Betting the Farm on Wolves and People

Most farmhouse ales aren't brewed anywhere near a farm. And that's fine. It's a style after all. But there's something magical about sipping a farmhouse ale that was actually made on a farm from ingredients grown there, just like they used to be. Logsdon Farmhouse Ales near Hood River has been one of Oregon's only truly farmhouse breweries, but now beer writer and Oregon native Christian DeBenedetti is launching one of his own, on his family's hazelnut farm in Newberg.

Named in part after a nighttime game of tag he played on the 21-acre property as a kid, Wolves and People will specialize in Belgian-style farmhouse ales, made with wild yeasts isolated from fruit trees in the orchard, and aged in barrels sourced from wineries nearby. DeBenedetti plans to grow much of his own hops and use ingredients from the farm, and the beers will be brewed in the beautiful old barn, which is listed on the national historic registry.

The result will be beers with a sense of place. History in a bottle. And once the barn's tasting room is finished, it'll bring beer tourism to a wine-soaked region. Jordan Keeper, formerly of Jester King, a farmhouse bewery outside of Austin, Texas, has moved to Oregon to take on the role of consulting head brewer.

DeBenedetti has much of his equipment, but he's currently raising funds on CrowdBrewed to finish the job of turning the old barn into a working brewery with an ADA-accessible tasting room. He's aiming for a spring 2015 opening. Pledge rewards include t-shirts, tours and bottles of the limited-edition beers. If you want to make sure you get a taste of one of the first releases, now's the time to get in on the action before the funding period ends Nov. 30.