Brothers and brewery owners, Chris and Lawrence Warwaruk of Farmery Estate Brewery, have created a unique beer made from wild Manitoba tundra berries.
“We were very active in working with and promoting Churchill last year through our Explore MB pack and through Travel Manitoba, which included custom labels promoting tourism locations throughout the province,” says Chris Warwaruk, co-owner of Farmery Estate Brewery. “We love brewing small-batch beers, very limited editions, and we were thinking of some other interesting Manitoba ingredients we could use to make a beer with. That’s when we reached out to our friends in Churchill to see what they could suggest.”
That person was Carley Basler, Sustainability Manager of Churchill Northern Studies Centre and Assistant Maintenance Supervisor/Manager of Rocket Greens, a greenhouse project to help promote food sustainability and security in the North. Food costs in the North are incredibly expensive. That’s why it is significant that Rocket Greens, over a span of four years since it started, has produced 50,000 pieces of fresh, locally grown leafy green produce—and continues to do so.
“It’s been an incredible experience putting food on the tables of people in the community that I live and love. The only downside to the project is that it keeps me so busy that I don’t get to spend as much of my days out exploring like I did when I was a Research Technician years ago,” said Carley. “So when Chris from Farmery reached out and asked us if we would like to collaborate on a limited-edition Foraged Berry Lager, we didn’t want to pass up an opportunity to spend a few days outside.”
“When I first officially moved to Churchill in 2004, my partner and I lived in a remote cabin about 20kms outside of Churchill. Our cabin is located on a ridge that is loaded with berries in the fall. Over the years, I have enjoyed many hours of picking blueberries, crowberries, cranberries and currants.
Berry picking is one of my favorite outdoor activities, right up there with hiking, cutting wood, hunting and fishing. When we were asked to go berry picking for the beer I couldn’t think of a better place to go than over around the cabin. It just feels like home when I’m crouched down in the moss, hunting for the ripest and juiciest ones.”
“Berry picking day happened to be on the day of arrival of our 2021 Polar Bear season…[so we had to be careful]. Joining me were volunteers Claire and her husband Grant from Winnipeg, along with my dog Delta (a.k.a Beans) and volunteer Fiona for a solid four hours of picking. It was a cloudy and windy, but overall mild day. We hunted around on the ridge for crowberries and cranberries, filling our containers while Delta antagonized squirrels and assisted in keeping watch for Polar Bears. Berry picking in Polar Bear country can be a bit stressful in the fall. I brought along my shotgun to act as a line of defense in the event of an encounter. This is all par for the course during the ice-free season in Churchill,” said Carley.
After the first batch was foraged, the berries were brought back to the CNSC to clean and sort. The kitchen staff Peggy and Sarah offered different tools and advice on how to separate the berries from the sticks, stems, lichen and leaves that inevitably get mixed up with the berries. They were shipped by plane to Neepawa and around 30lbs of berries to Farmery.
Lawrence and Farmery brewmaster Ben prepped the berries, and Ben brewed a beer with the pulp and juices of the cranberries and crowberries. The result was a lightly-berry infused lager called Foraged Berry Lager.
Foraged Berry Lager is available through Farmery’s Fa La La Lager Packs, which are for sale in all MLCC stores in Manitoba, as well as online through Farmery’s Advent Calendar Packs on Farmery’s website farmery.ca.
Photos courtesy of Farmery Estate Brewery