Catch the Buzz: Bicycle-Delivered Beez Kneez Honey Offers Bee Classes

Today I was reminded that about a third of our diets can be attributed to honey bees. Sure, honey bees produce honey, but it’s easy to forget that they pollinate most of the plants that sustain our food system. What with concerns about honey bee colony collapse and Minneapolis allowing beekeeping in the city, there’s been quite a buzz about bees, and a local beekeeper in bee-striped socks wants to help you learn all about them.

Earlier this week, Minnesota honey producer The Beez Kneezannounced that their Community Bees on Bikes classes were open for registration. The Beez Kneez is a local company offering local, raw honey delivered to homes and businesses via bicycle. And the gal powering the unmistakable honey delivery bike is Kristy Lynn Allen, who loves beekeeping, honey, bicycling, and sharing information about all things honey bee.

Allen graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Global Studies major. After she graduated, she helped her uncle and aunt at their Bar Bell Bee Ranch. After a brief stint farming in Ecuador, Allen returned to Minnesota, where she developed a unique method for marketing Bar Bell’s honey in Minneapolis. Using herself as a traveling advertisement, she decorated her bicycle with bee-like stripes, attached some antennae to her bicycling helmet, pulled on some bee-striped socks, and started pedaling around the city, making deliveries of honey via bicycle.

Her interest in honey bees grew, and in 2010, she founded her own Beez Kneez honey label. To-date, she’s delivered more than 2500 lbs. of Beez Kneez honey around the Twin Cities, sourcing honey from her uncle’s farm as well as hives she’s established in the Twin Cities and Rogers, Minn., and Osceloa, Wisc. Although Allen delivers a lot of honey on bike to customers in Minneapolis (many of whom she’s met through her bartending jobs at Barbette and Bryant-Lake Bowl), her honey also is available at the Kingfield and Fulton farmers' markets. And while a lot of Beez Kneez honey is raised in rural environments, it’s the connection in the urban area that motivates Allen.

“I like the idea of bringing beekeeping into the city,” said Allen. “My favorite part about Beez Kneez is that I get to interact with the community and many of our customers, whether it’s at their homes or at a market.”

Right now, profits from Beez Kneez honey sales are being funneled to Community Bees on Bikes, the new, experiential education arm of Beez Kneez. Allen wants the Community Bees on Bikes program to provide hands-on, learning experiences in the city about beekeeping, bee biology, other pollinators, and their roles in our food system.

As a class attendee, prepare to be suited up in a beekeeper suit, and get close-up with a honeybee colony as you observe the bees and learn more about them. Erin Rupp joined Beez Kneez in 2011 as the director of development and education for Community Bees on Bikes. She’s a beekeeper and a K12 Life Science Educator at the Bell Museum of Natural History, and will be leading the Community Bees on Bikes program. Beez Kneez has partnered with several locations throughout Minneapolis to host hives for these Community Bees on Bikes educational opportunities. Class locations include schools, urban farms, and community gardens, such as Blake School in Lowry Hill, the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden at Theo Wirth Park, JD Rivers Children’s Garden at Theo Wirth Park, the McKinley Farm and CSA in North Minneapolis, Kuhl Beans Urban Farm in South Minneapolis, Sisters’ Camelot’s community garden plot in South Minneapolis, and Project Sweetie Pie. Six, one-hour classes with varying topics are being offered, and prices range from $30 to $60, depending on how many people you can get to sign up for a class with you. Once the hives start producing enough honey, community members associated with the programs will have the opportunity to purchase the honey at a discounted rate.

“As soon as you start beekeeping, you become very much aware of your environment, from the wildflowers around you to slight changes in the weather,” said Allen. “I love learning about bees, and I love watching other people learn about bees.”

I know, I know, it’s not exactly wine and roses, but a date to an urban farm to learn more about honey and bees could be pretty sweet, if you can pardon the pun.

Cross post from TC Taste: The Buzz About Bees—And Beez Kneez - Twin Cities Taste - May 2012 - Minnesota

[where: Sustainable Food, St. Paul, Minneapolis, Twin Cities, Minnesota]

Living the Dream Farm's New Duck Barn is Just Ducky

In the April issue of Minnesota Monthly, I wrote a short piece about Khaiti and Andrew French’s Living the Dream (LTD) Farm, where I found two young farmers with big dreams and a lot of energy. What I didn’t mention is that a dream came true for the duo in the form of a successful Kickstarter fundraiser, which has allowed them to expand, sharing their duck eggs with even more consumers. 

In western Wisconsin, the Frenches are raising a flock of buff-colored ducks along with vegetables, fruit trees, chickens, rabbits, goats, and turkeys—and they’re doing it without chemicals. During the day, their flock of more than 200 Khaki Campbell ducks feasts on pasture grasses, local grains, kale, and garden trimmings. Come nightfall, the ducks take baths in small pools and then snuggle up on hay beds in their hoop house. Around 3 a.m., they lay their eggs. At their peak, their flock produces 60-dozen eggs weekly, but that number is set to increase. 

In December, the Frenches reached their goal on a Kickstarter fundraising campaign, which will allow them to expand their farm infrastructure in order to raise more ducks and produce more eggs. Their new duck barn is under construction, and they’re hoping to continue to have eggs into winter this year. Currently, you can find LTD duck eggs and their handmade goat soap at Heartland’s Farm Direct Market, Mississippi Market, and Seward Co-op, Linden Hills, and Eastside Co-ops. 

On average, duck eggs have more fat and protein than chicken eggs, which means duck eggs make magical baked goods. The protein-rich egg whites and rich yolks of duck eggs are known for adding fluffiness and richness to cookies and cakes. Not a baker? Fresh duck eggs make springtime brunch dreams come true. Sauté a few morels (now available at co-ops and markets) and serve them with a fried (or softly scrambled) duck egg.

Cross post from Duo's Farming Dream is Just Ducky - Twin Cities Taste - May 2012 - Minnesota

[where: Sustainable Food, St. Paul, Minneapolis, Twin Cities, Minnesota]

Ready, Set, Go! Twin Cities Farmers' Markets Open This Weekend

TODD BUCHANAN

Mark your calendars. Pack your reusable grocery bags. Slap on some sunscreen. The Twin Cities farmers’ market season will start this Saturday, with season openers at the Minneapolis Farmers Market at North Lyndale and the downtown St. Paul Farmers’ Market on Saturday.
Several other markets have scheduled opening days as well:

• Duluth Farmer's Market on May 5th
• Kingfield Farmers Market on May 20th
• Midtown Farmers Market  on May 5th
• Mill City Farmers Market on May 12th
• Northeast Farmers Market on June 2nd
• Linden Hills Farmers Market on June 3rd

There are many smaller or satellite farmers’ markets throughout the cities and Minnesota. Local Harvest has an online farmers’ market locater to help you find a market near you. And the Minnesota Farmers Market Association has a list of Minnesota farmers’ markets organized by location with links.
Gear up to stroll through lovely outdoor markets as you sample and/or purchase fresh produce, plants, baked goods, cheese, meat, honey, maple syrup, confections, soap, crafts, and more. Take some time to talk with the vendors to learn more about their products and what makes them special. In addition to goods to take home, most markets have vendors and/or food trucks with food and drinks, as well as live music and activities for kids. Make the most of your visit by checking out markets’ websites to see what’s going on that weekend.
More farmers’ market tips and tricks:

• Avoid the crowds by going early.
• Get the best deals by going late.
• Wear sensible shoes and sunscreen.
• Pack a water bottle.
• Bring reusable bags.
• Bring cash, preferably small bills.
• Talk to the vendors, but don’t monopolize their time. If you have a lot of questions, ask if you can contact them during the week.

Let the countdown begin!
And just in case you need a bit of inspiration, check out this video from the Mill City Farmers’ Market:

Posted on Wednesday, April 25, 2012 in Permalink

Cross post from TC Taste: Ready, Set, Go: It's Farmers’ Market Season! - Twin Cities Taste - April 2012 - Minnesota

[where: Sustainable Food, St. Paul, Minneapolis, Twin Cities, Minnesota]

Documentary Feature Film “In Organic We Trust” to Screen at Twin Cities International Film Festival

KIP PASTOR

A brand new food documentary, In Organic We Trust, will be screening at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival next week. I took the opportunity to check out a screener of the film last week, and spoke with the director and producer, Kip Pastor, to pick his brain about why he made the film.

Described as “an eye-opening food documentary that looks beyond organic for practical solutions for me and you,” the film depicts a curious and fervent Pastor as he tries to understand the organic food industry and America’s food system. Early in the film, you get the impression that Pastor is enthusiastic about growing food and eating it, and that, ultimately, he just wants to know more about it.

“I love to eat. I love to cook. I care about the environment and my health,” said Pastor. “As I learned more about food, I learned that we have to address our agricultural system in order to address issues of health.”

The film opens with Pastor asking people on the street, “Do you know what ‘organic’ means?” With baffled expressions, they either admit that they don’t know or try to conjure some sort of definition. Pastor then turns to the expertise of farmers, researchers, chefs, and nonprofit folks to explain what organic is, and what organic is not.

“Making a movie about organics is not easy,” explained Pastor. “I read recently that 78% of Americans have eaten something organic at sometime, so everybody’s heard of it, but not everyone knows what it is.”

In case you’re one who doesn’t know what it means, “organic,” as defined by the USDA, is a labeling term that indicates that the food or other agricultural product has been produced through approved methods that integrate cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity. Synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, irradiation, and genetic engineering may not be used.[…] If you see the USDA organic seal on a product, the product is certified organic and has 95 percent or more organic content. Definitions are necessary, albeit somewhat plodding. Now, back to the film…

SCHOOL GARDEN

The film portrays organic certification as an imperfect solution to concerns about public health and the environment, and then moves on to look at all kinds of grassroots solutions like urban farms, farmers' markets, and youth gardens. Most of the story is told with voiceovers or dialog involving Pastor. As I viewed the film, I empathized with Pastor as he struggled with confusing details, definitions, and bureaucracy, and then felt relieved as he found inspiration and answers from farmers, researchers, educators, and children.

“For me, film is one of the best mediums to disseminate information to a broader audience,” said Pastor. “To really engage with people, you have to tell a story, so it was important to me that this film was a personalized journey─this film was essentially the story of my journey exploring food and agriculture.”

Pastor is the CEO at Pasture Pictures, creative director & partner at Picture Garden, and a producer at Motion Maven. He has a BA in Diplomatic History from UPENN, and a Master in Fine Arts in Producing from the American Film Institute. He spent three years making In Organic We Trust. It premiered in February, and will be appearing in a number of film festivals across the country, including the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival on April 23 and 24, where Pastor will make an in-person appearance.

“Not only are the Twin Cities great for food and sustainability, but they’re great for film and the arts. Let’s come together to watch the movie, and let’s stay and talk about what it means to us.”

Here's the trailer:
 

Posted on Wednesday, April 18, 2012 in Permalink

Cross posted from TC Taste: Documentary Feature Film “In Organic We Trust” to Screen at Twin Cities International Film Festival - Twin Cities Taste - April 2012 - Minnesota

[where: Sustainable Food, St. Paul, Minneapolis, Twin Cities, Minnesota]

Some Midwest Distilleries are Making More than an Angel’s Share of Spirits

Death's Door Gin

From ol’ reliables like New Glarus and Surly to newcomers like Indeed and Big Wood Brewery, the beer scene in the Twin Cities and the Midwest is flourishing, but just this February, local vodka maker Shakers sought out Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection. One might begin to wonder if there’s enough room at our happy hours for local beer and local spirits.

Some research, mandatory cocktails, and several conversations convinced me that quality spirits are being distilled in the Midwest, and are being crafted into clever cocktails by in-the-know bartenders. I decided to write a roundup of some Midwest distilleries making more than an angel’s share of spirits in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa. I’m no tipple expert, so I spoke with Megan Arts, my go-to gal for canned heat questions; she’s a bartender at Marvel Bar and a member of the North Star Bartenders Guild. This list is our roundup of some Midwest distilleries, and a few notes about their products.

Note: It’s pretty easy to fall down the rabbit hole of distillation information, but simply put, distillation involves heating a fermented liquid, evaporating off the alcohol as vapor, and then condensing it back into liquid form. A base is prepared, then distilled, then diluted, then aged, and flavored. Distilled beverages are classified by the base material used during distillation. Vodka, gin, whiskey, and schnapps bases are usually made from grains or corn. Rum and cane spirits are made with fermented sugar cane juice, sorghum, or molasses bases. Brandy is made with fermented grape juice or other fruit juice (eau-de-vie) bases, and Tequila and Mezcal are made from an agave base. Spirits are distilled beverages that contain no added sugar and are 20% alcohol (whiskey, tequila, etc). Liqueurs are distilled beverages that have added sugar and flavors (Grand Marnier, Rumplemintz, etc.). It’s fascinating business, but I’ve said enough.

On to the roundup!

MINNESOTA
Right out of the gate, Megan Arts mentioned that we probably weren’t going to find many distilleries operating in Minnesota. I was slightly deflated, but notwithstanding curious. “Minnesota has some pretty high licensing fees for starting up distilleries,” she explained. How high are these licensing fees? In 2009, MPR reported that a distillery license fee in Minnesota was $30,000, compared to a $350 fee in Iowa. “If the fees would change, I could see more distilleries starting up in Minnesota,” Arts said.

• Prairie Organic Vodka is a well-established vodka distilled by Glacial Grain Spirits for the Phillips brand. It’s made in Minnesota in partnership with a co-op of more than 900 farmers, and the corn-based vodka is certified organic, kosher, and not grown from genetically modified seed. Just a touch botanical, Prairie has a light flavor and a relatively smooth finish. It received a gold medal at the 2012 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
   
• Crop Organic Vodka is another vodka made with certified organic grain, and distilled and bottled in Minnesota. Their Crop Harvest Earth Organic Cucumber Vodka won a bronze medal at the 2012 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

 

WISCONSIN

• Death’s Door spirits are produced by Yahara Bay Distillers in Madison. Death’s Door gin, vodka, and white whiskey are made using local, hard red winter wheat grown on Washington Island in Wisconsin. Their commitment to sourcing in Wisconsin doesn't stop there, though. Death's Door Gin is made with Wisconsin-sourced botanicals and wild juniper berries that are hand-harvested on Washington Island. And for bonus points, Death’s Door Spirits donates 1% of their annual revenue to Great Lakes causes. They won a silver medal for their gin at the 2012 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. A grip of us polished off a bottle of Death’s Door gin at an impromptu martini mixer not long ago. “Their gin is good,” said Arts. “It’s nice and light, for people who don’t like the heady botanical and citrusy part of gin. Their white whiskey is kind of cool in its own way,” Arts continued. “It doesn’t get any flavor or color from being aged in barrels. It’s very light, very smooth, and has no real flavors that necessarily remind me of whiskey. In that sense, it’s like its own spirit.”
   
• 45th Parallel Spirits’ vodka and gin are scratch-made in a family-owned distillery in New Richmond, Wisc. They distill and bottle all of their 45th Parallel and Midwest vodka and gin at their facility, which is just seven miles from the single-family farm where the corn is grown. FYI, the house-recipe Referent Horseradish Vodka at Moscow on the Hill is distilled by the 45th Parallel using Wisconsin-grown horseradish. Arts says her vodka-loving friends swear by 45th Parallel’s vodka, which was named the best local vodka by Minnesota Monthly in 2011: “In other words, Parallel 45 nails the small-batch, DIY thing. You’ve heard of farm-to-table. This is farm-to-bar,” said Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl.
   
• Old Sugar Distillery in Madison, Wisc. is distilling honey liqueur, rum, whiskey, ouzo, and other limited releases using ingredients like Midwest dark brown beet sugar, Wisconsin honey, and Wisconsin sorghum in their big copper pot still. Their Queen Jennie Whiskey is made from 100% Wisconsin sorghum in charred oak barrels from Minnesota. Their ouzo─the anise-flavored aperitif that is a standard in Greece and Cyprus─is made with beet sugar. They infuse the beet sugar liquor with star and seed anise, re-distill it, and add more star anise and sugar to sweeten the deal.
   
• Great Lakes Distillery is a small batch distillery in Milwaukee, Wisc. Using Midwest grains, Wisconsin maple syrup, and wild botanicals, they make their Rehorst Premium Milwaukee gin and vodka, Kinnickinnic Whiskey, brandy, absinthe, Pumpkin Seasonal Spirit, and Roaring Dan's Rum. They won a double gold medal for their Rehorst Premium Milwaukee Gin at the 2008 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. As a side note, their spent grains can be found in the compost pile behind Sweet Water Organics, an urban aquaponics farm in Milwaukee. “I was very impressed with the Rehorst gin,” Arts said. “It has some muscle to it with beautiful botanicals, including ginseng from Wisconsin. It’s great in a classic martini. They’ve also started making Absinthe Rouge made with hibiscus.”
   
• Yahara Bay in Madison, Wisc. uses local ingredients like Wisconsin-grown sorghum and local honeycrisp apples to make small batches of gin, whiskey, white rum, lemoncello, brandy, vodka, rum, and other liqueurs. They won gold medals for their Premium Rum and Extra Dry Gin at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Plus, the gentlemen at Bittercube in Milwaukee, Wisc. make their artisanal bitters with spirits from Yahara Bay Distillers. I’m a fan of Bittercube’s orange bitters, which make their way into nearly every old fashioned poured at the Flanagan household. These days, you can find Bittercube’s founders, Nick Kosevich and Ira Koplowitz, whipping up cocktails at Eat Street Social Bar and Restaurant in South Minneapolis.

ILLINOIS

• Hum Botanical Spirits is a curious spirit made by Chicago’s Adam Seger. After distillation, the rum is created by soaking botanicals such as fair trade hibiscus, ginger root, green cardamom, and kaffir lime as a cold tea maceration in a hand-crafted pot still. Hum was the featured spirit for Oprah's wrap party, in case you were wondering!
   
• North Shore Distillery is an artisanal distillery making gin, vodka, aquavit, absinthe, and elderberry gin liqueur (limited) in the Chicago area. With a staff of three, they’re distilling spirits using Midwestern grains in small batches. Their aquavit won a gold medal in 2007 at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. “Their gin and aquavit are really lovely,” said Arts. “Aquavit is a cool component in a cocktail. It’s kind of amazing how well it works with other spirits and citrus. Instead of just tasting of caraway, it becomes more of an herbal component and adds a botanical note.”
   
• Koval is a craft distillery in Chicago making White Whiskey, Lion’s Pride Organic Whiskey, vodka, a number of liqueurs, apple brandy, pear brandy, and bierbrand (beer schnapps). They source their grain from organic, Midwestern farms, their water from Lake Michigan, and their barrels from the Barrel Mill in Minnesota. Their products are scratch-made and adhere to Kosher standards, and they’re a member of Slow Food USA.

IOWA

• Mississippi River Distilling Company in LeClaire, Iowa sources corn, wheat, rye, and barley from neighboring farms in Iowa and Illinois to make vodka, gin, bourbon, and other spirits. They recently partnered with the Iowa Coffee Company to make an Iowa Coffee Company Liqueur (shown here) of coffee-infused vodka with cinnamon and vanilla, which makes a decent after-dinner cordial.
   
• Templeton Rye in Templeton, Iowa is making rye whiskey using their traditional prohibition-era recipe, which is said to have been “a favorite of Al Capone.” Their small batch whiskey is aged in charred new oak barrels, and has won two gold medals at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. As a side note, Templeton Rye started the Templeton Archive Project—a campaign to document Templeton Rye’s history by interviewing residents of the Templeton area, some of whom helped make Templeton Rye back in the day.

You have to be a bit inspired by the number of local, small-batch, artisanal distillers who are making the most of fresh, Midwest products, and supporting the communities and farmers around them. Now that I’ve rounded up all these interesting spirits rising from the Midwest, I’m inspired to go find a cocktail. Sláinte!

Cross-posted from:  Midwest Distilleries Serving You Well - Twin Cities Taste - April 2012 - Minnesota

[where: Sustainable Food, St. Paul, Minneapolis, Twin Cities, Minnesota]