Our History
The Beaks and the Skiffs planted their first apple trees in 1911. The Beaks had a dairy farm on the road that is now Rt.20 and the present site of the Beak and Skiff Apple Farms headquarters. The Skiffs were potato and onion farmers on the North Side. As the story goes, the two families got together at the Market and decided to pursue the apple business, a farming enterprise that was taking hold south of Syracuse near Lafayette. The hillsides in that area were gaining a reputation as the perfect location to grow crispy flavorful apples.
The picture to the right is of Charles N. Beak (second generation Beak and Skiff) standing next to a Duchess tree in 1914. The apples you see were the first produced by the tree which was planted in 1911.
The business was strictly a wholesale enterprise from it's beginning in 1911 until a Pick-Your-Own venture was started in 1975. In 1976, the old dairy barn was converted to a Country Store which after many renovations and additions is the Store you visit today.
The cider we produced at the farm store became so popular, our wholesale accounts wanted to offer it to their customers. In 1979, we launched a new wholesale cider business. Working with Dr. Robert LaBelle, a research scientist at the Geneva Experimental Station, we developed a pasteurization process that would extend the shelf life of our cider, but not alter the flavor. Beak & Skiff was the first cider mill to "flash" pasteurize fresh cider and distribute it through the wholesale marketing channel. At the time, we received great marketing support from P&C Markets of Syracuse. They promoted our cider for the better part of a year in 1979 through 1980. Thanks to the efforts of Bob Labelle and P&C, you can now enjoy fresh cider year round.
In 2001, Beak & Skiff introduced it's Premium SomerSet Series of Hard Ciders. The next year, we added varietal Apple Wines to the mix. Our hard ciders and apple wines have received numerous awards and the customer response has been outstanding. Unfortunately, our production capacity has trouble keeping up with demand so, it looks like we will need to expand. As many customers have said, "That's not a bad problem to have."
As you might have seen on our Home Page, we are planing to go in to the distillation business. We hope to make Vodka from apples, Apple Brandy, Apple Eau de Vie and a product called "Pommeau" which is a mixture of Apple Brandy and clarified apple juice.
We hope you have enjoyed this brief history of our business. We will continue to add to this page as time goes by.