If you are one of our neighbors, living on Mapleville Road, and are here because someone put a flyer in your mailbox, please know that we are just as concerned as you! And we’re here to set the record straight!

1. We hold a valid Maryland Class 8 Manufacturers License. This allows us to legally operate a farm brewery on our farm and manufacture beer. It’s not much different from a vineyard, except instead of grapes, we grow grain and hops and use those in our beer.
2. We applied for, and were granted permission to pursue, a Type 2 Site Plan for a small Tasting Room on our farm in 2012. We are now following through with the advancement of this small tasting room at our facility. The announcement we posted in our driveway followed Frederick County code requiring it be posted for two weeks.
3. We grow many acres of grain on our farm. We harvest many tons of corn or red wheat (aka “winter wheat”) annually. Please note that red wheat is not noticed as much as other crops, as it is usually planted in the Fall, grows in the Winter & Spring, and is harvested in the late Spring. It can add a slightly darker red color to our beer. We use the red wheat and/or other ingredients grown on our farm in every batch of beer we make, as per state law.
4. A beautiful farm in your neighborhood means the value of your house goes up! And a tasting room on our farm will positively affect the neighborhood, as a tasting room helps pay for the upkeep of our farm! Farms are large and the upkeep can cost many tens of thousands of dollars a year! For instance, a new fence can easily cost $10 to $20 per linear foot (and we have several miles of fence) and thousands of dollars are spent on fence repair every year! Keeping our farm beautiful means we have to keep the grass and fields maintained. The tractors and mowers and labor for that large an area are beyond a small farmer’s simple means.
5. Craft Beer Enthusiasts visit farm brewery tasting rooms to enjoy unique and oft sought beers. These beers often have a special flavor coming from the use of local water, hops, and/or grains. This is much the same as Wine Enthusiasts visiting winery/vineyard tasting rooms to try wines that have that certain Terroir. Many of these people enjoy both craft beer and wine.
6. A study performed in 2013 found a major portion of craft beer drinkers (roughly 74%) earned $50,000 or more annually. Of those, 53% made over $75,000 annually!
7. We do not support drinking and driving! (Please be safe and always get a designated driver!)
8. Traffic on our street will remain minimal.
9. Normal business hours will follow the state law for Farm Breweries (these are reasonable hours – we enjoy family time too!).
10. You can find out more about the Farm brewery Laws at the Brewers Association of Maryland Website.
11. Lastly, if you live in our neighborhood (specifically Mapleville Road), and have concerns, please feel free to stop in and talk with us!