Next Draft

THE NEXT DRAFT Stone Cow Brewery’s hop-picking tradition continues

Matthew Tota

Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

BARRE – As I harvested a large bundle of dark green cascade hop bines at Stone Cow Brewery last weekend, I thought this had to have been what the state’s Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission intended when it created the farmer-brewery license.

Maybe at one time the ABCC believed the license, by far the most popular of the three brewing licenses in the state, would lead more farms to grow hops and barley, or more breweries to start sowing their own fields. It hasn’t.

The license, developed in 1982, does require that a brewery use some Massachusettsgrown ingredients, but doesn’t mandate a percentage. Although, in a 2011 ruling denying Malden’s Idle Hands Craft Ales an application for a farmerbrewery license, the ABCC did warn it would that year begin stipulating that farmer brewers grow 50% of the grains and hops they use in each beer. It didn’t.

No, the farmer-brewery license just offers small to midsize breweries a fast, sensible path to market, allowing them to sell beer from their taprooms and freely self-distribute, unlike the other two licenses, manufacturer of wine and malt beverage and pub brewery.

And yet, most farmer breweries, whether in urban or bucolic settings, have embraced the spirit of the license. There has been a noticeable push in recent years from breweries, even those with other licenses, wanting to use more local ingredients, whether grown themselves or on a farm somewhere in the state.

Rarely do I see and touch and smell the malted barley or hops in my beer. But the few opportunities I’ve had to sit in on a brewing session or an ingredient tasting, then drink the resulting beer, have been the most rewarding experiences.

Imagine, then, how brewers must feel when they use their own ingredients, whether honey from beehives at their brewery or hops grown in their own little plot of land.

Stone Cow first planted hops in the spring of 2016, painstakingly digging up the earth near its brewery barn to bury the rhizomes, essentially the stems of the hop bines. Some 500 bines — not vines, because the plants

Byron Are of North Brookfield harvests hops cones at Stone Cow Brewery Sept. 5.

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climb with their stems instead of their tendrils — would shoot up from the ground, controlled as they grew taller by trellises and twine. Each year the hops have come in a little stronger, though the heavy rains this summer did not make for an ideal growing season.

I joined about a dozen parttime pickers Saturday under Stone Cow’s pavilion, all of whom did not seem to notice whether it had been a bad year for the typically hardy, climbing perennial. They were dutifully plucking the hop cones, one by one, aiming to fill their aluminum trays with at least a pound of hops. Their reward was a free pint.

The cones — or flowers — are beautiful creations of nature, with layers and layers of delicate petals. They have a crisp citrus aroma, amplified when you rip the cone open to reveal the sticky golden yellow lupulin, a substance that is as complex as the beers it flavors.

“We’re after this yellow lupulin,” Stone Cow co-founder and brewer Sean DuBois said. “That is what gives the beer flavor and bitterness. It’s also the reason why hops were used in beer in the first place: It’s a preservative. Back when people made beer and put it in barrels on ships at room temperature out at sea for months and months and months, hops made it so their beer might stay drinkable.”

All told, Stone Cow harvested 150 pounds of hops thanks to its helpful customers. We will get to taste “Can’t Stop WET HOP,” the ale where the hops were bound, sometime soon. The beer’s name, DuBois told me, came about during the first harvest, in honor of one of the 100 pickers who showed up to help that day. She couldn’t hide her enthusiasm, he said, probably picked a good 10 pounds of hops and kept repeating, “can’t stop.”

Stone Cow, which calls the fifth-generation Carter & Stevens Farm home, considers its farmer-brewery license not as a legal permit but a way of life. And of the more than 130 breweries in the state with the license, Stone Cow is one of the few actually deserving of the title farmer-brewer.

The IPA Stone Cow brews with its own hops could easily be the best I ever drink, because I smelled the zesty grapefruit of the cascade hop flowers, broke them open and got the sticky oils on my fingers. The hops are not mere tasting notes on a label.

“I think people deep down know that it is right to know where your food comes from,” DuBois said. “As a modern-day population, so many people go to the grocery store and buy food that comes out of a factory, more human-made than nature-made. People gravitate to this because it puts them in direct connection with their food source. These hops are going into a beer, and everybody that helped pick today has a direct connection to that beer. We often find they’ll come back to try the beer, because they feel a part of it.”

Joe Wagher pulls apart bines of hops for harvesting at Stone Cow Brewery in Barre. PHOTOS BY RICK CINCLAIR/TELEGRAM & GAZETTE

Cascade hops cones are harvested at Stone Cow Brewery.

Hoppin’

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Ziggy Bombs top sellers.

Devish’s home base is Lucky’s Café in Worcester, where his first pop-up this summer attracted nearly 300 people. Plans are in the works for more events, including several at Wormtown Brewery in Worcester this fall. The next pop-up at Lucky’s, 1021⁄2 Grove St., is scheduled from 5 to 8 p.m. Sept. 24. There also are ongoing talks with other city business owners about future pop-ups.

Devish definitely is a chef on the move!

He first launched Ziggy Bombs earlier this year and is ecstatic that it’s now LLC (limited liability company). In addition to running the business, Devish holds down two jobs, working full time at Lucky’s Café as a cook and helping plan daily specials, and part time at the Fix Burger Bar on Grove Street. He previously cooked at Bushel ‘N’ Peck on Chandler Street in Worcester.

Devish has a goal to open a steak and cheese spot early next year. He has financial backers, he said, and currently is looking for a Worcester location. He just wants to sell specialty steak and cheese. “No deli sandwiches, no pizza.”

As a teen, Devish’s first job was in a restaurant. He said ever since he worked for Friendly’s, cooking is something he really has loved to do.

Years spent working at the former Grille at Crossroads in Leicester is what sparked his interest in steak and cheese sandwiches. His idea to put them on as a special at the restaurant resulted in sales of 400 to 500 sandwiches in a week, he said.

How did Devish get his nickname, Ziggy the cook?

“Years ago, I started out in club promotions and later cooked at diners,” said Devish. “At one of the diners, some of the guys who came in for breakfast started to call me Ziggy the cook. The name stayed with me, and I told myself that I should brand it.”

A single dad of a 10-year-old son, Devish is both a proud and busy parent. He said his son grew up watching him cook and he’s at his weekend pop-ups, helping out whenever he can. “Mason is a great kid, and like most kids his age, pizza is a favorite food,” said Devish. “He’s all about thin crust pizza. And our fridge at home always is filled with snacks.”

Devish’s go-to food is barbecue, tacos, chicken and pizza. He admits that when working in diners, the one thing he wasn’t crazy about making was onion rings. These days, customers say he cranks out the tastiest handmade onion rings around.

Devish is thankful for support from friends and community and local business owners like Peter (Pete) Armer of Lucky’s Café and Niche Hospitality Group’s CEO Mike Covino. “I’ve never had just one mentor in the business,” said Devish.

Latest update is that a new taco steak and cheese is coming soon to a Ziggy Bombs pop-up.

It’s in the works, according to Devish, who has teamed up with a local Mexican restaurant. Check Facebook for updates. The guy likes a challenge!

A scene from the 2018 Big E. The fair returns Sept. 17. COURTESY OF BIG E

Taste of Shrewsbury Street draws crowds

Taste of Shrewsbury Street annually draws big crowds and this year’s “postCOVID-19” event proved that people clearly love food and strongly support city restaurants.

The event held Aug. 24 drew an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 people, according to organizers. Sponsored by the Shrewsbury Street Area Merchants Association, Taste proceeds benefit the beautification of the street and local charities.

The 111 Chop House was voted Best Food at the event. “Folks raved about the Chop House’s beef short ribs and slaw,” said an organizer. Vintage Grille and Basil ‘n Spice Thai Cuisine were runners-up.

Wormtown Brewery got the Best Drinks award.

Congrats to all the Taste of Shrewsbury Street participants for another successful venue!

Big E is on its way!

The annual Big E is set for Sept. 17 to Oct. 3 at fairgrounds, 1350 Memorial Ave., West Springfield.

Visit www.thebige.com for tickets, hours, agricultural exhibits, food vendors, entertainment, etc.

Bring your appetite. Food galore!

Wine tastings return at some Vin Bin locations

cations in Marlborough, Southborough and Hopkinton, announced the Hopkinton store at 22 South St. has resumed its weekly tastings, while the others have not.

In an email, Lombardi wrote the company wanted to make sure “employees in Southboro and Marlboro could get in on the action, too, and we think we found a good solution.”

Weekly, Vin Bin is asking employees to review their favorite wines and provide tasting notes to customers.

“Leslie, who runs the show in Hopkinton,” posted first impressions about a 2018 Thibault Liger-Belair Bourgogne Les Deux Terres ($29.99). She referred to herself as a “wine enthusiast, especially when it comes to Beaujolais.”

Her notes were an interesting read. “On the nose, I definitely got that bright cherry that I typically associate with Gamay. However, on the palate, the fruit was noticeably darker and had spice. This wine had a bit more heft than the Beaujolais I usually drink, but it still maintained an earthiness and minerality that I enjoy.”

What she ate: The wine was paired with cherry-balsamic glazed pork chops, roasted smashed baby potatoes and a salad with dried cherries, goat cheese and balsamic vinaigrette.

“It was all awesome!” she added.

Visit https://thevinbin.com for more information about subscribing to the newsletter, store locations, café hours, events, etc., or call (508) 480- 9463.

Worcester’s Best Chef returns

Worcester’s Best Chef annual competition is expected to return in 2022 “post COVID-19.”

Founder and organizer Domenic Mercurio is in meetings with folks at Mechanics Hall in Worcester, where the WBC has been held. Details to be announced.

Get ready, chefs.

Castle Restaurant being sold

Rumor on the street that the Castle Restaurant in Leicester is in the process of being sold is true.

Waiting for word from owners Jim Nicas and sister, Evangeline Nicas, on who’s putting down the money.

Stay tuned!

If you have a tidbit for the column, call (508) 868-5282. Send email to bhoulefood@gmail.com.