Dublin-based C&C Group, manufacturer of cider brands in Ireland and the U.K., will acquire Vermont Hard Cider Co., Middlebury, Vt., for $305 million.

If you were to ask Bret Williams a year ago whether he would ever sell Vermont Hard Cider Co., the answer would have been, “No.” When the president and chief executive officer of the Middlebury, Vt.-based company originally purchased the Woodchuck hard cider brand and facility in 2003, it was not about developing a big company or brand; it was about saving jobs.

Although I am no longer covering local Earth Day events, connecting with brand owners, suppliers and everything in between has shown me that environmental emphasis still is a part of my journalistic career.

Vermont Hard Cider Co. LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ireland-based C&C Group plc, announced that construction is under way on its new, state-of-the-art cidery in Middlebury, Vt. The $30 million project is being built less than a mile from the current Middlebury facility, it says.