【𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬’ 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲．𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐬 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐬 - 𝐓𝐢𝐦 𝐀𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐬, 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐎𝐱𝐛𝐨𝐰】
The shortest route isn’t always the best route.
What’s the rush though? Good beers take time to create. Just like the name of the brewery implies, the horseshoe-shaped oxbows might have slowed down the flow of the river, yet these beautiful bends are what made the Dyer River so stunning; it might take months or years to create an Oxbow beer, yet the longer it takes, the more you can appreciate the beauty of their beers.
The uniqueness of Oxbow’s beer stemmed from Tim Adams’, founder of Oxbow Brewing Company, determination to run an authentic farmhouse brewery. Some breweries choose to brew farmhouse-style beers in industrial park warehouses, however, Tim insists that the farmhouse brewery is a very specific creature, one that needs a physical farmhouse to thrive. In his words, “Authentic farmhouse brewing requires a rural location and well water.” He still thinks the beers taste best when they’re connected to the land they spring from.
It’s simply impossible to talk about a farmhouse brewery without talking about its farm. The brewery is in a converted barn located in rural Newcastle, Maine. All Oxbow beers are brewed with the soft spring water drawn from an artesian well that sits adjacent to the brewery. Behind the brewery is the Oxbow farm and fruit orchard where, during the warm season, fruit is grown and honey is produced to use in terroir-driven beers that feature these estate ingredients.
To fully embrace the wonderfully nuanced farmhouse characters of Oxbow’s beers, it’s only appropriate to divide them into three categories, Flora, Funk & Fruit in our upcoming Tap Takeovers. Join us for a stroll down the bends of the river and savor the true-hearted farmhouse experience at Second Draft, Blue Supreme, Moonkok on 29 Jan, 5 Feb and 12 Feb! Check out the full beer list here.
【釀酒師的故事．來自森林的禮物・𝐎𝐱𝐛𝐨𝐰創辦人 - 𝐓𝐢𝐦 𝐀𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐬】
Oxbow一字有「牛軛」、河流彎曲之處嘅意思。Oxbow Brewing Company嘅釀酒風格就好似彎彎曲曲嘅河流一樣，望落去迂迴曲折，好似行咗好多冤枉路；你可以選擇走捷徑，快啲到達終點，但咁急趕住去邊呢？好酒需要時間蘊釀，不如慢慢來、順住水流，一齊同Oxbow創辦人Tim Adams感受一下河流的潮起潮落啦！
選擇釀農舍啤酒，除咗係因為自釀出身嘅Tim非常欣賞呢個比利時酒款之外，亦都係因為呢種啤酒嘅可塑性：「部份傳統啤酒有好多原料、釀造程序上嘅規範；相比之下，農舍啤酒就無呢啲規範，比我哋有非常大嘅實驗空間。」從天然發酵、酒桶陳釀，以至將水果、蜂蜜入酒，喺Oxbow酒廠裡面，幾乎冇嘢係無可能。由Tim帶領嘅釀酒團隊將酒廠視為遊樂場，以現代、創新嘅釀酒方法試驗出與別不同嘅農舍啤酒。
Tim其中一個不能妥協嘅堅持，係要將呢個遊樂場設喺老家緬因州裡面嘅一個杳無人煙嘅森林。有唔少酒廠喺城市嘅工廈、貨倉裡面釀農舍啤酒，但阿Tim認為，「要叫自己做真正嘅農舍酒廠，點都要有個農莊同水井！」而Oxbow嘅啤酒絕對反映咗緬因州呢片農地同水源嘅特色——所有啤酒都用上當地嘅井水釀造；天然發酵同酒桶陳釀嘅啤酒都非常依賴酒廠嘅野生酵母同風土條件；入酒嘅水果、蜂蜜全部都來自當地果園、酒廠自設嘅養蜂場——Oxbow嘅啤酒，生於斯長於斯，無論係香氣同味道都散發住阿Tim描述嘅風土特色、同佢情有獨鍾嘅本土情懷。
要完全體驗Oxbow咁獨特鮮明嘅農舍啤酒風格，一定要去哂嚟緊三個Tap Takeover：𝗙𝗟𝗢𝗥𝗔——1月29號去 Second Draft 同農莊花草、蜜蜂玩遊戲；𝗙𝗨𝗡𝗞——2月5號去 Blue Supreme 體驗酒桶陳釀、野生酵母嘅風土滋味；𝗙𝗥𝗨𝗜𝗧——2月12號去 Moonkok 品嚐來自Oxbow果園的味道。快啲去呢度睇哂所有啤酒嘅資料啦！
