That includes Dirt Farm’s strawberry wheat brew, a peach beer and a pumpkin beer. “Being able to grow stuff right on our property and take produce and covert into beer…gives us another value add to our agriculture.”
“The law created an opportunity for more businesses and farms to be part of this growing craft beer trend,” Zurschmeide said. After two years, their bill was approved in 2014 and Dirt Farm Brewery opened in 2015 at the top of dirt road. “It’s all fermentation,” he said.īut first they had to help change the state law that would give them permission to sell beer in the rural area.
Many of the skills making wine could be helpful in making beer, they figured. “We loved the vibe and the atmosphere and we thought we could do that here,” Bruce Zurschmeide, 45, said. Bruce and his wife, Janelle, conceived the idea of a brewery after a trip to Delaware that included a stop at Dogfish Head Brewery in Milton, Delaware. In 2007, they moved into wine making, opening Bluemont Vineyards. The Zurschmeide family has owned the farm since 1993 and has grown all types of produce including asparagus, pumpkins, and strawberries. But instead of looking out at rows of grapevines and tasting rieslings and cabernet sauvignons, customers at farm breweries admire hop vines that grow as tall as telephone poles and enjoy IPAs and porters.
The farm breweries in many ways are similar to the dozens of wineries that have become popular weekend destinations around Northern Virginia and Maryland. Both states approved the new farm brewery licenses in the past few years as a way to help farmers and grow agri-tourism. Maryland has about a dozen farm breweries and more on the way. These rural breweries take the beer making process to another level as by state laws they must cultivate some of their own ingredients on the brewery grounds.ĭirt Farm is one of 10 farm brewers in Virginia. It’s an early spring Saturday just after noon, and already the rustic tap room is mostly filled with guests enjoying brews, some tasty pizza and views of the countryside on the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.Īs craft brewing explodes nationally and particularly in the Mid-Atlantic states, farm brewing has become one of the hottest trends seeking to satisfy thirsts of beer lovers. “You can taste the farm fresh ingredients,” he said holding a glass of his Tarte 31, a cherry ale made with cherries grown on the 400-acre farm just outside in Bluemont, Va, about 50 miles west of Washington D.C. *Ohio has recently changed their laws since this answer, so my licensing comments are a little outdated.Bruce Zurschmeide stands on the expansive stone deck outside his Dirt Farm Brewing tap room and points to the acres of hops and barley plants below. Just ask the guys that resell all of that 3-5bbl equipment. It is also important to know that selling beer is not cost effective on small systems. Columbus is blessed with The Metropreneur. If you need legal advice beyond what you can find through the BA, get in touch with one of the many local entrepreneurial resources. Join the Brewers Association to access their much coveted Brewers Resource Directory. As you can see, wineries have it easy here. If I run a brewpub that also sells bottled beer in a store, I'll definitely need a lawyer! Here is the list of licenses in Ohio. If I were to sell out of a store, I must go through a state licensed distributor that will likely refuse if I am not already an established business. On top of all that, it cannot be sold out of my home as the location must be zoned industrial. If I want to pour tastings, that's another license.
Maryland homebrew instagram license#
I live in Ohio*, and in order to sell my beer I need a beer manufacturing license as well as a license to sell it on site. You need a business license and a liquor/beer license that fits your operation. Find the website for the liquor division of your state's department of commerce. Beer sales are regulated by state thanks to the three tier system currently in place.
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