Local Farms

Ebey Road Farms

Resting in the shadow of the Olympic Mountain range sits Ebey’s Prairie. Once an ancient lake bottom, the soil of Ebey’s Prairie contains a fine organic loam of sand and silt. This rare soil, black and rich, is paired with a unique micro-climate recognized by a long history of farming families for its potential to produce premium quality grains.

Ebey Road Farms, owned and farmed by Wilbur and Karen Bishop, inhabits the heart of Ebey’s Prairie. Bordering with Ebey’s Landing State Park, the farm is part of the larger Ebey’s Landing National Historic Reserve. Descended from Francis and Mary LeSourd who purchased the farm in the late 1880’s, Karen Bishop is the 5th generation to cultivate the farm’s six hundred acres of fertile soils. Wilbur and Karen’s son Clark Bishop together with his wife Lauren continue the family tradition, helping to operate the farm.

For over fifty years Ebey Road Farms functioned largely as a commercial dairy. In 2007, the sale of the farm’s milking string marked the end of an era for the dairy and a new beginning for the Bishop family.

Wilbur and Karen converted land long used for growing feed into fields of finely cultivated organic and heirloom grains. Focusing mostly on barley, wheat, and emmer, the Bishops continue a long standing family tradition at Ebey Road Farms, to produce the highest quality grains.

In Wilbur’s own words,

“Just by our nature we always strive to have the highest quality crops possible. We are dedicated to growing the best organic crops, but believe there is a place for conventional practices when it helps to sustain or improve the soils and improve the quality of our grains. The only way we know how to farm is to produce grains that we believe in.”

-Wilbur Bishop, Owner-Operator Ebey Road Farms Inc.

Fremont Mischief uses Ebey Road Farm grains to produce our fine craft spirits. And while we share the Bishop family’s dedication to making the highest quality product possible, we know that their hard work shows in every bottle we make.

 


Krainick Dairy Farm

Fremont Mischief is commited to promoting a greener industry and production sustainable in our environment. One challenge in meeting our commitment to sustainability is the disposal of spent grain waste from distillation.  Adding up to many tons per month, the spent grains accumulate quickly. Determining the best way to dispose of our grain waste brought us to the doorstep of a very unique dairy farm.

Meet Mike and Leann Krainick, owners of Krainick Dairy, located on the Enumclaw Plateau thirty miles northwest of Mt. Rainier. The Dairy opened in 1912 when Mike’s grandfather emigrated from Slovenia. The first herd of thirty cows was considered large for its time. Today, with over 800 “girls,” as Leann calls them, the Krainick’s must deal with many more logistical factors than Mike’s grandfather could have imagined. Pairing modern technology with more traditional farming , the Dairy has found innovative ways to meet the demands of a 24-hour operation while minimizing their ecological impact.

The Krainick’s are determined to keep their “girls” happy.The Dairy collects spent grain waste from Fremont Mischief and several other local breweries, reusing it as a feed supplement.  The innovative use of spent grains has allowed the Krainick’s to prevent a million pounds of grain waste from reaching landfills each month.

Recently, the farm has furthered its commitment to full-cycle sustainability by composting waste from their cattle into sterile livestock bedding—eliminating the need to purchase and dispose of wood shavings. This innovative process is done by only a handful of facilities inthe Pacific Northwest.Their products, certified by the State of Washington for organic farming, are used on the Dairy’s grazing land and bagged for gardening retailers in the area.

Sharing our commitment to local business, 90 percent of the revenue produced by the Krainick Dairy, remains in the state of Washington. “The other 10 percent goes to John Deere,” jokes Leann Krainick.

 

 


Camas Country Mill and Hunton Farms

BarleyTom and Sue Hunton raise some of he most beautiful heirloom, organic and conventional grains you’ll find anywhere. We have some very special whiskey aging on the barrel made with these grains.

This third generation family farm is located near Junction City, Oregon. Started in 1952 by Everett and Ellen Hunton, Tom and his sister Deanna grew up on the farm helping with farm activities from a very young age. Their 2,700 acres grow diverse crops, the soil productive for rye, hard red wheat, brown teff, red lentils and several other food crops.

Hunton Farms grow their crops under Food Alliance Certification. Going beyond organic, Food Alliance Certification requires holistic attention to all of the links in sustainable agriculture and processing–standards which require care and improvement of soil health, the ecosystems affected by crop production, and the health and well-being of workers.  Hunton Farms practice common-sense, sustainable farming: no genetically modified seed, stringent crop rotation, cover-cropping, minimal tillage, and for some fields, Organic Certification by Oregon Tilth.

Tom and Sue also grind the grain Mischief uses in their stone grist mill, Camas Country Mill. They journeyed to Scandinavia to find their grist mill, the most ancient form of flour grinding where grains are ground between stationary and rotating mill stones. In a stone mill, the entire grain in its natural state is ground: germ kernal, bran and endosperm. The result is a naturally whole grain flour with all the nutrition of the nutrition, vitamins and minerals of the grain.

We like and admire the all farmers we work with.  All of us are committed to sustainable production that goes beyond organic to walk lightly on the earth’s resources while producing the very best crops and spirits we can.

We are very excited about the whiskeys, vodka and gin we are making with Ebey Road and Hunton Farms.

 

FREMONT MISCHIEF

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From the Pacific Northwest