EDITED BY JAMIE COELHO
On Tap: The Art of Brewing An artist-turned-brewer makes her mark at a Cumberland brewery. By Lauren Clem
FOR ANDREA RIERA, brewing has always been an art form.
A native of Argentina who previously lived in Chile, Riera makes up half of the husbandand-wife brewer team at Phantom Farms Brewing, alongside her husband, Oscar Garrido. The couple headed up brewing operations at competing breweries in Chile before moving to the United States in 2023 to launch the brewing program at Phantom Farms. The twoyear-old brewery is located in Cumberland’ s former Berkeley Mill.
Last August, Riera completed a series of five murals in the taproom that were unveiled alongside a mural-inspired beer, a fruited sour made with mango and pineapple. Long before she discovered brewing, Riera was raised in a family of artists. Her mother is a sculptor, and two of her sisters— who have both designed labels for the brewery— are visual artists. As a child, she accompanied her mother to art classes and workshops, and later studied filmmaking in Buenos Aires.
At the same time she was launching her career in art, her family was discovering brewing. Her brother-in-law, sister-in-law and brother are all involved in the industry, with the latter two launching
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James Beard Boom
Several first-timers are on the list, including Jasmine Watson of Audette, Claudine, Loma, Jayd Bun and more.
T’ S NOW A REGULAR THING for Rhode Island to get its annual flowers from the James Beard Foundation. Last year, chef Sky Haneul Kim of Gift Horse won the 2025 award for Best Chef: Northeast, after Sherry Pocknett, owner of Sly Fox Den Too, won the title in 2023( unfortunately, Pocknett’ s restaurant closed soon after). This year, eight different Rhode Island-based chefs, restaurants, bars and professionals have earned spots on the 2026 James Beard Foundation Awards semifinalists list.
It is a first nod for Jasmine Watson, the executive chef at Audette in Newport, who is being recognized in the“ Emerging Chef” cate-
Cerveza Mauco brewery in Chile in 2015. Riera initially joined the venture as a graphic artist and brand manager. Later, she began to dabble in the production side and eventually rose to the position of master brewer.
“ I love flowing between chemistry and art; it’ s all so natural for me, but it’ s due to many years and the influence of many people passionate about what they do,” she says.
In a romance befitting two head brewers, she and her partner met at a beer festival, where Riera was pouring and Garrido was attending as a guest. They live with their four-year-old son on the Phantom Farms property in Cumberland and take a farmto-pint approach to brewing, sourcing ingredients from both the surrounding land and Chile. The brewery’ s three ciders are made from apples harvested at the farm, while the Aconcagua Mountain stout features merken, a smoked chili pepper originating from Chilean Patagonia.
Now, visitors to the brewery can not only enjoy the couple’ s beer and cider creations, but sip beneath the visual expression of Riera’ s art as well. phantomfarmsbrewing. com
Claudine in Providence. gory. Newcomer Claudine, temporarily closed due to water damage, is up for“ Best New Restaurant,” Loma earned recognition for“ Best New Bar,” and Jesse Hedberg of Club Frills is in the running for“ Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service.”
Rhode Island has several semifinalists in the“ Best Chef: Northeast” category, including Kevin O’ Donnell of Giusto in Newport, Annie Parisi of Jayd Bun in South Kingstown and Derek Wagner of Nicks on Broadway, who was also a finalist last year, and appeared on the“ Best Chef: Northeast” shortlist in 2016, 2017 and 2020.
Oberlin, fresh off its ten-year anniversary, is also up for the“ Outstanding Restaurant” category after being named a finalist last year. Chef Ben Sukle has garnered four appearances on the long list, two of which were for representing Oberlin.
Restaurant and chef finalist nominees will be announced March 31. Let’ s see what Rhode Island can do in 2026 with eight hats in the ring! jamesbeard. org— J. C. 🆁
PHOTOGRAPHY( CLOCKWISE FROM OPPOSITE PAGE, TOP LEFT): JAMIE COELHO; LAUREN CLEM; ANGEL TUCKER.
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