A farm family in Burton has cleared the first hurdle to establishing a pizza-and-beer farm on their property, which may be the best-ever use of agricultural land.
Jerry Botti and his wife Sally McLean have received RDCK approval for a variance to build a small structure for a “nano-brewery” on their three-hectare property in Burton.
The application now goes to the Agricultural Land Commission for review and approval.
“There’s really not enough land for us to make a sustainable living off of it,” says Botti, when describing how the idea came about. “In this day and age, you have to be able to do multiple things on your property.”
With rocky, marginal soil and trees covering a good portion of their farmland, Botti says they’ve had to diversify. They’ve got a test-crop of grapes, grow hops for Botti’s current personal home-brew operation, raise pigs, have started planting garlic, and plan to expand into cut flowers and other small-scale u-pick crops.
The idea for the “nano-brewery” — like a micro-brewery, but limited to 350 litres — came about because of Botti’s passion for beer.
“I have been brewing since 1986 or ‘87 as a hobbyist, in the past 10 years I have looked at doing this as a career change,” he says. “The time is right, the plan we have is to integrate it into our small-scale farm.”
The application to the RDCK said they wanted to build a 1200-square-foot building, that would allow them to sell their crops at the farm gate, offer regular dining events, and produce their nano-beer.
“The product will add value to the sale of hops from our planned hop yard expansion; spent grain will be used as pig feed and compost; brewery activity will allow the farmer to be onsite and work flexible hours on the farm while earning necessary income,” their application reads. “We plan to create a small pizza farm… where pizza is offered for sale, made from farm produce. Beer sales would compliment this venture.”
ALR rules allow small breweries on farms now, but usually on larger properties. But Botti is confident he can convince the commissioners their operation won’t detract from the use of their property as a farm.
“I hope they look at it from that perspective, that we’re not trying to take out our property from the ALR, that we’re not trying to turn it into a great big brewery or pub or lounge, that it’s really a small nano-brewery that will help us do more farming.”
If successful, his operation could also purchase hops from other local farmers, further boosting the local farm economy.
With a supportive RDCK behind them —the board is recommending the Land Commission approve the application —Botti says the only thing to do now is wait. Once the ALC makes a decision, they’ll know if they can go to the Liquor Commission for approval as well… which brings another Catch-22 to the aspiring brewmaster.
“While our hope of getting approval from the ALC rests on that it’s going to be integrated into the farm operation, integrating a brewery into a farm doesn’t jive well with liquor manufacturing licences,” he says. “They like to see things separated.”
But he says initial talks with government officials offer him hope the issue can be resolved without a lot of fuss.
After that, it’s all about doing what he loves. He even has a name for the company- Drowned Town Brewery — reflecting Burton’s heritage.
“The dream is being self-sufficient, not having to work for someone else is one thing,” he says. “Thirty years of brewing beer are finally paying off. It’s something I’ve always enjoyed doing, and I hope to have the opportunity where I can make a living off of it, and hopefully anyway, make it a career.”
Botti says he should hear back from the ALC by the end of April, and hopes to start on the pizza-and-beer farm this season.
