pulled off the conversion and had a spacious , all-wood tasting room . “ I work a lot . I ’ m from New York . We don ’ t do slow !” he laughs .
The tasting room opened in the fall of 2022 . And it ’ s been a hit for locals and folks wanting to try something different than a brewery or winery but with the same friendly , community-gathering vibe .
“ I press everything that grows on the property . We have a mulberry cider from the mulberry trees . We do a blackberry cider . I ’ ll forage for things that grow naturally on their own here . My nine-year-old son and I spent three days picking honeysuckle flowers and I distilled them to get the extract and add it to our dry cider ,” says Tommy . And he experiments with more unusual concoctions like wood sorrel that “ has a lemony clover taste , so we ’ ll
be making a citrusy wood sorrel cider . Whatever we find from the property , we ’ ll make small batches of cider with that .”
Three years in , Tommy ’ s vision keeps unfolding . After transforming a blighted property he will tell you he has over 1000 apple trees , wild fruits , tons of hops , and a beautifully property that ’ s a great place for the community to gather .
But wait , there ’ s more …
“ So many of my friends came to the Ciderworks because they were gluten intolerant , or worse , had celiac disease . And they were saying how much they missed beer and would it be great if they could drink a good tasting gluten-free beer . I have experience as a brewer .” He worked in New York and learned
a lot . So in typical fast-moving Tommy Evens style , he experimented with gluten free beer on his stove and voila it tasted good . “ So I decided to do it .”
A friend , Ryan Hill , is a home brewer and dreamt about opening a brewery . So he and Tommy created Silly Yak . “ Ryan is really good at creating all the brewery recipes . We use millet , which is glutenfree , and we add other gluten-free nutrients . Amazingly , we ’ re able to make it taste just like regular beer .”
Soon they will build a bigger producing facility with a canning line . But before that they will enter some craft beer competitions with their gluten-free beers ( without indicating it is gluten-free !) and see if they can take home some wins . Given how things go for Tommy , it ’ s probably a slam dunk !
Extraordinary
variety ... magnificent setting !
Selling and supporting the Agricultural Reserve for over 35 years .
experience equates advantage !
17700 White Ground Road Boyds , MD • ( 301 ) 972-7513 susannafarmnursery . com
From dwarf and unusual evergreens to Japanese maples , Susanna Farm offers some of the most unique and beautiful trees and plants you ’ ll find in the area . Situated in the heart of the Agricultural Reserve , your visit is guaranteed to be a memorable one !
Toni Koerber f Member of Luxury Alliance Group
www . tkhomes . com f toni . realtor @ usa . net Cell :( 301 ) 802-6770 f Office :( 301 ) 299-6000