Organic or Local or Seasonal (or Does it Matter)?

As I've mentioned before, the market for craft beer in North Carolina (both brewing it and appreciating it) is a lively and healthy beast these days. Just about every small brewery in the state has a solid, tasty example of a dark stout, a crystal-clear lager, a fruity weizen… the list goes on, and it's certainly an enjoyable one to explore. But more interesting to me (as a self-proclaimed beer snob and potential entrepreneur within this segment of the community) are the lengths to which some of these progressive breweries are going in order to become more sustainable and more socially responsible, all while brewing a solid pint of beer.

Mother Earth Brewing in Kinston utilizes an array of solar panels for power, pulls tap handles made from bamboo, walks around on eco carpet and utilizes a tankless water heater for their hot liquor. They even use old blue jeans as insulation within their walls and their head brewer Josh recently traded his car for a bike. That's pretty awesome.

Highland Brewing Company in Asheville adopted the Swannanoa River, participating in annual cleanup efforts. And instead of charging for their brewery tours, they request the donation of canned food items that are then provided to the Manna Food Bank.

Durham's Fullsteam Brewery takes pride in their lofty mission to "develop a Southern craft beer identity". They also have a test recipe in the works called "300 Mile", which will be made with ingredients found only within a 300-mile radius of their headquarters in central NC (an ambitious goal, if you're familiar with the process of brewing beer).

This last project is one after my own heart. Next spring, we're planning to open our own brewery called Haw River Farmhouse Ales in Saxapahaw, North Carolina, just west of the Triangle region of the state. Saxapahaw is located in what could be considered "rural" NC, although it's about as progressive as they come. Although the bustling little town only covers a shade over five square miles of North Carolina's backyard, it boasts a number of cultural and natural draws, and between the Saxapahaw General Store, the Eddy Pub, the Haw River Wine Trail, Paperhand Puppet Intervention, the Hawbridge School… (the list goes on, so apologies if you're being left out), Saxapahaw is growing into quite a regional destination with a unique personality.

So when we decided to plant our brew-soaked feet in Saxapahaw, the first question we asked while looking at our recipe collection was "What should Haw River Farmhouse Ales brew?" One of our earliest desires was to establish a Belgian-style farmhouse brewery, which we thought would fit perfectly into the area for a number of reasons, so we then had to ask ourselves what type of beer would make the most sense, and then more importantly, how that beer should be made. Should our ingredients be traditional Belgian (imported), or locally sourced? Should they be organic? Should they be seasonal, and therefore more natural? And how do these decisions impact both the cost and availability of what we'll offer our patrons? And further, will it matter to the folks who tip back a pint either way?

The challenge with locally sourcing a brewery's ingredients in this manner lies in the geographic availability of such ingredients (hence my interest in and appreciation for Fullsteam's 300 Mile project). Unlike a small restaurant, which can more easily source most of its ingredients from local farms and dairies, a brewery and its product line both have specific needs; hops and barley usually can't just be planted in your backyard garden with great results, at least not on a commercial scale (and even after the grain is harvested, it needs to be malted, a process which only a few companies in the world handle on a large scale these days), to say nothing of any added adjuncts, fruit, sugars, specialty grains, etc. North Carolina State University has a few pilot programs in place researching regional hops development, but last I checked, the closest maltster was more than a few miles away.

I recently asked our Facebook and Twitter followers which they preferred in their favorite brew: locally-sourced ingredients or organically-grown ingredients? The consensus seemed to be split, for the most part — many preferred local ingredients, while slightly fewer found organic ingredients of importance (my assumption is that general "ignorance" of the brewing process may have lent some weight to these particular results). Also, I assume folks that don't really care how their beer is made probably didn't bother to answer, since I know there are plenty out there who don't find it important (oh, you crazy Miller Chill drinkers and your inebriated indifference…). In a perfect world, we'd be able to source local, organic ingredients and brew beer with those raw building blocks mere days after they're harvested (and for the record, that's our goal at Haw River Farmhouse Ales). But with a brewery, that's not really an option just yet. The ingredients are certainly available, but if you order 55-pound bags of organic grain from hundreds of miles away, how does that affect the net impact on your goals?

So what do you think? Is it better for a brewery to create local brews using non-traditional ingredients (which in turn, may or may not be responsibly grown), or should they look toward organic ingredients from further away than seems to make sense? Is certified organic beer a trendy phase on the fringe of a movement, or a harbinger of craft beer's next step into its increasing market share? Do brewers have the same social responsibilities as, say, chefs? Or do challenges with sourcing ingredients give beermakers a "pass" with their customers? For that matter, do their customers even care? So many questions and options… I think I'll go have a beer.

Our Plan, Our Name, Our Beers!

Been a while since our first blog post. Sorry about that – we've been busy brewing test batches (and test batches, and test batches...)! The good news is that we've pulled together and polished what will eventually become the final concept for the new brewery (which, if you're reading this, you can probably see reflected at least somewhat in the header above). The plan is to open our new brewery, Haw River Farmhouse Ales, in Saxapahaw, North Carolina on Memorial Day 2012.

Haw River Farmhouse Ales will handcraft small batches of Belgian- and French-style ales using locally-sourced ingredients in each of our beers and certified organic ingredients where possible. Our goal is to approach our recipes, our process and our community responsibilities in a similar manner to the small farmhouse breweries located in France and Belgium from centuries past. Because North Carolina is quickly becoming a major player in the U.S. craft beer industry, we decided we didn't simply want to produce yet another American Lager or India Pale Ale; there are many skilled North Carolina brewers producing fine examples of such beers in our own backyard. Instead, we hope to complement the budding Carolina craft beer community by exploring a slightly less tapped style of beer (please forgive my awful pun) here in our great state, all while giving each beer we produce its own voice reflecting the traditions and history of North Carolina and the surrounding region. By brewing using local ingredients and adding our own little creative spin to things, we hope to craft unique beers based on traditional Belgian techniques and styles that you can only find coming from Haw River Farmhouse Ales in North Carolina.

For the past few weeks, we've been working hard fine tuning a few of our favorite recipes in an effort to establish what we hope will be the first three styles of beer available next Memorial Day when we open our doors. Because we're planning on producing small batches, we'll have plenty of other beers available from time to time on a limited basis (more details on these coming soon), but we'd like to be able to offer a few "flagship" beers on a year-round schedule.

The first will be a golden Saison, traditionally made by farmhouse breweries during the Wallonian spring as a light, refreshing beer for the farmhands to drink while working during the sultry days of summer. Haw River Farmhouse Ales' version uses organic pilsner malt, organic Hallertau hops and local North Carolina honey, finishes dry, crisp and fruity, and will weigh in at around 5%ABV for a truly sessionable, thirst-quenching brew.

What we're planning for our second beer is a light, fruity, slightly grassy Belgian Pale Ale, something of a "Belgian beer for everyone". Balanced by a crisp bitterness in the backend that pushes an aroma of Cascade and Sorachi Ace hops, this beer will also measure about 5%ABV.

To round out our lineup, the third beer we're planning to have available is our Belgian Chocolate Stout. We're brewing a pitch-black milk stout using Amarillo hops for bitterness and flaked rye for body, then fermenting it at higher-than-normal temperatures with a Belgian yeast, which lends a slight citrusy character to the aroma, flavor and finish that complements the roasty chocolate notes perfectly.

Like I said, we've got a few more batches in test mode, to be released on a limited basis (and when they're polished up and perfected): a Wild Black Saison (made with local Buckwheat honey and funky yeast), a Belgian IPA (dry hopped with 3 different types of hops, as well as North Carolina wildflowers), a Peach Witbier (using local North Carolina peaches), a special series of Bières de Garde to be released every few months in bottles, another special series of brews that will celebrate North Carolina and its special residents, seasonal rarities that celebrate the harvest cycles and natural lifelines of the ingredients… we've got a few ideas. The key at this point is that we get the three specialties we'd like to have available year-round perfected, and then go from there. Stay tuned for more detailed updates over the new few weeks, including information on becoming involved in participating in private tasting sessions. À votre santé!

Just getting started...

As many of you may know, I've recently been... ahem... "introduced" to the opportunity to hunt down a new line of work (actually, I sold my share of my design firm Springboard Eydo to my former business partners, and could start a new one, I guess... just not sure I'm up for sitting in front of a computer 8-10 hours a day again for the next umpteen years...)

But I digress. After graduating college in '99 and deciding to start my first graphic design company (then, just a one-man shop called Perpetua Interactive), I told myself I'd sell whatever I had going on my fortieth birthday and open a restaurant. I figured the change would do me good, and I always loved the idea of using whatever creative mind I've been given to craft unique dishes and a culinary experience in the "formal setting" of a restaurant establishment.

So in October 2010, when I decided to potentially wrap up my formal graphic design career, my first thought was that I'd get an early start (I'll be 34 in February) on that restaurant business I'd always wanted to chase down. But tugging at the back of my mind was my newfound love for all things beer. Over the past year or so, I've learned to better appreciate what real beer has been over the centuries and is today, what it tastes like, what goes into it, and how it's created. I've experienced the dry, fruitiness of a saison, the malty complexity of a baltic porter, the acidic tartness of an oude gueuze, and have had the pleasure of finding the time to fine-tune my own beer making skills. The idea of my own restaurant quickly gave way to that of a bustling brewpub, which has since evolved into a desire to start a craft brewery.

The beer business in North Carolina is booming (to understate things just a tad). From Durham's Fullsteam, to Asheville's Highland, to Farmville's Duck Rabbit, along with promising newcomers like Mystery Brewing Company and Roth Brewing, the NC craft beer scene is certainly on its way up. If we're to open a new brewery, it has to carve its own little niche in the blossoming arena that is becoming Carolina Beer Country, working alongside and in concert with our fellow brewers, helping to move forward the exciting and unique identity North Carolina is quickly acquiring within craft beer circles.

We have ideas. Good ones. I've spent the last 20 years of my life having to push creative out the door on a timeline, so applying whatever skills I have to beer recipes and branding should come naturally, at least (I hope). This isn't to say that there isn't a lot of hard work in my future — there certainly is (and then some). And because the area is bustling with both established craft breweries and newcomers alike, it's important that we don't simply open the doors on a brewery that bottles yet another pale ale or stout with a fancy label. So stay tuned for what I hope will be a host of great developments and innovative directions over the next few months. It's gonna be a fun ride.