Hive Membership OPEN!

Below are the details of the Hive membership for 2016. If you are interested, please click HERE and complete the application page. Spots are limited so please email your completed application right away to emily@planbeefarmbrewery.com

Thanks for your support! 

Renovations are underway!

Plan Bee started renovations this August on the 1830's barn located on the 25 acre farm that we purchased in May 2015. Things have been moving along as we have been working on shoring up the foundation. It is amazing that the barn was built on hand laid stones with no mortar! It is beautiful work but isn't strong enough to support our new 10 bbl brew house which is due to arrive at the end of October. Steel and concrete reinforcements are needed!

In the month of September, we will be finishing up the foundation work and moving onto the brew house design. We hope to be finished and ready to go before mid October so we have time before the custom made brewing equipment from Brewmation in Fishkill arrive to the farm. Once the tanks arrive, we will work on getting the equipment up and running. We hope to brew the first batch of beer which will go into barrels before Thanksgiving. Fingers crossed!

We bought the farm!

Exciting news! On May 5th, 2015 we officially closed on the 25-acre farm in the Town of Poughkeepsie. Our goal is to be brewing on our new 10 bbl system before the end of 2015 and we hope to invite the public in to see the farm and facility by Spring 2016. Until then, we can still find us at the Beacon Farmers Market every Sunday from 10 AM to 3 PM. 

 

The day of the closing we went to the farm and
watched the sunset. So happy to be on the farm!!

Why the Expansion?

In order for Plan Bee Farm Brewery to fully achieve our mission of growing and processing all our ingredients, we must move to a larger property. Our current location in Fishkill is less than an acre in size, which makes us unable to produce our own grain, whereas the farm property in Poughkeepsie is 25 farmable acres. On this property, we intend to expand our hop fields; add an orchard; increase the growth of aromatic herbs, fruits and vegetables; and begin growing and malting our own barley, wheat and rye grains. There is a barn on the farm that was built in the 1800’s in which we intend on moving our production after making renovations.

The demand from the public for Plan Bee Farm Brewery’s brews has been astounding. In June 2014, we saw our bottle sales jump, thanks to everyone's support. As the demand grew in our first year, we had to enforce bottle restrictions per customer and we had to increase the number of days we brew per week. However, even with these restrictions, we are still unable to meet the demand of our community. Although most craft breweries begin their operations with 15-20 barrel systems, we have elected to start with a 10 barrel system given our aim of producing 100% NYS ingredient beers and in light of our crop growing potential. The expansion of our brewhouse will allow us to better meet the demand from our community. 

What to expect in 2015-2016

The Barn: The barn once renovated will hold our ten-barrel brewhouse, bottling line, packaging materials and two ten-barrel oak, open fermenters. We will use the cellar of the barn to house our cooperage for barrel aging and our coolship (a traditional Belgian farmhouse vessel used to cool beer and collect microflora/terroir). This structure will house all our needs for beer production and storage.

The Shed: We will need to build an additional structure to house our tractor, combine, grain cleaner, gravity wagon, grain drill, floor malting, etc. This structure will be used for our farming operations and malt production only.

Farmland: The farm is laid out on a ridge and has a variety of soil types.

Northwest Fields: We intend on planting grain, which we will put on a crop rotation that includes red clover, buckwheat, and other useable crops. We haven't quite determined the exact rotation but are working with other farmers and farm managers to make a plan!

Northeastern Fields: We hope to put in an orchard in this region that will include 6 beehives (an increase from our current 2 hives). We hope to include fruit bushes eventually.

Eastern Fields: The lower fields are not very well drained but we intend on using this to our advantage. We want to put our hop fields here as these fields are wetter and thus more suitable for the growth of hops. We will need to install a trellis system here as hops grow vertically up to 30 ft.

Southwest Fields: There is a cleared pasture on the property that is currently housing our neighbors cows. We intend on using this field for grain production as well for which we will utilize in a crop rotation program.

Center Fields: The barn is located in the very center of the property. We intend on building raised beds that will be located on the north facing side of the barn. This is where we will grow our herbs, fruits and vegetables that we will use in our seasonal beer recipes.

SO much work ahead of us but our excitement and determination along with all of your support is propelling us forward!
 

Plan Bee in 2015

Plan Bee Farm Brewery has bought the farm! We are currently in the process of moving our operation to the Town of Poughkeepsie where we are securing a 25 acre farm and renovating an 1820's 3-story barn to become the future brewery, retail space and tasting room. We currently have a 1-barrel brewhouse on Clove Road in Fishkill but the new brewery would feature an 8 barrel system. Our goal is never to grow too large as we will always maintain 100% NYS ingredient brews so we will be at full capacity with our 8 barrel system. Instead of growing vertically as a business, we are discussing horizontal growth in the future which would include things like farm school for children, brewers school for home brewers, concerts and music events, etc. All of these additional operations would carry on the mission of providing for the community by the community. 

Our goal is to have the new brewhouse up and running by Fall 2015 and to open the tasting room and farm grounds for agro tourism the following year. We will still maintain our outlets for bottle sales at the Beacon Farmers Market and as our production increases we will be found at more farmers markets in the area. Again, no distribution for Plan Bee. We want to maintain the intimacy of our sales coming directly from our hands to the community. Lots of planning is underway for this year! 

Frequently Asked Questions

I just wanted to write a quick note because I have gotten a lot of questions about where our beer can be found and our website not being clear enough.

Our website is only updated quarterly because we have a web designer that makes these updates to www.planbeefarmbrewery.com but our Facebook page is updated daily! If you have questions or concerns about when our farm stand will be open or where you can purchase our beers, I would suggest going to our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Plan-Bee-Farm-Brewery/441721552570629?ref=hl

You can also email us directly at info@planbeefarmbrewery.com
Thank you for all your support!
Plan Bee Farm Brewery

Highlights

I just wanted to give everyone a few highlighted updates about Plan Bee Farm Brewery -

• As many of you know we have our federal license from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau + our NYS Farm Brewery license from the State Liquor Authority
• We are all set up with our Certificate of Authority from the Dept. of Taxation and Finance so that we have the authority to sell you all our creations 
• We have started production and have brewed up some tantalizing beers just in time for the holidays
• "Tiny Acorn" - An acorn squash ale with 100% NYS malt from Farmhouse Maltery, and Plan Bee Farm Brewery's very own hops, lemongrass & coriander. And like our name, this tasty treat was bottle carbonated with our very own PBFB honey. 
• "Tachiniki" - The name for this brew comes from the history of our surrounding land. Tachiniki was the name of a young woman from the Wappinger Tribe who was shot by a dutch settler in 1650 for picking a peach from his orchard. This action enacted THE PEACH TREE WAR throughout the entire Hudson Valley. This unique beer has NY malt, NY hops and NY yeast. We cultured the yeast from our very own peach tree on the farm. Fresh, this beer will taste spicy and fruity but this might be a brew to let age to discover its funkier flavors. 
• "Chocolate Rye" - This was a divine dream made possible by Tuthilltown Spirits, our local farm distillery. We put PBFB farm-fresh NY chocolate rye ale into a Tuthilltown rye whiskey barrel and let age. Can someone say, "Mommy needs her mommy-juice"? This is delicious and quite the winter-warmer. 
• "Santa's Big Helper" - Naughty or nice, this is a kick in the pants from the Big Man. A belgian tripel that was aged in Tuthilltown's bourbon barrel is full flavored. A sweet and boozy treat, this beer is in very limited supply. A good one to share with others around a fire. 
• The Plan Bee Farm Brewery official website is under construction and I am using this blog as a place holder right now. Hopefully before 2014 is here, I will have a shiny new website for you to land on with a ton more information. The NY local web builder and gifted artist Rachel Kwapien is preparing something just beautiful and I can't wait to share with you her craft!
• We are working diligently to get all our paperwork in order to bring our product into the community of Beacon, NY at their local indoor winter farmer's market. We are shooting for Sunday, December 15th from 11AM to 3PM. More to come soon! 
• Also in the works, we are building a farm stand at 14 Clove Road. As part of the farm brewery license, we are permitted to sell beer on the side of the road just like any farm stead that might be selling corn or eggs. We are working up the blueprints for our own little stand right on the premise. There will be more information and pictures to come! 
• We are working with Sloop Brewery at the moment to do a cask event. I don't have the details locked down yet but as soon as it is all squared away I will be sure to send out that information.

We have been keeping up with our Plan Bee Farm Brewery Facebook page so if you want to receive more frequent updates, you should 'like' our page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Plan-Bee-Farm-Brewery/441721552570629 

Autumn is upon us

Autumn is here! The leaves in the Hudson Valley are brilliant colors of red, purple, yellow and green. Since we moved to the farm in January of this year, this is our first fall experiencing all the colors. It truly is breathe taking!

The chickens have started to lay their eggs which has been very exciting for us. Each morning we open up their hen house to find little white and brown treasures. We are getting between 2-3 eggs a day so far which tells me only two of the hens are probably laying at this time. The eggs are perfect in shape but a bit small. Their yokes are bright orange-yellow and the texture is fluffy no matter how they are cooked. Eating a farm fresh egg in the morning as the leaves glide down from above gives me the sense there is magic in the air. 

The brewery is moving full speed ahead. We received our federal license this summer and we just heard informally that we were approved for our NYS Farm Brewery license as well! We are just waiting for the formal letter in the mail. This means we will be selling Plan Bee Farm Brewery ground to glass beers in the year 2013! Evan and I got out the credit card and started buying NY made 22 oz. bottles, recycled labels, and so more brewing equipment. We want to have holiday bottles ready for purchase in a few weeks. Brews in the works right now are a chocolate rye that is aging in Tuthilltown rye whiskey barrels, Santa's Big Helper which is a high alcohol holiday brew, our peach tree fruit beer, and we just roasted acorn squash from local J & A Farms last night which will go into a squash beer with fresh curry herb from our farm. Get ready!!!

Coming up in November, we will be formally developing our website with more information about our beers and where you can find them. We are also working out the details for a farm support program which would include our fresh brews delivered directly to your doorstep for a monthly membership. More information and ways to get involved in the next few weeks!