This is Brian MacIsaac, our Brewer, co-owner and author of all the great art you'll find on our website and all over the brewery and farm. He doesn't do a lot of leaning on things, as he spends most of his time brewing, cleaning (some days not in that order) and delivering our beer.

This is Brian and Rebecca in front of our brewery, on the month we opened (January 2000). That's Brian's artwork on the door, too. For more about his art, check out our Irish Culture (Heritage is for museums) page.

One of the attractive features of our location is its delicious water. The brewery's water comes from a well on our own property, fed by numerous springs both on and next to our land. The water is quite hard, which helps to give our ales a genuine old-world flavour. We do not chlorinate or flouridate our water: it only goes through a 5 micron filter and a UV sterilizer, so the water retains its unique qualities.

This is our brewhouse. We have a ten-hectolitre system, with a direct-fired kettle and open fermenters. It's a quirky little system, but it works for us! This is a very hands-on brewery: we feel that the greater contact with our processes results in a more original product with a more personal style.

Zero-Waste

We are working towards a total zero-waste system, with the farm and the brewery totally integrated to the benefit of both. Currently, the brewery produces four kinds of non-waste materials: spent grain, spent yeast and hops, clean water, and grey water. Spent grain is either fed directly to our pigs and chickens, or is composted to provide nutrients to our garden and hopyard. Spent yeast is first heated (to kill it), after which is also is fed to the pigs or added to the compost along with spent hops. Brewers yeast is well-known for its nutritional properties, and we know that the animals love it!

Process water is re-used both within the brewery directly, and by using it for watering livestock and the gardens. Grey water is more of a challenge, as it can contain everything from traces of cleaners and sanitizers to floor sweepings and old beer. Since the cleaner we use actually helps in the breakdown of other solids, we do not need to worry about its presence in our grey water. The sanitizer we use breaks down to water and acetic acid, and needs only to be pH balanced before being added to a treatment system.

While the farm gets a clear benefit from the non-waste from the brewery, it also gives back to the brewery, producing hops and fruits which are used in our ales. We have brewed with our own raspberries, cherries, plums and crabapples so far, and we look forward to using other fruits and berries we produce.

"It's a brewmaster's dream to have such an abundance of fresh ingredients. I see all the raspberries out there and I just have to make beer with them," says Brian.

And did we say that we built most of this ourselves?