DISCOVERING
SCRATCH BREWERY
Weeks ago, at Tower Grove Farmers Market,
I stopped at a "new table," offering
their breads and brewed sodas.
(We hit it off.)
Scratch is a brewery and bakery,
bringing their hand-crafted wares
to a receptive new market (hopefully.)
I remember tasting a "toasted hickory" soda
(non alcoholic),
so aromatic, so complex, so intoxicating.
Their bread was an other-worldly sour dough.
I had to know more.
These were artisans.
Located in Ava, Illinois.
(2-hour drive, middle-of-nowhere.)
These are pics from my recent visit.
Four young talented homesteaders
brewing and baking
extraordinary home-grown goodies,
to national culinary acclaim.
Complex, organic, local, original.
Beautifully crafted/brewed sodas/beers,
wood-fired pizza, beautiful breads.
Growing their own hops.
Cute goats.
(Roads with no road signs.)