Please join us for this exciting on-farm workshop focusing on hops production and using small grains for brewing!
Location: Four Star Farms
496 Pine Meadow Road, Northfield, MA
Hosts: Gene & Bonnie L’Etoile
Date: August 20, 2010
Time: 11:00 am—3:00 pm
Click here to download pdf version of this brochure.
Please join us on Friday, August 20th at Four Star Farms in Northfield, MA for a tour of Gene and Bonnie L’Etoile’s hopyard. Discussions will be held on the logistics of brewing with local ingredients, with particular focus lent toward growing hops and malting grains in the Northeast. The UVM Extension Northwest Crops and Soils Team will be there to comment on their trials using organic fungicides on hops, discuss the level of interest in local hops as reported by area breweries, and highlight some of the complexities faced by growing hops in a humid climate. Attention will also be devoted to the logistics of growing malting quality grains in the Northeast. Local hop growers will come together and schmooze about what has and has not worked for them in their hopyard, toss around ideas for improving production practices, and talk about obstacles they have faced from a marketing perspective. Local brewers will discuss what kind of quality parameters they want in their brewing ingredients and how local products can be presented in the most appealing manner.
Cost of attendance is $15. Lunch will be provided by the NOFA-VT pizza oven.
Please RSVP* by August 13th by contacting Heather Darby or Rosalie Madden at 802-524-6501
*If you require accommodations to participate in this program, please let our office know by August 13th so that we may assist you.
Directions: Take exit 28 from I-91 in Massachusetts onto MA-10, and travel north for about 4.5 miles to Rt 63. Turn right on Rt 63 (south) and follow for 2.6 miles to Pine Meadow Rd. Turn right on Pine Meadow and follow for about 1.5 miles. The farm is on the right.
Many thanks to our sponsors for their generous support!
Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources
USDA- Risk Management Agency
Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets