Trending, Blogging, Surfing, Farming

Hi again to all you potentially existent readers of this attempt at modern-day media!

In accordance with what I understand to be the rules of the internet, if someone somewhere else said something about you, you have to link to it when you then go back and blog about yourself, your accomplishments, your thoughts, and your deepest darkest secrets.

All you old-school blog readers new we were starting a farm, now anyone that reads the Berkshire Eagle knows we're not only starting a farm, but we're building a structure just to grow a plant that's used exclusively for beer flavor and bittering. It's on Rt 41 North of GB and south of Division St. If you do come check it out, you will likely find us there, working on cable (all posts upright and all anchors set!) in order to get ready to finally plant our hop roots (rhizomes).

Anyway, back to self-referential writing/riffing on the article:

First, thank you to Ned Oliver for having the guts to walk right up and ask (and to you others that have allowed your curiosity to overcome your normal social inhibitions). If you are stopping, try not to stop right on the highway (41) or back up for 50 feet (seen that done twice) just to talk to us. Anyway, Ned quoted me (the less beer-oriented guy, Evan) on a bogus bit of made-up fairytale percentages about hop flavor accounting for 25 to 95% of what the beer tastes like. What I should have said was that hops contribute a different amount of flavor to different types of beers but that that amount is not quantifiable as a percentage. Sadly I need to work on my PR shtick.

What I can comment on when I'm not bungling through beer flavor interviews is that farming is work, and the work is always diverse. We have felled trees, shaved poles, rented equipment, contracted professionals, worked day and night to troubleshoot or build specialty tools, and that's before any tilling or planting.

And the bottom line? Without a saleable product like beer, even a specialty farm that grows hops (and shows off the polyculture by grazing sheep among the vines, but more on that later) is going to have problems with cash flow and profitability. For that reason, I have to extend a special thank you to my father, Eric, my landlord, Dale, and another professional in the area, Matt, for their free help and advice. A young farming brewing business partnership needs its volunteers (my dad and his countless hours), good landlords and operators (Dale owns the land we lease on 41 and helps with his own equipment) and outside professional contractors (Matt knows a lot about digging fence post holes, carpentry, excavation, and working efficiently). Anyone that wants to be a part should feel free to contact, our business is about inclusion and transparency, above all.

Thanks to all helpers, and hello to all potentially new readers.

Evan