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08/26/2019 12:00 AMWith Stewards of the Land Farm Brewery, Alex DeFrancesco said he's tying together new laws which support diversification in farming while bringing back the idea of neighbors gathering at a local tavern selling brews made on-site, with locally grown ingredients.
"My dream, back when we had only a handful of breweries in existence in Connecticut, was to make a farm brewery that was what breweries used to be centuries ago. You used what was local – a horse and wagon brought ingredients to you," he said. "That's what you should be doing, rather than bringing something from the west coast or Europe or Australia. That's the concept here. We're trying to bring back the original tavern in town."
Last week, with several interested officials by his side, DeFrancesco shared a sneak peek of work underway at the former farmhouse that is being turned into the new Stewards of the Land farm brewery at 418 Forest Road. DeFrancesco offered the impromptu tour to U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, CT. Dept. of Agriculture Commissioner Bryan Hurlburt, state Senator Christine Cohen (D-District 12), and state Representative Vincent Candelora (R-District 86) following their review of the DeFrancesco Farm's inaugural hemp crop (see related story). Also joining the group was Phil Pappas, Executive Director of CT Brewer's Group.
DeFrancesco said the hope is to have the brewery up and running so that a soft opening can roll out in September, with a grand opening expected to take place in October. Work to develop the former 19th century farmhouse into a brewery and tap room began soon after the concept was approved by the town in late 2018. Stewards of the Land is located at the corner of Forest and Augur Road on 16 acres of farmland which abuts the Farm River. The DeFrancesco family has approximately 100 acres of farmland in use seasonally along the Farm River corridor, as well as acres of greenhouses which grow products year-round, said er Joe DeFrancesco III, Alex DeFrancesco's older brother.
The family purchased the property at 418 Forest Road several years ago. Inspired by the nation's growing interest in craft beer, Alex DeFrancesco began considering the idea of growing hops and brewing his own beer about seven years ago, he said. The farm began growing hops four years ago.
"After we'd do the fields and greenhouses, I used to come in and do test batches; and then I'd wake up at 4:30 in the morning and go back into the fields," said DeFrancesco. "Joe's been my mentor in the fields -- everything I learned in the fields, I learned from Joe. When I wanted to do hops as a specialty crop, Joe and my father said, 'You have to prove to us you can grow them here.' And that's how the test yard got created, and then we did the full two acres after that."
Alex, Joe, and their brothers Michael and Darren make up the fourth generation to work the farm operation, together with their parents, third-generation farm owners Joe DeFrancesco Jr. and Linda DeFrancesco.
Stewards of the Land will not only incorporate DeFrancesco Farm's hops into its brews – with this year's addition of hemp grown on the farm, it will become the state's first farm brewery to offer a brew incorporating hemp that's grown by the farm brewery, said Alex DeFrancesco.
Another of many local ingredients DeFrancesco is excited incorporate into one of the brewery's craft beers? Lavender. It will grow in a corner garden a stone's throw from the brewery's old-fashioned front porch, said DeFrancesco.
"We have 400 lavender plants in the greenhouse that are going to go in that corner," said DeFrancesco. "When the lavender flowers flower, we'll actually use that in one of our batches of beer. So not only does that corner get beautiful with the flowers, but it also goes into the brewery."
The main floor of the farmhouse, remodeled as the brewery's tap room, includes a rear wall incorporating a cut-away view down into the brewery operation, overlooked by large windows framing farm fields out back. Reclaimed red oak studs from the farmhouse trim the generous, curved bar, which will have a granite top that "...looks like the rocks in the Farm River," said DeFrancesco.
Other touches of reclaimed red oak beams and other uses of wood throughout the interior space blend with elements of stone masonry on the walls.
"We wanted to bring back the whole tavernesque feel of how they used to combine the wood and the stone in the old houses," said DeFrancesco.
Between spaces at the bar, tables and chairs filling the main floor and loveseat by the fireplace, Stewards of the Land will seat between 80 - 90 guests in the tap room. A future phase of construction will add an outdoor patio for more patron space.
"Down the road, we're going to do a patio off to the [parking area] side," said DeFrancesco.
Bringing up the grade to help better incorporate handicapped access created some delays to construction, as the Town required a site revision for the change. DeFrancesco said his goal was to ensure that the type of handicapped ramp approved for the brewery would be one that would be welcoming, like the tavern itself.
"We have a lot of veterans in town, and we want it to be handicapped accessible and friendly – we want them to be able to come straight in," he said.
The opening of Stewards of the Land will closely follow that of state's first farm brewery, Maple View Farm in Granby, which opened in March, said DeFrancesco.
"They were the first to open and use legislation that the [CT] Department of Agriculture helped pen with us and get going," said DeFrancesco. "It's exciting to see what they are doing."
Hurlburt new legislation allowing for farm breweries and industrial hemp crops is helping to create opportunities for CT farms to continue to succeed.
"One of the best ways to preserve farmland is by making sure that farming can be profitable. By creating opportunities for farmers to diversify their crop, bring in new crops, and do different things, then their business operation preserves land. So we've created the policy framework for them to be more successful, and to do what they need to do," said Hurlburt. "The most important farmland preservation program is a successful farm operation. That's what we want to support."
DeFrancesco is also grateful to the Town of North Branford, which amended its zoning regulations in 2018 to allow for farm breweries; followed by approving DeFrancesco's special permit application for the town's first farm brewery operation. DeFrancesco, who also serves the town as a member of North Branford's Planning and Zoning Commission (PZC), recused himself from the farm brewery zoning and special permit process. As a PZC member, he's also been following the current progress of the 10-year update of the Town's Plan of Conservation and Development.
"The nice thing is with our town, our current plan of conservation and the future one that they're getting ready to approve in the next few months, really advocates for keeping farm land, farm land -- and keeping open space here," said DeFrancesco. "Because once you develop land; it's ridiculous the amount of money you have to put in to get one acre back to farmland status. That's why we want to keep our farmland, farmland - and we want to preserve the Farm River corridor here."
Candelora said he's proud to be part of a process in which state and local support has helped to bring Stewards of the Land to North Branford.
"This is a project that everyone got behind and is excited about. It definitely fits in with the agricultural climate of North Branford, and its amazing to see the tenacity of how long it took to get to where the DeFrancescos are," said Candelora. "And this is something that's going to ensure that this farm is here for future generations. So their ability to adapt to the changing climate of farming; and going from hops to beer and providing that type of entertainment for people, is going to do a lot not just for their own farm, but for the entire town. Because we're starting to see that we're getting an agricultural niche with farm breweries and farm wineries in this area."
The town's first farm winery, Rosabianca Vineyards, opened at 536 Middletown Ave. in Northford in 2015; while the town's second farm winery, Rose Vineyards and Winery at 33 Branford Road in North Branford, is coming soon.
The emergence of farm wineries and now, a farm brewery in North Branford is a "...farm success story," said Cohen.
"It's a farm success story, especially as we see more and more farms go by the wayside. It's so nice to see them growing and diversifying," said Cohen. "It's also going to bring in tourism to North Branford. So it's an exciting thing, and an exciting time."