Two brothers wearing sunglasses are celebrating outdoors; one is holding a drink and appears to be singing or shouting, while the other has his arm around him. They are brothers and business partners selling Cider in Virginia.

A Family Business

  • A man with sunglasses and a gray beard taking a selfie in front of a natural stone arch in a desert landscape with blue sky and other visitors in the background.

    Tim Smith

    FOUNDER

  • A person wearing a black t-shirt with 'Clyde Club' written on the back, sitting on rocks overlooking a scenic mountain valley in France with lush green hills and distant mountain peaks under a partly cloudy sky.

    Doug Smith

    FOUNDER

  • A man with a shaved head, beard, and a wedding ring inspecting a glass of pale yellow beer on a metal surface in a brewery setting.

    Daron Ford

    HEAD CIDERMAKER

  • Woman with long braided hair wearing glasses, a blue cap with a circular patch, a blue Columbia jacket, and a blue shirt. She is outdoors on a porch or patio with a window, chairs, and a stone wall in the background.

    Amelia Maccubbin

    PHOEBUS TAPROOM MANAGER

About Sly Clyde

Tim and Doug Smith have been conspiring to do something big since Tim (then 17) leveraged his little brother Doug (then 8) to chat up the ladies at Das Weiner Werks in Hampton. The schtick worked great for them both, laying the foundation for a life-long partnership that culminated in the idea of Sly Clyde Ciderworks over a 2016 Christmas dinner. By 2018, the two were ready to launch Virginia’s only coastal cidery.

Doug and Tim's family has been in business in Phoebus for more than 100 years. There have been florists, carpenters, and funeral homes for generations right there on Mellen Street. Today, they are crafting the best hard cider in Hampton Roads just a block from the Chesapeake Bay at one of Virginia's only urban farm cideries. In 2023 the two expanded to a second Taproom in Williamsburg, VA at the Kingsgate resort, Sly Clyde Poolside.

A split image showing two scenes: on the left, two children in pajamas sitting on the floor, looking at a game or toy; on the right, two adult men in suits standing outdoors on a street, holding glasses of champagne.

So you might be wondering, "Who is Clyde?"

Clyde was Tim and Doug's grandfather, H. Clyde Smith. He was a mortician whose calm demeanor and wicked sense of humor kept them laughing as kids. He loved a good story and had a sly smile that made you realize that he had a few secrets about life that he was waiting for you to learn. He had seen some things over his lifetime but he never lost his smile. Clyde was ever-present in the community and believed in the human capacity to thrive. 

Today, Sly Clyde is two brothers who believe that the keep-it-local movement is more important than ever. They will be the first to admit that they aren't nearly as funny as Clyde, but they are just as dedicated to helping to bring the community together. Today, they create amazing ciders that inspire neighbors to share a pint and a funny story while leaving the hardship of the day behind.

Be sure to say hello when you see them. If you ask nicely, they might share a story about H. Clyde as well!

A vintage black-and-white photograph of five people, four women and one man, posing together outdoors near a brick structure, with a body of water in the background. The man is sitting on the brick structure, while the women are standing or kneeling around him, dressed in early 20th-century clothing, including hats and coats.