Working with neighbors and friends at Jasper Hill Farm, we have once again collaborated on a single-origin project rooted in Greensboro, Vt. Esdon Brook is produced and aged in the cellars at Jasper Hill Farm using milk from the small nearby farms of Tom and Lori Hill and Dan and Emily(Hill)  Michaud. Each maintains a herd of only about 50 cows—a scale that has nearly disappeared from modern dairy farming.

Tom Hill is Arthur’s son and has taken our spent grain since the brewery’s inception over 16 years ago. Their milk is used exclusively in cheeses produced by Jasper Hill Farm, including Esdon Brook—completing a small, local circle between brewery, farm, and cellar.

During its first week of affinage, each wheel is washed by hand four times with a brine made using Arthur as its base. The beer alters the brine’s balance and helps shape the rind’s cultures, encouraging the orange hue and savory character. Each wheel is then wrapped in locally harvested spruce bark sourced by Dave Ducharme.

The result is a soft, deeply savory cheese with a dense, creamy paste and notes of cured ham, toasted nuts, and forest floor. The spruce contributes a resinous, woodsy character that becomes more pronounced toward the edible rind, where the influence of the wash is most concentrated.

This small release has been kept intentionally close to its origins, remaining within Greensboro and the surrounding communities. Best enjoyed now through early October.

Available for purchase ($12) at our Bottle Shop for take-away.