The search for maple syrup continues...Blue Pike Farm

I think it was back in 2004 that my former roommate Jon found and attempted brewing a batch of Maple Wheat Beer. We had practiced on some brew kits prior to this excursion but we wanted something different, something more "crafty" and so Jon made a sizable economic investment ($70 or so which was double what it usually cost us to brew a batch - around 55 12 oz bottles - of beer) and brewed what to this day, was the best home brew attempted, similar in flavor to Rochefort 10 but without the nose. I think we dubbed it "Krazy Kanuckian Klassic" due to the maple syrup content and proceeded to enjoy all we could. Since then the search has been hesitantly proceeding to finding the right maple syrup to brew with.

It was with this mission that we decided to hit up Blue Pike Farm for their Peach & BarBQ Festival with the thought that perhaps there may be some syrup laying about. There wasn't any syrup.

However, we got a tour of the farm (which is pretty extensive, well organized and interesting) and picked up some goodies as well as chatted with Carl at the main tent who pointed us to the Saturday Shaker Market for our local maple syrup needs. As our other known option is to drive to Chardon I think we are going to try some more of the local markets first. Not that the drive is that horrible but I don't have the hankering for a proper road trip when I can explore local markets instead.

So this long, round about diatribe, which begun with our quest for maple syrup resulted in the discovery of peach cobbler. I will still mark it as a success even if it didn't result in the direct procurement of beer as I finally got to walk the Blue Pike Farm, chat with some extremely nice people and learned some neat gardening techniques and quandaries which I am looking forward to exploring.

Of course one should take the time to appreciate that Blue Pike Farm is an urban farm (maybe 1 acre?) located on reclaimed land along East 72nd about a half mile south of the Innerbelt (North of St. Clair) that has been going (growing?) strong and has built up quite a local following. You can purchase goodies via signing up for a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) subscription or stop by on Thursdays between 4-7pm until October. They also host events (similar to today's Peach and BBQ Festival where specific foods are the guest of honor) and I think the next one is in a couple of weeks and involves heirloom tomatoes (I love tomatoes with some basil and fresh mozzarella and balsamic...). Keep your eyes on the Local Food Cleveland - Events page or you can sign up on the email list by emailing them from the page below with a note to be added to their mailing list in the subject line.

resources:
Local Harvest