By Gloria Austin
Staff Writer
LINNEUS — Aurora Mills and Farm in Linneus is collaborating with the Atlantic Brewing Company, which is distributing a draft beer from the farm’s organically-grown oats.
The new limited edition beer — Aurora Farm’s Oatmeal Ale — was debuted at select locations in Maine last Friday. The Courtyard Café in Fishmann Mall in Houlton started carrying the ale on tap on Monday.
Pioneer Times Photo/Gloria Austin
GRAIN MAKERS — Matt and Linda Williams (pictured), along with their daughter Sara, of Aurora Mills and Farm in Linneus are collaborating with Atlantic Brewing Company to create Aurora Farm’s Oatmeal Ale. The beverage is available throughout the state and locally at places such as Courtyard Café.
The Atlantic Brewing Company was looking for local ingredients and they researched and discovered Aurora Mills and Farm’s web page, describing their organic-growing philosophy. Aurora Mills and Farm works 105 acres of land, owning only 50 tillable acres themselves to provide Farm Fresh, a distribution center operated by Martha Putnam of Hodgdon, with the milled product.
“Like anything else, it may be a seasonable beer,” said Matt Williams of Aurora Mills and Farm. “We’ve sold for years to Peak’s Organic Brewery in outer Portland where they do a very limited run of a maple oat beer. They have been asking us to provide them with the wheat so they could do a wheat beer, but we have not had the supply.”
As a grain wholesaler, one of Aurora Mills and Farm’s bigger customers is a micro-distiller in Boston, which produces alcohol out of wheat.
Through the process, the Atlantic Brewing Company representatives asked if the farm name could also be on the label.
Aurora Farm’s Oatmeal Ale is brewed in the style of a traditional English ale with a smooth malty flavor and a hint of toffee. The Atlantic Brewing Company uses the organic oats to enhance the body of the beer, making it the perfect complement to Maine’s snowy winter weather.
A deep ruby ale with a crisp, clean finish, this beer was hopped using only Goldings, the quintessential English hop. True to the style, Aurora Farm’s Oatmeal Ale is moderate in alcohol with an alcohol by volume of five percent.
“We have been growing organic grains since 1999,” said Williams. “We have been a licensed food processor since 2002.”
The Williams — Matt and Linda — bought the farm in 1986 and the land was primarily being farmed to grow potatoes.
“Then we switched it over to organic production because I was looking for a way to have a reasonable return on a small acreage,” said Williams.
While Williams was starting his undertaking of organic farming, he was also working at the University of Maine Cooperative Extension. He was attending meetings in that capacity and was approached by Jim Amaral of Borealis Breads about attempting to develop Maine-grown wheat for him to use in his bread.
“I started putting up storages and got together with a few other farmers from around The County,” explained Williams. “I held the grain and it was milled elsewhere. Over time, we ran out of a place to mill the grain. We had grain in storage and no market for it. So, I decided to build a mill.”
So, Williams solved his own problem.
“We are pretty much a wholesaler,” he said. “We want to change that. We were pretty much anonymous.”
That may not be the case any longer.
With Williams’ daughter, Sara, moving back to Linneus, Aurora Mills and Farm will continue making inroads into different markets.
“I was wondering how I was going to end this thing,” said Williams, who retired from the UM Extension in 2006. “I am not a spring chicken anymore. But, I wanted to see the farm keep going, so that meant, selling it or having one of the kids take it over.
“Sara was ready to come back to Maine,” he said.
Sara Williams is in the process of taking over the farm and Williams said he would stick with it as long as she wanted him around to help her.
“What we want to do is transition the whole management over to her,” said Williams.
A new market the Williams are looking to become part of is the local co-op.
“We have always somewhat ignored the local market because quite frankly, the local market is not particularly interested in the price of the organic,” said Williams. “They value it, but we also feel that we want to service the local community as well, and it is a matter of how do you do that? Sara is working with the County Co-op and when that opens, we would have a venue to sell bread.”
By investing in the co-op, the Williams believe this will help them sell to their existing clientele.
“A lot of our customers are co-ops and bakeries through Crown of Maine distributors,” Williams said.
But for now, Aurora Mills and Farm will be basking in their newest addition.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with Maine farmers and using local ingredients to brew traditional ales,” said an Atlantic Brewing Company press release. “The Williams family has been growing organic small grains at Aurora Mills and Farm up in Aroostook County since 1999, and milling Maine grown grains for over 10 years. We have chosen to use their flavorful Alymer oats to create this satisfying winter brew and are delighted with the result.”
To learn more about Aurora Mills and Farm, visit their Facebook page or their website at www.auroramillsandfarm.net.
