n HOSPITALITY
O
ut among the winding roads and rolling fields of the
But do these three farm breweries in close proximity to
Placer County foothills, where vineyards thrive in the each other have enough of a draw to turn Placer County into
Mediterranean climate and wineries are plentiful, a a beer-cation destination — while returning craft brew to its
new kind of bucolic drinking experience has begun to roots?
flourish. Instead of symmetrical rows of grape vines,
these new establishments offer towering hop trellises, while BACK TO THE LAND
the smell of fermented grains fills the air.
Beer-wise, there are significant differences between the
When Dueling Dogs Brewing Co. opens its doors this year, three Placer County farm breweries. GoatHouse puts out
it will become the third farm brewery in the county, joining over 40 new small-batch beers a year, while the recently
four-year-old standard bearer GoatHouse and newcomer Hil- opened Hillenbrand Farmhaus sticks with a core five beers
lenbrand Farmhaus. While the three breweries have different (“I’m not doing anything next, I’m perfecting what I’ve got,”
business models and practice different brewing philosophies, says Hillenbrand), and Dueling Dogs plans to rotate up to
they all take the craft beer experience back to the land, grow- a dozen different beers, ciders and meads. One thing that
ing their own hops and using their own farm-grown produce unites all three breweries, though, is that they all started
in their brews, which are then served on-site.
with a parental desire to raise children in the country.
“It’s not a new concept, it’s the original concept of beer,”
“We were thinking of opening a tasting room in Al-
says Patric Hillenbrand, whose namesake brewery opened ameda, with the intention of us leaving and moving to
last autumn to near-capacity crowds. “This is farm area, and farmland,” says Catherine Johnson, who owns GoatHouse
I think with the whole
Brewing with husband and
winery concept, it’s just a
brewer Michael. “We always
perfect match.”
wanted space.” Likewise,
Centuries ago, beer
both single father Patric Hil-
was
cultivated
and
lenbrand and Dueling Dogs
stored like any other
owners and parents Earl and
farm staple, brewed from
Adriana Stephens bought
whatever excess grains
their land about a decade ago
were available at the
with the intention of raising
time and rationed out to
children in an agricultural
laborers. As the popu-
environment, but only got
larity of American craft
around to the farm brewery
beer ballooned in recent
component after GoatHouse
years, the classic farm-
pioneered the concept in the
— Patric Hillenbrand, owner, Hillenbrand Farmhaus
house model began to
region in 2013.
regain ground, mostly in
Michael Johnson was an
rural regions in New York, Vermont and Oregon. At the same avid homebrewer since before he was legally able to buy
time, beer tourism took off all over the country. In Grand Rap- booze. After he and Catherine’s two children were born,
ids, Mich., a city with fewer than 200,000 people, a 2015 study there was a new urgency to abandon city life to follow their
showed that beer tourism added over $12 million a year to the dual dreams of opening a brewery and moving to the coun-
local economy.
try. “We decided we might only have one shot, and maybe
Meanwhile, a 2016 list of the best small metro areas for we just do the farm,” says Catherine. “That means relocat-
craft beers compiled by Travelocity included Oregon cities ing our family, that means quitting corporate America, that
like Bend and Corvallis, places that offer a lot of the same ele- means a whole lifestyle change, not just starting a new busi-
ments as Placer County: an increasingly high concentration ness.”
of breweries, a balance between urban and rural experiences,
The Johnsons looked at over 300 properties before find-
and a strong connection to the land. “It’s no different than a ing the 11.5-acre land in Lincoln, which offered space for
place like Bend — it’s a destination place,” says Mike Moore, a brewery and tasting room, plus farmland for hops and
competition director for the State Fair’s California Commer- crops and living space for the family. Seven years ago, there
cial Beer competition. “You start something good, and that were few statewide precedents for the GoatHouse model,
attracts other people, and then it becomes a destination to and their unique concept baff led local officials who tried
drink fine beers.”
to categorize the pre-boom craft brewery as a restaurant or
“It’s not a new concept, it’s the
original concept of beer … This
is farm area, and I think with the
whole winery concept, it’s just a
perfect match.”
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comstocksmag.com | January 2018