In the long Belgian brewing tradition, many farmers spent the cold months brewing beer for the summer that used seasonal fruit, local ingredients and local yeast – and that tradition continues worldwide. Greer resident Shawn Johnson is brewing in this tradition and launching the Birds Fly South Ale Project focused on creating farmhouse-style beers “with modern flair.”
Johnson, who learned first as a homebrewer and then as a volunteer at Saint Somewhere Brewing in Florida and at Fairwinds Brewing in Washington, D.C., uses an open fermentation process that not only features yeast he cultures and adds, but also the wild yeast in the air, he said. Learning this method “opened my eyes to that type of brewing and I fell in love with it,” he said.
His brews will be aged in prepared wooden barrels using the solera method, said Johnson. Often used with sherry, vinegar and rum, the method combines older and newer product on a rotation: the barrel-aged beer is divided and newly fermented product is added to top it off and aged further. “Every six months we plan to double our barrels,” he said. Some varieties will be aged as long as three years.
Varieties like Brand New Eyes dry-hopped tart saison, Rustic Sunday rye saison and Rumblefish hoppy saison farmhouse pale ale will be ready for consumers as early as this summer.
Johnson, who now works full-time in Greenville as an aviation engineer with the U.S. Coast Guard, plans to ramp up production quickly after he retires. He and his wife, Lindsay, are seeking a space in the brewery frontier of downtown Greer. “We’re actively looking for real estate right now,” he said.
Birds Fly South is initially launching as a contract brewery with the help of Thomas Creek Brewery and Saint Somewhere Brewing, Johnson said. A small crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for purchasing the first group of barrels was successful and Johnson said he would again be seeking funding when he moves into full-time brewing.
The farmhouse style of beer is very popular in the west and a bit on the fringe locally, he said, but the trend is moving east. It appeals to seasoned craft beer drinkers and wine drinkers because of the fruit, sours and strong flavor profile. The flavors vary with each batch, but the quality should be there, he said. “People demand quality and they’re going to want a [local] connection.”
