dahlhofer says. "It's nice that people responded so well. It makes the job of expanding easier."

Source: Brad Dahlhofer, co-founder of B. Nektar Meadery
Writer: Jon Zemke

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