Our Story

For years, owners Tony Brown and Patty Ewaschuk talked about pressing apples from the dozen big old apple trees on their farm property. They'd been growing their own vegetables, raising chickens, geese, and a couple cows, and had a giant market patch of asparagus. But they never followed through on the apple-pressing idea until 2018 when they bought a small crusher and press and made a couple hundred liters of cider. They loved it and they were hooked, especially to dry (low in sugar) cider which was difficult to buy. They started learning about cider making and its history in the area. Many farmers who first lived in this area fermented cider for their own use. But this fell out of favour during prohibition. Legend has it that many people cut their cider apple trees down in that era. Cider varieties of apples make great cider but taste terrible for fresh eating. At the time of their first tiny batch, Patty was learning the banjo, an instrument popular in cider's pre-prohibition heyday. The name and the business were born.

They scaled up quickly, as Tony is prone to going large. Over the next year, they planted 100s of cider varieties of apple trees and made their first large batch of cider. Eventually, they planted nearly 2,000 trees, which they grow using organic methods. Their first cider sale was at their hometown farmer's market in Uxbridge. Their original vision included a small on-farm store selling small batches of cider. But the store opened a month after the pandemic began. Although a patio was never in the plans, it felt like a must-have in the summer of 2020. And what goes better with a patio than live music? And firepits. And food trucks. And a tasting room. The business continues to grow. All the while they've been more than lucky with amazing staff and dedicated customers. They're still grateful those old apple trees lead them to where they are today.