Our Christmas edition this year takes a different track to prior years, as we are out ‘on location’ visiting with Penny and Nate Peterson who are owners/farmer/brewer at Wishful Acres Farm & Brewery in Lena IL. They established the farm in 2009 and then 5 years later opened the micro-brewery and haven’t looked back since.
We hear about how they came to obtain the property and the steps they took to set this old farm and house as a working produce farm and brewery. Both Nate and Penny decided that they needed to get away from the city life and head into the quieter pace of the country, and it has been proven to be hard work, but very satisfying and now they have a thriving business. As we have found, their taproom has become a center for community gathering, including their annual ‘May the Fourth’ celebration of Star Wars, of which Nate is a huge fan.
Nate talks about using their produce in their beers, including the hops he grows, and the honey they get from some hives on their property. He grows 5 varieties, but has problems with Fuggles due to the Asian beetle, but Penny thinks Nate has a ‘hop’ problem! We also hear about the cooperative program that they are part of for the produce. Their selection of brews on tap are varied and good, and we taste a few, just for quality control purposes! In our final segment, we join a great conversation that started ‘off-mic’ but had Nate interviewing Ken about pastry styles.
The Peterson’s have a welcoming location and great beers, so head west for a visit to this brewery and taproom…in the summer there is a wonderful patio to take advantage as well!
Brews Sampled:
- Tijuana Boots, Mexican Lager
- Treacle Imperial Stout, Nitro,
- Stratosphere IPA
- Dubbel Dribble – Belgian Dubbel
- Winter Spice – spiced ale
Play the show from the PodBean player, or our player below…
