“Every batch of beer that David and Mary Heller craft at Olde Bedford Brewing Company tells a story. ” And we were proud to tell our story to Positively Pennsylvania.
This article shares the story of our approach to locally sourced beer, and how each ingredient and each beer produced is ultimately part of a grander story. One that is uniquely Pennsylvanian, and even more uniquely Bedford County.
The article tells of the history of Bedford and of the Hideaway Ranch, the century-old farm that has been in the Heller’s family for almost half a century. And David and Mary’s passion for Pennsylvania and supporting the agricultural community is clearly demonstrated.
“You can experience local,” David Heller said. “It’s great for someone like us to have a customer in from Pittsburgh and we can tell them how it was made, where it came from and they can go up to Dancing Star Farms and see for themselves. It helps to educate the public on how important agriculture is to their everyday life.”
Read the rest of the article to learn about how we tie history into every aspect of the process. The Hellers integrate the historical context into all of their brews. And they have some interesting offerings coming in the future.
On this Independence Day, we want to honor our country’s first President and Brewmaster.
Everyone knows George Washington as one of our nation’s founding fathers, General of the Continental Army, 1st President of the United States of America. He was also a farmer, entrepreneur, land owner, surveyor, distiller and yes, brewmaster!
George Washington was a true lover of beer. He especially enjoyed a good porter. This dark, English-style beer would have normally been purchased from Great Britain, but as president, he felt it was not appropriate to buy from them. Hence began the first “buy American” campaign. But, the English beer was the inspiration behind his recipe for “Small Beer”. The photograph is of his recipe hand-written by George himself.
Small beer was popular in Colonial America. It contained very little alcohol, and was considerably less expensive than traditional beers. Historian Victor S. Clark states “many housewives still brewed small beer for their families, and for fifty years thereafter numerous village breweries continued in operation with an equipment and a volume of business hardly exceeding those of a village bakery.”
At Olde Bedford Brewing Company, we recognize the importance General Washington made on our country, our town of Bedford, and our love of beer. We will do our best to honor his legacy. We will also work to formulate our own version of his porter and make it available to our patrons.