from the ground up
The Birth
of a Cidery
b y wib middlet o n
U
pon venturing into the
Ag Reserve, you may find
yourself zig zagging along
a deeply forested country
road as it snakes up and
down over gurgling streams and
wondering if your GPS has gone
haywire. Such is the journey to
the recently opened Doc Waters
Cidery at Waters Orchard on the
eastern edge of Germantown.
This gem of a place opens
to sprawling green grasses with
shaded picnic tables and a fire
pit. The new Cidery building is
where the magic happens. The
vibe is unpretentious and wel-
coming. You wouldn’t guess that
the nearby sloping fields of apple
trees open to a huge expanse of
orchards reaching far out into the
property. Row after row of dwarf
apple trees, neatly pruned, easy
for visitor picking and harvesting—
and clearly loved—number 18,000.
That’s a lot of apples!
Handcrafted hard ciders,
sweet ciders, cider slushes and
cider mimosas have been delight-
ing folks throughout the summer.
The apples are grown on the farm,