Such increasingly organic, family-run breweries are scattered across Belgium, often regarded as the premier beer brewing region in the world. While they plan to bring their Brewmaster from Belgium to ensure a quality product, the remainder of the labor and employees, from the architects to the field hands, will come from the local area. They too have encountered many misconceptions regarding their products and their homestead brewery. Don and Wendy argue that Belgian beers are gastronomic beers, which are to be enjoyed with food much the same as wine is. Their homestead, self-sufficient, farm operation fits in nicely with the environmentally sound interrelationship among dairy cows, hops, and the brewing process.
Hop plants are enormous feeders.
A dairy farm produces enough raw manure to fertilize an acre or two of hops. In turn, hops spent in the brewing process are often returned to the local farmers as feed for other farm animals, such as hogs. Such a symbiotic relationship is lost on large-scale breweries or breweries which brew only with hop extracts. In Belgium, such cooperation among farmers and brewers creates a strong community spirit and lasting traditions. They are excited to have Cooperstown Brewing Company just down the road in Milford, and they plan to create such relationships with the brewery.