Outdoor activity for all seasons at Norbrook Farm Brewery

By Colleen Gundlach

Excitement has been mounting around town for the much-anticipated opening of Norbrook Farm Brewery, expected to begin operations later this year. This new business in town, owned by brothers John and Randy Auclair, promises to be much more than a place to taste their craft beer. A large part of the business will focus on the spectacular land surrounding the brewery.

Marked by two large stone pillars, the Norbrook Farm property straddles the Norfolk-Colebrook town line on Stillman Hill Road (Route 182). John Auclair plans to use the farm’s 472 acres and its existing 9.5 miles of trails around the brewery to provide a destination spot for outdoor activity.

Deanna Olivieri has been designing and mapping trails on Norbrook Farm this winter.

The brewery is working with with a trail-building firm from New York State to design additional recreational trails for Norbrook Farm. The firm’s partners have been working tirelessly this winter, oblivious to the snow and frigid temperatures, to get the trails designed, mapped and ready to build. “This is amazing terrain,” says trail builder Deanna Olivieri. “We are designing the trails to be used for mountain biking, hiking and cross-country skiing. The land is incredible, and Norbrook is going to be a great destination spot for people throughout the Northeast.”

Another planned activity is disc golf. This is a sport that has become popular among all age groups—millennials through boomers—and an 18-hole course is in the planning stages at Norbrook Farm Brewery. Disc golf uses Frisbee-like discs that are thrown at a basket-shaped target, with rules similar to those of golf.

The focal point of the business, of course, will be the brewery itself. Auclair says they will be growing their own hops and grains on the property and are working with a brew master to develop their specialty beers, which will focus on farmhouse ales. They will make the brews right on the property, using both a three-barrel system and a 15-barrel system.

In the grain room of the brewery, 50-pound bags of malted barley will be fed through an auger into a mill where the grain is cracked and moved into a grist case. The grain then goes to the mash tun where the starches and sugars are drawn down. Eventually the mixture passes to the brew kettle where the hops and flavorings are added. There it is cooked before passing to the fermentation tanks. Once fermentation is complete, the beer is transferred to special tanks for finishing, kegging or serving.

The logo of the brewery features wind turbines.

Norbrook Farm Brewery will feature a tasting room with a variety of beer releases on tap. Customers can sit in the bar area or at seating throughout the room, where they’ll be able to look out at the hop yard and surrounding hills. Light snacks will be served.

As with any new business, Norbrook Farm will bring a small number of specialized jobs to the area. Farmers, brewers, servers and delivery people will all be needed to make the brewery run efficiently. “We are looking forward to a great working relationship with the two towns,” says Auclair, “and with regional bars and restaurants that will serve Norbrook Farm Brewery products. Surely the people that our business will bring to town will have a positive impact on the whole area. The majority of them will buy something at a local store, have a meal, buy gas, etc.”

To be kept abreast of Norbrook Farm’s progress and opening, “like” their Facebook page, Norbrook Farm Brewery, or go to norbrookfarm.com to sign up for their mailing list.