It’s one thing to be a producer, to create something edible and sellable. For some time now, many restaurants have made it their duty to share the bounty of local farmers by working directly with them or shopping farmers markets to ensure the freshest seasonal items star in their signature dishes.
But it’s not just chefs or other food purveyors who are reaping the benefits of buying local. Local brewers and winemakers are also utilizing local products in their own handcrafted creations.
At Pizza Boy Brewing Co., the house brand at beer mecca Al’s of Hampden in Enola, Pa., brewmaster Terry Hawbaker makes a point to shop local for his Sunny Side Up coffee-infused imperial stout.
“Coffee and stouts are a passion of mine,” Hawbaker said. “It’s always important to me to use a local roaster for my coffee stout and from what I’d been told by Al [Kominski, owner], Little Amps was the place to check out.”
Little Amps Coffee Roaster is one of the latest and greatest additions to Harrisburg’s coffee culture. A hipster’s paradise, the original location is smack in the middle of the Olde Uptown neighborhood, offering French press and pourover style coffees — and probably best known for the Cold Jar, a shaken combination of espresso, water, brown sugar and milk – served in a mason jar.
Hawbaker said he was blown away by Little Amps’ coffee, especially their cold extract brew, which is the version he uses to infuse into his beer. (And which is also available by the growler in both Little Amps locations.)
The shop’s dedication to selling local concert tickets and vinyl records sealed the deal, Hawbaker said.
Pizza Boy’s Sunny Side Up is available on tap at Al’s of Hampden. Often you’ll find other versions of the stout, including a double coffee and a version aged in Pappy Van Winkle bourbon barrels.
Hawbaker said people are particularly drawn to it when they understand that the coffee used is locally roasted.
“I’m sure in the months and years to come there will be much more utilization of local and indigenous ingredients,” Hawbaker said. “I’m setting out to capture some local micro flora to incorporate into our wild ales as well as local fruit. I’d also like to find some local hop growers for next year’s harvest ale.”
And of course, Hawbaker and Pizza Boy Brewing aren’t the only ones grabbing hold of the buy local movement. Troegs Brewing Co., now in Hershey, Pa., has long used another local coffee purveyor, St. Thomas Roasters of Linglestown, Pa., for its JavaHead Stout.
The coffee is actually sold in Troegs’ General Store, as well.
But Troegs is utilizing local flavors in another way — by aging certain beers in wine barrels from local wineries. Their highly regarded Splinter series was aged in Allegro Winery (Tripel, Gold) and Chaddsford Winery barrels.
Troegs’ “Snack Bar” also focuses on local produce from area farmers, including Keswick Creamery (Newburg), Groffs Meats (Elizabethtown) and Chicano Sol (Blain).
Conversely, local chain Neato Burrito uses Troegantor Double Bock in its vegetarian chili.
Meanwhile, wineries are choosing fresh fruit from neighboring orchards to complement their grape harvest to make fruit wines like The Vineyard at Hershey’s Blueberry and Raspberry wines, as well as their award-winning Blackberry Portrait dessert wine.
“We are currently talking to apple growers in the area about fun things we will do with apples in both our beer and wine line,” said Michael Wilson, one of The Vineyard at Hershey partners. “We are all about local, local, local and the PA Preferred program.”
The PA Preferred program is a public-private partnership between the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and companies throughout the Commonwealth dedicated to ensuring, “Pennsylvanians are supporting fellow Pennsylvanians, our neighbors, friends, family.”
The program, while not new, has seen significant growth through the buy local movement. Restaurants, farmers markets and other food sellers can apply to be PA Preferred businesses.
Wilson said he hopes his winemaker and brewmaster (the vineyard recently added a full brewery as well) will use some of the local fruit to help build a hybrid beer-wine, much like Delaware brewery, Dogfish Head, does with its Sixty-One, their famous 60 MInute IPA brewed with Syrah grape must.
“We’re exploring that now and will be talking to local brewers about doing the same with our wines,” Wilson said.
Photographs by CHRIS KNIGHT