Distillery Lane Ciderworks

About

Distillery Lane Ciderworks sits on 95 acres in Jefferson, Maryland—just outside of the historic town of Burkittsville. The farm is a historic site, dating back to the Civil War, and is officially known as “The Encampment” as the farm was used as a camp for Union soldiers leading up to the battle of Antietam. Following the Civil War, a fire destroyed most of the farmhouse. It was rebuilt in the 1890’s on its original foundation. Today, the farmhouse, adjacent carriage house, and Civil War-era barn foundation still stand on the property. Additional buildings, such as the cider house and barns, were added later, designed to maintain the historic appearance and integrity of the property and surrounding area. Rob Miller, his wife, Patty Power, and their three children moved to the farm in 2001. Prior to the Millers, the farm had never been used as an apple orchard. However, having always been cider fans (both fresh and hard cider) and with the farm located in a prime region to grow apples, they decided to enter the cider-making world. The operation has been a family-affair from the beginning: fifteen of the Millers’ extended family came to plant the initial 1,000 trees one weekend in the spring of 2001. By 2006, the trees were producing enough fruit to make the first batches of fresh cider. At this point, construction on the cider house commenced. By 2008, the cider house was officially completed and approved to be open for business. During this time, numerous home-brew cider-makers discovered the farm and would buy fresh cider to take home and ferment into hard cider. Tim Rose, one of the home-brewers, had come back several times with refreshing cider and well-researched advice for the Millers’ cider making. Tim was invited to join the family-owned and operated farm as the official cidermaker for Distillery Lane Ciderwork. He has since moved from carboys in his basement to his own building with stainless steel tanks! Opened for business as an official Maryland winery in 2010, Distillery Lane Ciderworks took its name from the rich history of the area. The whole valley was dotted with beer and whiskey-producing distilleries up until Prohibition. The remains of one of these distilleries can still be seen today down the road from the farm in the woods. Distillery Lane Ciderworks was the first licensed cidery in Maryland. More trees have been planted since 2001 and the orchard is now nine acres (over 3,000 trees)! Since 2010, the business has been featured in articles in media outlets such as The Washington Post and on the hit television show, “Drinking Made Easy,” where the host, Zane Lamprey, and his stuffed monkey, Pleepleus, visited the farm and tasted some of the cider. To read more about media coverage at our farm, visit “In the News.”