I don't want to draw to much attention because I'd love to keep them to myself, but they deserve it. Tilted Barn Brewery down in Exeter, RI brews some great beers. If you're ever heading down 95 on a Saturday between 1-4, it's worth your while to stop in. The Chosen One is an excellent DIPA and Raffi reminds me a lot of PM Dawn. Anyone else given them a taste?
Not yet, but I was heading there for the first time tomorrow after hearing feedback from a traveled CT IPA lover and how Tilted Barn are making amazing IPA's.
went to Tilted on 11/7. They had First Harvest and jack available at the time. jack wasnt my bag but that First Harvest was awesome. reminded me a lot of Proc's Derivative, but still different in its own right. a bit more earthy than Derivative. great brew. cant wait to have more from TB. great folk there too. and friendly animals roaming around. fun place. and yes, the barn really is tilted.
Their 1st anniversary is this Saturday! https://bottlescansclaphands.wordpr...rewer-matt-richardson-of-tilted-barn-brewery/ Can you give us a brief bio? I was born and raised in RI. I went to college and lived in VT for four years before coming back to RI with Kara and settling down in Exeter. I went to Johnson State College in northern VT…a small school that is gaining a reputation for pumping out a lot of New England brewers these days — Mike Gerhart from Otter Creek, Matt Nadeau from Rock Art, Allen Van Anda from Lost Nation, among others. When did you start homebrewing? What was your first homebrew recipe/style? Kara bought me my first homebrew kit around 2005 or 2006. Before that I used to go to a brew-on-premise place in Warwick with my dad called Brewer’s Heaven. I knew I was hooked from the start. My first recipe at Brewer’s Heaven and my first homebrew were both American Browns. Still a favorite style for me. What inspired you to open Ocean State Hops? I was homebrewing at the time and Joel [Kara’s brother] brought some rhizomes home from work one day and said, “Hey, let’s throw these in the ground and see how they do.” This was around 2008 with the hop shortage, so we decided to plant a few more, then a few more, etc. Next thing we knew we had an acre of hops. Matt and Kara on the brewery’s opening day [11.22.14] When did you decide to make the leap and open the brewery? I was ready to make the leap from day one, it was Kara that needed the convincing. You’re the first — and only — farm brewery in Rhode Island. What are the main factors of that distinction/designation? This should be a really simple concept but unfortunately in RI it’s very complicated. We are a brewery on a farm, so I guess that’s the easiest way to think about it. When you start talking about licensing though, it’s tricky. The town of Exeter only allowed breweries in industrial zones. Obviously we’re not in an industrial area, so we ended up writing a Farm Brewery Ordinance for the town. It took a lot of meetings with the town and a public hearing, but in the end the Town Council passed the ordinance with a unanimous vote [Exeter has been very supportive through the whole process]. So according to Exeter, we’re a farm brewery. The state of RI doesn’t have a farm brewery license and we tried for many years to get one passed without any luck. The only license available from the state right now is a Manufacturer’s Brewers license, which is what we have. Hopefully RI comes around soon though and recognizes farm breweries for what they are. What are the advantages — and disadvantages — about brewing in a barn? Our barn has a lot of character and a lot of history. Aside from that, there really aren’t too many advantages, to be honest. It really is tilted, so it added a bit of a challenge to the construction of the original brewery and our ongoing expansion. We’re off the beaten path, so there aren’t any services like you would normally get in an urban area. We had to update everything in there to convert it into a brewery, which wasn’t cheap. Having said all that, I wouldn’t have it any other way. There’s something about brewing beer deep in the woods in a 100-plus-year-old barn. I love it. What’s the biggest misconception people have about the life of a brewer? When I tell people that we’re only open for sales for three hours every week I was always hear, “I’d love to only have to work for three hours.” I don’t think people realize how much work goes into every batch of beer: keg cleaning, transferring beer, yeast management, fixing equipment, cleaning bottles. Honestly, the last three hours of actually selling the beer and talking with customers is the easiest. I don’t even count that as work. Do you have a favorite Tilted Barn beer? And what are your favorite non-TBB beers? I have a new favorite every week. This week it’s First Harvest: Mosaic. Last week it was Peeptoad. It changes all the time for me. As for non-TBB beers, I always enjoy getting fresh, new offerings from local RI and New England breweries. Proclamation, Grey Sail, Trillium, Allagash, Bissel Brothers, etc. For me, it’s all about freshness. And supporting the local scene. Have you ever hit upon a solid brew as the result of a “happy accident”? Something that shouldn’t have worked, recipe-wise, but did? Honestly, not yet. I’m pretty calculated and methodical in my recipe-building. I guess I’ve been surprised by some subtle nuances that I’ve discovered, but I haven’t had that happy accident yet. I’m sure it will happen someday though. What’s the best reaction you’ve ever gotten to a beer? The best reaction for me is seeing our regulars every week. The fact that these people come week in and week out is a testament to how much they like our beer and for me, that’s the best reaction you can ask for. The Chosen One won the gold medal in the Double IPA category at the 19th Annual Great International Beer and Cider Competition. What was your reaction when you heard the news? I was pretty psyched, you could say. Before this year’s GIBC I had never entered any of my beers in a competition, homebrew or professional. We entered three beers and came away with two medals [including bronze for the Raffi in the Stout category]. I was floored. Any reflections on your first year? As soon as I get five minutes to sit down and relax I’m sure that will happen! How is the expansion going? What is your current production and what will the new output be? The expansion is coming along great. The new brewery space is nearly complete and we’ve started to turn our attention on the rest of the barn for the new tasting room — bigger bar, more draft lines, better “hang-out” area. We’re more than tripling in size and production. Right now we’re on a two-barrel system and we’ll have a seven-barrel system online by the spring. What do you envision in 2016 for TBB? Do you envision a time when TBB will be your full-time job? In 2016 we’re planning on putting out a lot more beer and expanding our retail hours. Ideally, we’ll be open two weekday nights plus our Saturday afternoon hours. If all goes well we may be on tap at a handful of places too, but we’re going to keep the focus on most of our beers to come right from the brewery. We’ve got some new recipes planned already and have plans for bottle releases too. I envision TBB being my “only” full-time job almost every day. It’s only a matter of time… • • • From the TBB Facebook page: This weekend we’re turning 1 here at the Barn and you’re all invited. We’ll have Walrus & Carpenter back shuckin’ oysters, Farm and Forest making their wood-fired pizza, and live music from The Mosaics. Tap list for the day is Chosen One DIPA, Raffi Oatmeal Stout, and Farm Girl IPA. We’ll also have a limited amount of pre-filled jack. growlers (first come first served). This all takes place Saturday the 21st from 1-4. No tickets necessary and no entrance fee, just come on by any time from 1-4. Hope to see you there. Cheers! Matt & Kara
FANTASTIC beer and people! Our youngest son has his driver's permit and needs hours. I take him out for drives on the weekend ... uncanny how we are always out 1-4 on Saturdays with my empty Tilted Barn swing cap growlers. Such are the sacrifices I make.
And that driveway is a great training exercise when you have a car bearing down on you from the other direction. You get to learn to fit the car into a tight shoulder!
If you are a fan of Tilted Barn's beers, don't forget to stop by for your Christmas trees. Just brought the whole family and found a great tree. Support local.
