Visiting Arrowood Farms in Accord, NY

Image Courtesy of Arrowood Farms Facebook Page

In April, Todd Hill Staff visited Arrowood Farms in Accord, NY. Follow along with our visit to the Apiary, Brewery, and Distillery as we learn about Arrowood's commitment to producing locally sourced food, beer, and spirits!

Arrowood Farms is a sustainably-minded organic farm brewery, distillery, and dining and event destination in Accord, NY. Did you know that New York State is home to over 400 craft beer breweries? Arrowood stands out by committing to using 100% New York ingredients sourced as locally as possible, most of which are grown on the farm.

Outdoor area and event space

What Makes Arrowood Special?

Arrowood beer is brewed with ingredients grown onsite and from small like-minded NY farms. Spirits are made with grains grown up the road from the farm. Arrowood Farms believes local is better because ingredients don’t travel very far, meaning their beer, spirits, and food have a smaller carbon footprint and taste better. Arrowood grows the hops used in their beer. They also raise chickens, pigs, ducks and other livestock, which in addition to being served on the menu, helps build compost and turn refuse back into soil, fertilizing the hops. They also collaborate with neighboring farmers to repurpose spent grains as feed for livestock.

Dining at the Apiary 

The Apiary (dining room)

Steelhead Trout from Hudson Valley Fish Farms with arugula and pickled onions over cream cheese on a toasted baguette served at the Apiary

Tasting Arrowood's Polly Beer 

So How is Beer Made?

Malt, which is roasted and ground wheat or barley grains, gets heated up and mixed with warm water. During this process, the starches in the grains get converted into sugars and flavors start to develop. The liquid now gets separated from the grain, forming wort. Hops, the flowers of the hop plant, are added to the wort to stabilize the flavors in the beer and add bitterness and aromas. This mixture gets boiled, then strained. Once cooled, the wort is moved to the fermenter where yeast is added. During the fermentation process, the sugars are converted to alcohol and CO2. Sometimes the beer goes through a second fermentation process to add in additional flavors, and reach the desired taste.

Field where hops are grown

Picture of Hops courtesy of Arrowood Farm Facebook page

Beer storage tank

Beyond Beer

In addition to beer, Arrowood also produces gin, vodka, and bourbon using the rye and botanicals (like honeysuckle, chamomile, rosehip, lemon thyme, coriander, bergamot and juniper) grown on the farm, and other grains grown in the Hudson Valley. 

Image of Bourbon, Vodka, and Gin taken from Arrowood's website

Here is what the distiller looks like:

Thanks for following along! Stop by Arrowood Farms for weekly concerts, events, good food and beer!

To learn more about the story behind Arrowood Farms, check out this video by Food Inspiration!

Info taken from arrowoodfarms.com @arrowoodfarms