USA, NH: Hornburg Brewing Company about ready to launch in Hancock

Hornburg Brewing Company is just about ready to open its doors, or more accurately its “hobbit door,” – the owners are “The Lord of the Rings” fans – to the public, the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript reported on December 30.

A decade ago, Dean Gervin and his uncle Rick Gervin decided that opening a brewery together would be a neat idea. Four years ago, when Rick was deployed, his wife bought a property on Peterborough Street in Hancock. She studied as a vet tech and wanted to start a farm.

They now have heritage breed sheep, chickens and ducks at Gervinhaus Farm, and it was a spot where Rick and Dean could start their brewery. The address is 165 Peterborough Road.

“I’ve been home-brewing for 10 years,” Dean said, who relocated to the region from Maine to start the business. He just finished a six-month online course and they’ve developed some brews. They’ll have a variety of beer on tap, including a rotating menu of IPAs, a Belgian blonde, a session beer, a recreation of an ancient Norse recipe and their signature red ale, Eric the Red.

From building the bar to brewing the beer, Rick and Dean have done it all themselves. Inside, the bar room has big windows in the back and Viking and Norse art on the walls.

“That’s our heritage,” said Dean. He described the aesthetic of the space as “modern-rustic.”

They have locally sourced as much material as they can, including the bar top.

“We’re trying to do as much as we can with what we have,” Rick said.

They are growing peaches and plan to clear a pasture to plant apple trees. In the future, they hope to offer a honey mead and cider.

“Farm to glass,” Rick said, and he’s “hoping to bring that same mentality if we end up doing food.”

Hornburg Brewing Company won’t be serving food when it opens, but Bubba Franks’ food truck will be parked at the brewery serving up barbeque.

Rick and Dean plan to be open Friday and Saturday at first, but Bubba Franks may be there additional days.

“Our goal here is to kind of make it a destination,” Dean said. They also hope to bottle beer and add a keg to the tap at Harlow’s Pub and other local establishments.

“It’s had its challenges,” Dean said, including “getting to know the brewing environment.” They have had to figure out how to keep the brew room a constant temperature, which is very important for making beer.

Rick added, “We’re still learning the space, still learning how the everything is going to function.” And they are excited to be part of the local beer community.

Back in front of the “hobbit door” that leads into the bar, Dean and Rick explained the name for the brewery.

Hornburg, Germany, was one of the earliest places where beer was brewed. It is also a reference to “The Lord of the Rings.” It is the stronghold for Rohan in the “The Two Towers” when the Wizard Saruman’s forces are defeated in the Battle of Hornburg, also called the Battle of Helm’s Deep.

Hornburg Brewing will update the public on their official opening date on Facebook.

02 January, 2023