distillery lane ciderworks

Take a tour of the orchards and then do a tasting! Plenty of cider to choose from and it is all delicious!

Went to Distillery Lane Ciderworks today for the first time....Beautiful property. The tasting room was very busy, so the owner set up a tasting outdoors....I would have liked to taste the ciders and hear the information from the employee pouring the tastings, but the stink bugs and fruit flies were so abundant and irritating, I just wanted my four tastings poured so I could see what I wanted to buy and get away from the bugs. It wasn't just me, everyone, even the guys, were constantly swatting the stink bugs and flies away. We ended up buying a case of mixed ciders (Celebration and Jefferson and a few others not a available for tasting), but I highly recommend the owner invest in a well placed outdoor fan that can keep the bugs at bay...

They grow over 700 varieties of apples. Trees for miles and the aroma of fresh apples fills the air. I the cider tasting was fantastic. The Winter Fest Cider is the sweetest. When you're there make sure you take a picture with Ms. Ruby(the dog). She is the sweetest. A very nice place to visit on a Sunday afternoon.

My wife and I visited with several friends and we all had a great time and really enjoyed the ciders. They have produced around 17 varieties. some may not be still available. If you think of cider as the sweet juice or like the bottled mass-marketed overly sweet or overly sharp drinks you will learn. This place reminded me of the great ciders I drank while in the UK and Europe. Crafted more like wines, usually blended, sometimes lightly sparkling. they grow about 50 kinds of apples specifically for cider making. The Celebration is terrific and one of all our favorites. They also sell them when stocks allow. My wife bought some English apples she hadn't seen for 15 years and made great pies. The grounds have a self-guided tour that is fun and educational. You will learn about apples, local history and geology and underground sites. The staff are friendly and the setting is quite peacefull. If you have time go into Burkittsville and visit the Dry Goods Store, very short drive straight up the road. Tale time to talk with the proprietor, Paul. Another great place to learn of the past. Its a step back in time. Together these spots make a really nice outing.

We heard about this apple farm with a wide selection of products including homemade ciders, hard ciders and ability to pick and purchase fresh apples. My husband and I went a beautiful Saturday and were very pleased. We not only left with fresh apples ( with recipes for apple pie which was well received by friends and family), cider for the children and hard cider which we were able to taste prior to purchase for my husband and I. Should include this location on visits to this area and say hi to Kingston!

I dragged my husband and friends out to the First Press Saturday. It was seriously underwhelming. Seemed kind of amateur hour.Agree with the other negative review about the tasting: $5.00 for 4 very small tastings. At first I was annoyed at the size--then after considering the quality, I was glad. The "Celebration" cider was far too dry, other presses were strangely oak-ey and watery and the dessert cider had a very strong taste of honey. It was very weird but none of the presses tasted like apples. We left empty-handed because frankly, I'd rather spend the money on a six-pack of Woodchucks or Crispin rather than fork over $10-20 for a slim bottle of mediocre fermented apple juice.On the positive side the staff (a lot of them) were friendly and informative. We didn't get a tour of the farm and missed the music acts for the day but it seemed like the distillery was trying. I just think they need to try harder with the quality of their cider.

Our visit to Distillery Lane Cider Works on a bright August Saturday was such a delight. We walked the orchards while following posted information about their sustainable practices and adventures in growing apples. Afterwards, we enjoyed a cider-tasting in the small front room near the cider-making classroom. The room is rustic and has a little bar area where we sampled three different ciders for $5.00. The young man behind the bar poured us the samples and explained the details and subtleties of each as we tasted. We got to keep the "just-right" tasting glasses embossed with the Distillery's initials. We ended up buying a six-bottle selection of ciders, beautifully packaged in an array of interesting bottles. Well worth the trip out for a lovely visit. (Make sure to check for hours of operation before you go.)

I read up on this location before visiting Frederick. but somehow missed that they weren't open during the week. My husband and I had driven up there and pulled up to the front of the distillery and saw a few people sitting outside the shop area and asked them if it was open (the sign said closed, but with people outside, who knew?) A tall white haired gentleman who turned out to be the owner said to come on in.He took us inside, asked us to pardon the mess (they were painting, which is why they were all there), and let us try some bottles he already had open. Then he explained some things about the orchard, the other varieties of cider, and told us about upcoming events. As we were checking out with our purchases he explained that they weren't actually open! So nice!

My husband and I visited Distillery Lane Ciderworks and took their cider making course. We loved the openness and generosity the owners and staff had in sharing their story, knowledge and craft cider. We had a wonderful time, learned a great deal, and drank high quality great tasting cider. These folks know how to host a good time and offer a variety of fun events for everyone's enjoyment, even just touring and tasting is a rewarding experience. If you're interested or curious about visiting, don't hesitate, a must go!

Distillery Lane Ciderworks is a gorgeous example of an apple farm. Their cider is delicious! I took the cider making course and learned a great deal about brewing. The owners and staff are a delight to be with and are very knowledgable about their craft. Overall it was a very enriching and enjoyable experience that I will definitely be returning to!

Distillery Lane Ciderworks is open on weekends. Visit in the fall to buy apples and fresh cider; hard cider is sold all year round. In early September (Labor Day weekend) there's a "First Press Festival" with seafood and ice cream trucks, tours of the orchard (40 varieties of apples and pears, many of them rare heritage varieties), cider pressing demonstrations, bee keeping demonstrations, music and bales of straw to sit on. It's really fun!

The ad for Distillery Lane Ciderworks looked great: for "First Press Day," tour the orchards, pick apples, taste local hard and fresh cider, and see bee-keeping demonstrations. We threw a cooler in the car and drove out, hoping to learn more about apples and bring back a cooler full of great cider.So why did we drive home with an empty cooler? Not because the cider was so-so (it was); we would have bought some just to support a local industry. It was because the owner, who gave the tour, insisted on pushing his own politics on everyone. As we entered the orchard, we saw a sign warning that there would be scary objects along the way to scare off deer. The owner quickly pointed out a "George Bush" tree, so named because it didn't produce anything worthwhile. He laughed and said there would be an "Obama" tree later in the tour, which was true, but all of the criticism was reserved for Republicans. On his electrified fence, he had posters of Michelle Bachmann and Newt Gingrich, which he said were to scare away the deer. A ugly scarecrow of Sarah Palin toting a gun was for the same purpose (see photo). As to the "Obama" tree, he said it didn't produce as much as he hoped, but that was because of bad soil, which the poor tree had inherited, so he was going to give it a few more years to produce. It wasn't its fault that it didn't produce what was hoped, he said. There was a Nancy Pelosi poster too, which he did not comment on. If the jokes had been even-handed, that would have been fine. They weren't. We prefer our apples and cider without politics, so after a short visit to the visiting bee-keeper (Rick Kestler, from Let It Be Honey in Brunswick, MD, who made great honey) and some samples of the cider ($5 for four small tastes), we left empty-handed, thinking that a smarter businessman would have kept his politics to himself.