Shh. Don't Tell Anyone B. F. Clyde's Cider Mill Is Open!

OLD MYSTIC, CT—There's no update on its Facebook page or its website, but Patch has photographic evidence that B. F. Clyde's Cider Mill is open for the season. Let's keep it quiet, though. Shh.

Clyde's is among the most popular attractions in the region, especially in autumn for obvious reasons; it's apple harvesting time.

This reporter, who lived down the road from the iconic mill for years can attest that from September until early December, people come from all corners, not just the region, but the globe.

A review in TripAdvisor, albeit maybe a tad over-the-top, sums it up though for many: "Been coming here 1-2x a year from NJ for the last 10 years. Love the donuts, the cider, everything. I'm pretty sure if this place ever closed I'd go into a downward spiral. Can't recommend enough!!!"

B.F. Clyde’s began making hard cider in 1881. In 1898, Frank and Abby Clyde built the Victorian-style building and bought the machinery then that's still in use today. As Clyde's notes, "We are the last steam powered cider mill in the U.S. today."

Apples for their hard Ciders and apple wines come from local orchards and are pressed into juice here at the mill, Clyde's notes on its website. Next, juice from the fruit is pumped directly into oak casks in the mill’s cellar, where it is fermented and aged for a year or more. The process is a centuries-old one. And watching it happen is a memorable experience.

And given it's the last of its kind in America, a steam-powered cider mill, in 1994 Clyde’s was designated a National Historic Landmark.

It's a landmark described as a "rare survivor of a once-commonplace rural US industry," by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

As Clyde's itself says, "A visit to Clyde’s Cider Mill is like stepping back in time...see the sixth generation of Clyde family making cider just like B.F. Clyde did in 1881. Come see the only steam powered cider mill in the U.S."

Beginning in September and continuing until early December, Clyde's sells their own hard ciders and apple wines, jams, jellies, local honey, maple syrup, fudge, and what many people call “The best sweet cider on Earth!”

Also available in the fall are apples, apple pies, pumpkin bread, gourds, Indian corn, pumpkins, candy apples, kettle corn and apple cider donuts.

For more information, visit B. F. Clyde's Cider Mill's website and Facebook page.