Lone Oak Brewery keeps memory of beloved 250-year-old tree alive

250-year-old oak tree toppled at local brewery is being repurposed

The oak tree at Lone Oak Farm Brewery toppled after high winds hit the area last weekend. The brewery is planning on making wood from the tree into a large wooden tank to continue to commemorate the tree.

WASHINGTON - A brewery is finding a way to keep the memory of one historic oak tree alive – and part of their beer.

Lone Oak Farm in Olney, Maryland, is named for the 250-year-old white oak tree that dates back to the pre-Civil War era. The tree is a big part of the culture of the brewery – co-owner Chris Miller was married beneath it last October.

But the tree came crashing down last Sunday after the area was hit with some high winds.

"Around 10 p.m., as we were dozing off, my wife said ‘Hey, I just heard a big bang, I think it’s the tree,' and I said ‘No, there’s no way.' And sure enough, we looked out the window, and it was down," said Miller.

The crew at Lone Oak Farm is working to take the wood from the massive white oak tree, and give it a new life.

"The hope is to take the tree and the history and the life alive, just in a different form. So instead of being a beautiful tree here on the edge of our field, the hope is that we'll repurpose the wood," said Miller. "We're going to make a large wooden tank … it's one of these large tanks that's made of wood from the oak tree, so the flavor of the oak will actually be in our product."