Through the rolling hills of rural Berks County, the Saucony Creek winds through pasture and farm before entering Kutztown. This 17-mile stream, which eventually braids into the Maiden Creek and the Schuylkill River, is the primary source of drinking water for local residents. Yet many Kutztown natives could not have told you where their water came from, until last year when Matt Lindenmuth started brewing beer in an old car dealership on the outskirts of town.
A long-time home brewer, Lindenmuth launched the Saucony Creek Brewing Company (SCBC) on a shoestring budget in March 2013. After a wild career as a professional snowboarder and skater in ESPN’s X Games, Lindenmuth needed a new project. His answer was beer.
From the beginning, SCBC was built on community. Lindenmuth purchased his first fermenters to get the brew house off the ground using the grassroots fundraising website Kickstarter to secure the initial $16,000 from 180 of his neighbors and friends.
Even SCBC’s darkest beers are 90 to 95 percent water. To brew a barrel of beer, two barrels of water are consumed. Recognizing this "primary source," Lindenmuth named his business after the nearby stream: a simple act that would lead to a much more intimate relationship with his local watershed.
Schuylkill Action Network Reaches Out
Shortly thereafter, Water Resources Specialist Lyn O’Hare saw an article in the local newspaper about the new brewery. When she attended a Schuylkill Action Network (SAN) meeting, she suggested contacting SCBC as a creative way to expand the watershed organization’s existing outreach.
SAN coordinates environmental organizations, agencies, advocacy groups and concerned citizens dedicated to protecting the 120-mile Schuylkill River and its headwaters. The number one cause of impaired waterways in Berks County has long been runoff from agriculture. Over the past five years, SAN has worked with farmers — the majority in Berks County — to implement more than 170 projects on farms to reduce manure runoff and stabilize stream banks.
SAN Coordinator Tom Davidock took Lloyd’s advice and invited Lindenmuth to sit down over a pint to brainstorm about the role a brewery could play in raising watershed awareness in Berks County and beyond.
Before long, Lindenmuth was brewing a beer dedicated to restoring the Schuylkill Watershed: Stonefly India Pale Ale (IPA), named for an insect that lives only in the most pristine cold-water streams and is used as in indicator to assess waterway health. Besides introducing people to their local watershed, the beer would be a toast to the Saucony’s water quality, and a challenge to the rest of the watershed to meet the same standards. Lindenmuth committed 15 percent of all sales of the Stonefly IPA during his first year of operation and 10 percent the following five to the SAN’s Berks Watershed Restoration Fund to support source water protection in Berks.
Beer Beginnings
When SCBC ran its inaugural batch through its fermenters a year later, the Stonefly IPA was the first in the kettle and has been a staple ever since. What makes this beer distinctive, besides its benefits to the watershed, is its rich aroma and flavor achieved through a unique dry-hopping contraption, which slow releases hops into the brew for 48 hours straight. No matter where you take your first sip of Saucony Creek’s Stonefly IPA, you can have confidence knowing that with every pint you purchase, you are giving back to your local watershed.
As the beer began to flow from taps and taverns downstream, Lindenmuth kept his community and watershed a priority in his product.
“By no means is Saucony Creek the only craft brewery with a local focus,” shares Lindenmuth. “Actually, it is part of the tradition. Many people who drink microbrews are already sensitive to the taste, flavor, style and ingredients of beer. So why not use this opportunity to encourage them to think about what else goes into it?”
Although there are other brewing companies that pay tribute to their local watershed (Downingtown, PA’s Victory Brewing Company has a Headwaters Pale Ale), none are as financially invested as Lindenmuth and SCBC to the Schuylkill Watershed.
“We need [the Schuylkill Action Network] to keep the water clean, because it is our main ingredient,” Lindenmuth insists.
It is not just their noble mission that draws people to the SCBC. Their seasonal brews and staple beers are becoming highly sought after by microbrew connoisseurs for distinctive tastes that capture Berks County’s sense of place. The Kutztown Lagerbier, for example, is laced with the flavors of good old Pennsylvania Dutch ring bologna! Before brewing, the malts are smoked over local sausages to trap the taste in every sip. Another specialty, North Ramp Coffee Stout, is made with Benchwarmers Coffee roasted just down the road in Reading.
Although SCBC may never be able to brew every beer 100 percent Berks County, they proudly incorporate local ingredients into each and every beer. From local honey to sweeten stouts to organic cucumbers in cooler summer brews, the SCBC strives to close the gap from “farm to pint.”
The factor preventing SCBC from using only local ingredients is their limited ability to malt their own barley. Currently, Lindenmuth has the equipment to malt grain grown on the brewery’s own 30-acre farm and barley from a farmer’s co-op in the Oley Valley for their seasonal Harvest beer. This fall batch is made with 100 percent Berks County ingredients, but that’s where their capacity ends.
“Even if we were able to contract twenty-some Berks County farmers to grow our grain,” Lindenmuth explains, “we would not have the space to malt it all!” For the time being, Lindenmuth and his “brew crew” are contracting local growers for their specialty grains and hops, with the hopes of limiting their most local beers to taps close to home.
To get a sense of what goes into production, brew master Tyler Schwayer walks me around the 500-gallon kettle, five 30-barrel fermenters and bottling line on the floor of a one-time car dealership retrofitted for the microbrew process. The room is alive with the resonant burping of tanks and the thick smell of ripening beer.
Photo by Tom Davidock
46,000+ Gallons of Beer…
By their first birthday on March 14th, SCBC had brewed more than 46,500 gallons of beer. Lindenmuth projects they will reach 170,000 gallons in their second year of operation, pushing their system to full capacity.
While SCBC’s beers are on tap at bars and restaurants across Berks, the brewery has plans to open a full pub later this spring in the old car show room.
The plan is to serve pub-only releases and specialty beers that are made solely with Berks County ingredients. This will ensure that the small batch brews, which incorporate the most local ingredients, are served first to folks in Berks and those willing to drive to the source.
“We want you to have the ability to meet and get to know everyone involved in the process, from the local farmers to the brewers, the servers and your friends that enjoy the experience with you,” shares Lindenmuth.
Currently, the SCBC’s tasting room is open daily from Noon-7pm to fill growlers and kegs, purchase beer by the case, or even take a peek behind the scenes.
With the growing trend to shop and eat closer to home, Lindenmuth is once again on his game, offering the folks of Berks County a chance to not only think local but also drink local!
Saucony Creek Brewing Co. 15032 Kutztown Rd., Kutztown 610.683.3182 | Sauconybeer.com
story and photos by Sierra Gladfelter
