Beloved Blackberry farmhouse beer was created in partnership with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and Ritter Farms to acquire Arkansas grown blackberries for their Beloved Blackberry farmhouse beer.
Gotahold Brewing is committed to working with local fruit farmers to showcase Arkansas farm to pint beers and cider. This will be the sixth release utilizing Arkansas grown fruit.
Ritter Farms is a 400-acre berry farm in Judsonia, Arkansas for wholesale providers regionally and nationally across the United States. University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture worked with farmers on a project regarding challenges with surplus produce, sponsored by a Specialty Crop Block Grant for the Arkansas Department of Agriculture. The Arkansas Brewers Guild worked with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture to find breweries who were willing to utilize surplus fruit.
Gotahold Brewing purchased 900 pounds of whole blackberries from Ritter Farm. Dave and Wendy Hartmann, co-owners of Gotahold Brewing, processed the blackberries in the brewery as patrons watched. “While it’s not uncommon for patrons to watch Dave work in the brewery, that particular day seemed to attract more attention than usual,” Wendy Hartmann shared. “I think the bright reddish-purple fruit and the mess it made caught their attention.”
Dave Hartmann then divided the processed fruits for two different beers — Beloved Blackberry is a white wine barrel-aged farmhouse ale blend that was re-fermented with the blackberries and the other is in a föeder for a 2024 release.
Typically breweries use aseptic, processed fruit. “We used seconds (imperfect fruit that can be sold to stores, but is still viable for production), which is good for the farmer, though already fermenting,” Dave Hartmann explained. “That brings in the unique terroir and wild yeasts into the brewery which is not necessarily ideal for a brewery.” Hartmann has been commercially brewing for over 30 years and has extensive experience of working with wild yeast. He found this project to be very rewarding; from working with a local farmer and produce to the technical aspect of brewing with the fruit itself as well as the challenges of cleaning all the seeds from the equipment.
About the Beer –
Blackberry, tart, wine like
Sultry, aromatic blackberry pulls you into the glass as bright balsamic complements with a light fruitiness and contrasts with notes of burnt caramel, bringing warmth and depth.
True berry fruitiness blooms with deep, red wine like notes; soft, dry, and tart. Sour notes are mellow and round, like aged balsamic, enhancing the fruitiness of this brew. A lingering earthiness remains with faint whispers of drying tannins.
Try pairing with: Roast duck or turkey, stuffed mushrooms,