Spring has sprung

March has been a busy month for us here at the Plan Bee Farm Brewery. We have been working outside through the warm sunny days and the many Nor Easters. Even though the calendar is telling us Spring is here, the winter chill has not lifted from Fiskhill, NY.

On the farm this month, we built 5 raised beds from recycled lumber, we have cleared brush and briars from a 20' x 10' spot behind the house and we have begun weeding and raking up the flower bed. There have been morning chats about a fire pit, hammocks, bee hives and a chicken coop. The evening temperatures are still landing somewhere in the 20's so we will have to wait for the soil to thaw before we can start working the dirt. 

On the business side, we have registered Plan Bee Farm Brewery as a LLC and our EIN from the IRS is on it's way. Next steps will be to get our license through the New York State Liquor Authority before filling out the application to become one of the very first New York State Farm Breweries. Thank you Governor Andrew Cuomo for the legislation to make this whole venture a little easier. For the full farm brewery bill, click here.

We have a Facebook page now as well, check it out here. I just posted over 50 new photos of becoming Plan Bee Farm Brewery. 

Moving to the Farm

On January 26th, Evan and I moved from our apartment in Dobbs Ferry, NY to a house on a small vegetable farm in Fishkill, NY. The previous tenants didn't farm the 1/4 acre so there is a lot of work to be done to get it back in working order.

The house is a 3 bedroom, 2 full bath with a large kitchen, wood burning stove, master bedroom with walk-in closet, and the cherry on top is the full length of the house sunroom. One of my favorite areas to enjoy a book while listening to a vinyl record is the couch next to a fire, under the sky light where I can see clouds floating by.

In addition to the house, the property has a small enclosed, heated building that Evan is using as the brewery. It was once used by the owner for her own small business so it has a sink, plenty of shelving, electricity, and a large window looking over the farm. The fire wood is housed under an overhang attached to the 'brewery' which we will have to replenish as things start to warm up outside.

The sunroom on moving day

The brewery during the blizzard

The landlord did tell us the property has two peach trees, an apple tree, wild grapes, blackberries and mint which consistently produces even when neglected. The land is over grown with tall grasses, there is a pile of building materials in the back, small toys and bird houses scattered around the lawn and the back of the property feeds into 5,000 acres of public, preserved lands. Did I mention we have some work yet to do?

Our goal for the hen house

There is much on the calendar for 2013 but just looking at March, we have 3 main objectives:

1. To build all our 10' x 4' raised beds for our brewer's garden which will have many aromatic herbs, fruits and vegetables 
2. Convert an old dog house into a chicken coop (yes, we will have some laying hens!)
3. Complete our paperwork for becoming an LLC with an operating Farm Brewery License

Looking ahead, we have 100 hop rhizomes on their way, we have to purchase the seeds/started plants for the farm, we need our 3 chicks, and Evan needs to convert the equipment he purchased for brewing into working order. Spring is on our doorstep, we need to be ready to greet her so she can share her magic with us and help turn this soil into deliciously fresh, from-the-earth beer!