Friday Froth: Stewards Of The Land Farm Brewery in Northford

One of life's principle joys is an unexpected bulldog. There you are, mind preoccupied and steps ahead of whatever you should be paying attention to in the moment you're actually living, and boom: giant smiley meatball of joy out of nowhere. How could that not improve any day? Last September, in the Before Times, I went to a Connecticut farm to find out about hop growing, and discovered a newborn brewery instead. At the time, Stewards Of The Land in Northford wasn't finished, not quite ready yet for the outside world. So now, just as the eyes of the world are cautiously blinking open again, I returned to sit on the farm brewery's patio and, yes, there was a bulldog.

I'm not just making an allegory here: Guinness (that's the name he came with, give head brewery Alex DeFrancesco more credit for creativity than that), was cooling off on the stone patio, set with chairs outside the New England tavern style brewery, above a field of sprouting row crops - the hillside and lawns swaying here and there with bluish stalks of heirloom rye. I squatted down and scruffled Guinness' huge head behind his ears. He had it right. This is a place to stretch out and relax.

The beer menu at Stewards is fascinating, presenting a true variety of styles indicative of the brewery's experimental leanings, made from all locally grown grains - barley, black wheat, spelt, rye, and emmer - grown and malted at Thrall Family Malts and Rooster Malting in Connecticut, and Valley Malt in Massachusetts. My friends, while I was poring over the menu, had already ordered and received pours of Pop Cream Ale, and were making appreciate noises about it on the hot, humid day. Cream Ale is a forgiving style made light and sweet with adjuncts, in this case Thrall Family-grown flaked corn, and Stewards calls it their table beer, an introduction to the craft beer world.

I love rye in beer, so I started with the Raparia Rye Saison. This heirloom variety was the same rye growing in the yard, and poured a hazy gold with a robust head of tiny, white bubbles. There was a very fresh and biscuity rye malt nose with hints of floral yeast. Those malts are rich and slightly spicy with rye on the tongue, and deeply satisfying in feel and flavor. Sharpened up with just a bit of hops, the saison is still flowery and tiny bit sweet from both the malts and the Scandinavian Phantom yeast variety used in its fermentation. An absolutely beautiful beer.

I switched over to Goldfinch, a crystalline kolsch lager. Light and fresh, it's a classic lawnmower beer, and I made short work of the cup while my friends mowed through orders of locally baked stuffed breads.

The logo for Stewards Of The Land is Cecropis Daurica, a.k.a. the Red-Rumped Swallow, (yes, migratory, in case you're ever challenged on it), and the brewery uses the genus name for its series of farmhouse saisons. Daurica is made with the ancient grain emmer, and a brand new variety of yeast. It had just kicked when I asked, but I spied the next batch aging in a barrel from La Crema winery, so it will likely be epic if you manage to score some on your visit. Delichon is a house martin, a cousin of the swallow, and also Stewards' saison made with spelt and CT-grown cascade hops.

Keeping with the theme, Rondini is the Italian name for a barn swallow, and Stewards' new IPA, made with Nugget hops from Four Star Farms in Mass. Fruity and smooth with lemons and berries, this is a rare IPA that manages to be both pillowy on the tongue, and crisp and dry on the back end. It's a very modern East Coast IPA, somehow crushable as the lighter beers on the taplist.

I was continually impressed during my visit, including with the excellent Ravenhill robust porter, and was given a quick look at the barrel aging room. Mad scientist creations like a strawberry Berliner-weisse kviek saision bided their time next to an imperial stout in Jack Daniels wood, and a pecan barleywine in staves which formerly coddled Willett bourbon.

The tasting room at Stewards, hopefully open again before too long, is an inviting space featuring lots of wood and fieldstone, with plenty of spots at the bar, tables, and comfy chairs facing a fireplace. The view from the front porch is the orchard across the street. Local cheese, fresh baked goods, and farm goods from both DeFrancesco Farm and Lyman Orchards are available to eat on site or take home with you, like the honey peanut butter I brought back with me. Everything, bulldog included, is a welcome addition to the experience.

Stewards Of The Land Brewery, 418 Forest Rd., Northford, CT; www.stewardsofthelandbrewery.com; 203 641 0498