Day 319 Drink: Shooting Creek Farm House Stout

Shooting Creek Farm Brewery takes its name from a creek that runs down the eastern flank of the Blue Ridge Mountains. In 2004, Brett Nichols and Ray Jones began exploring the idea of starting a farm brewery in Floyd County, Virginia. Inspired by the traditional beer making methods and recipes brought to America by early European settlers, they honed their skills and fomulas, making small batches of Colonial farmhouse ales and wild-fermented farmhouse ales.

True to its name, Shooting Creek Farm Brewery grows many of the ingredients used in its beers, including hops, flint corn, pumpkins, honey, habanero peppers and herbs. They also use organic ingredients grown near the brewery using ecologically responsible practices.

Shooting Creek Farm House Stout pours a jet black color with an exploding thick tan head. The aroma has a nice roasted grain lead with some mocha notes. The flavor is a solid stout structure, offering some creamy touches, perhaps a little maple sweetness, with a hint of the oatmeal used in the grain bill.