Homebrew Summer: Farmer Greg’s Witbier

When the ingredients for a beer are grown on a brewery’s home turf, the resultant ale or lager can feel “homebrew” in nature. After all, many are the recreational fermentationists who incorporate fruit from the trees and bushes in their backyards when brewing up homespun creations. Such amateurs will be stoked to check out the recipe (in all-grain and extract formats) for the latest release in our Homebrew Summer program, a Belgian-style witbier from Fox Point Brewing. The head brewer from the on-premise craft-beer operation at Encinitas’ Fox Point Farms teamed up with that eco-focused community’s farmer to harvest two forms of citrus for the beer, which goes by the name Farmer Greg’s Wit, and is on tap at the brewery’s outdoor tasting area as well as Fox Point Farms’ Harvest Market. Get a taste and perhaps try recreating the beer on your own.

This is one of over 20 beers we’ll be sharing recipes for throughout the summer, so be sure to check back with us often. Or, if you prefer, you can sign up for our email newsletter, and we’ll send all of the recipes directly to your inbox. Cheers to homebrewing and another fun Homebrew Summer!

Brian Carl
Head Brewer, Fox Point Brewing

I’ve been working side by side with Farmer Greg over the last three years, planting, growing and building Fox Point Farms. This year, I mentioned San Diego Beer News’ Homebrew Summer project, and he said, “I’ve got a recipe for that!” What better way to brighten up the days than with a favorite summertime recipe, showcasing fresh oranges and lemons grown onsite by Farmer Greg. We cut the oranges and lemons in half, placed them in a mesh hop bag, then soaked them in the whirlpool for 25 minutes to bring out super-fresh aromatics. The result is a refreshing beer that’s perfect for warm summer days on the farm.

Greg Reese
Homebrewer & Farmer, Fox Point Farms

Belgian witbiers were my intro to really enjoying craft beer back in the early 2000s. I started homebrewing this style and several others back when I was working at Stone Brewing in 2009. Coincidentally, working there also sparked my interest in growing and eating organic food. Three years ago, we planted fruit trees at Fox Point Farms and have been waiting for the first harvest of fresh oranges and lemons. Now that they’re finally here, I thought those would be perfect additions for an incredibly refreshing glass of organically brewed Belgian wit, especially when enjoyed on a hot summer day. Brian and I harvested the oranges and lemons minutes before adding them into the whirlpool to give it that special farm-to-glass aroma. The citrus is literally grown 200 feet away, so we hand-picked them then walked them over to the brewery where I used my harvest knife to cut open the fruit right before we tossed them in the whirlpool.

Fox Point Brewing is located inside Fox Point Farms at 1150 Quail Gardens Drive in Encinitas