The Fort Mountain DIPA has finished its fermentation and is sitting with a good dose of dry hops until this weekend.
Mz. Fezziwig’s Fruitcake Imperial Amber is soon to head for a secondary ferment in a couple of big rum barrels before making her appearance at Christmas. The Holly King Gingerbread Imperial Stout (another big Christmas beer) and Hogmannay Scottish Ale (a Cardamom and Vanilla special New Year’s beer) are soon to be in the fermenters.
The Welcome Table Belgian Strong (our Thanksgiving special) will be ready for the first or second weekend in November.
I am happy to report that Moonbat Juice IPA and Harvest Moon Pumpkin Saison are proving to be very popular. Don’t wait too long to come and give them a try, they’re going fast… which is a good thing… I suppose.
Wednesday we will be brewing the Blasty edition of the Blastywoods Dark Lager collab with the Northwoods guys. I am looking forward to that.
We’ve had to say goodbye to our Caprese menu offering. There are still tomatoes, but they just aren’t pretty enough. Better to leave it as a happy memory until next August when those lovely fruits of summer will be here again. I am sad to see them go.
We did have a hearty beef stew special on this past weekend. It sold out in a flash. We will have it back on in a couple of weeks when we have enough beef rendering from cooking briskets to make another good sized pot.
On a different, but related, note, food waste is a real thing in this country of abundance. Thanks to having pigs and cows and good arable land we are able to make use of many of the waste products that a brewery and a restaurant generate. The cows get the spent grain left after making a beer. Taking it down to the barn for them while waiting for the wort (pre-beer) to boil is one of my favorite things about the entire brewing process. They are so happy. Next, all of the food that is left behind after folks have had a meal with us — chips, pickles, unwanted bread, etc… — goes to the pigs. They, too, are so happy and, being pigs, have no problem expressing their joy— so much fun to watch! Lastly, the yeast and hop matter left at the bottom of fermenters after we keg provides a great source of nitrogen and nutrients for adding to our soils. Healthy and enriched soils grow better grass and more abundant produce including hops!
Crook & Scythe Farm still has loads of produce for sale and a really spiffy new sign courtesy of the multi-talented Chris Murphy. Stop in and check out the bounty of the season!
See you soon!
2025 Editors’ Choice: Craft Brewery
