Craft brewery popularity keeps growing and recently involved theCaius Farm Breweryin Connecticut bringing abandoned farmland to life . When Caius Mergy was an undergraduate at Middlebury College , he did n’t take himself to be much of a beer drinker — but a weekend spent call in Vermont ’s craft breweries wound up inspiring an involvement in home - brewing .
“ Over the next duo of geezerhood , we would care to have modest batches of yield , ” say Mergy , outlining next development plans for the brewery . “ I would know to see some apricot or pears on the holding . ”
Taking a second out fromhome breweryduties , we spoke to Mergy about Connecticut flaked corn and the importance of seasonal flavour . We also got into using bee in the brewing process .
Love At First Sip
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“ The one moment in special was at Hill Farmstead in Vermont , ” says Mergy , as he wait back over his journey into craft beer . “ I call back share a bottle of Flora : Peaches & Pears with my friend and it was love at first sip : I could n’t trust you could attain those relish in a beer and also was pleasantly surprised by the fact that the beer was sour ! ”
Mergy ’s next steps involved reading up on brew history and tinkering with menage - brewing , before eventually take the plunge to foundCaius Farm Brewery .
Transforming An Abandoned Farm
After coming across some give up cultivated land , Mergy decided to transform the prop into a farm brewery . It ’s a process that necessitate glade structures that were in a state of near collapse and prepping the earth for novel buildings .
“ We had to bump off 18 inch of surface soil from the whole dimension and replace it with grime which was suitable for construction , ” explain Mergy , who add that being located next to some wetlands also mean consider drain issues .
The Virtue Of Patience
When it comes to incorporating local and seasonal flavor visibility into beer , Mergy say that to do it properly is inevitably a prospicient process .
“ My Passion of Christ in brewing is assorted ferment oak - cured ale , which take at least a year to two year before they are ready for usance , ” he explain . “ Since those beers involve a mess of time and patience , I really want to highlight the local ingredients with them and also show the respect to the local ingredient that they deserve . ”
As an example , Mergy pinpoints an approaching ancient Etruscan - style beer called pevakh which uses Connecticut spelt and Secale cereale , Connecticut love and Connecticut - grown hop . “ I want to bring this ancient mode of beer to life with ingredients which are closest to the brewery , ” he say .
Listening To The Beer
Going deeper into the skill of spotlighting local factor , Mergy says the craft brewery is especially proud of “ our one hundred pct pale yellow malt mixed ferment ale , Caligula , which habituate Connecticut grown record hop and straw malt liquor all originating across New England . ”
Additionally , Mergy says a motley zymosis ale is currently being earmarked to incorporate Connecticut fruit from other nearby farms—”what yield remains to be see and the beer will evidence us what it wants”—and later this summertime the brewery will debut an American light lager that practice Connecticut flaked Zea mays and hops . “ I really desire to showcase the Connecticut flaked corn since I had n’t try any other like that before , so I am really aroused to brew that ! ”
Bring On The Bees
The next stage in the Caius Farm Brewery story will be to incorporate beekeeping into the foxiness brewery outgrowth . “ We be after to use targeting landscape gardening of select plants and flowers to bring our desire flavors into the honeythat we hope to glean on site , ” say Mergy . “ I love wildflower honey , so we would believably go this route . ”
“ We are excited to have local bee to both aid with future crops used in our beer but also to use in select beer , specially our mixed fermentation , ” add Mergy . “ We already have a beer with all Connecticut component which apply Connecticut honey and I would love to use our own honey in succeeding batches of it . ”
