PAWNEE ROCK — Heartland Farm was the scene for the workshop Beer Brewing 101 on Thursday, Oct. 3. Sr. Jane Belanger guided participants on the basics of brewing equipment, ingredients, and the brewing process as they prepared a batch of beer together.

“Beer is liquid bread,” Beleanger said, commenting on the similarities in ingredients, including yeast and grain. “It’s a beautiful thing.”

Heartland Farm (heartlandfarm0ks.org) is an 80-acre homestead located in the southeast corner of Rush County at 1049 CR 390, Pawnee Rock. It is a ministry of the Dominican Sisters of Peace that aims to practice and promote stewardship of Earth and healthy living through ecologically sound agricultural and environmental practices. Known for raising alpacas, Heartland Farm also bills itself as “an oasis of peace and fleece.”

Hands-on events like the Beer Brewing workshop aren’t unusual. Each spring, Heartland Farm offers a workshop where participants can learn fiber skills such as knitting, spinning, weaving or crochet. Other workshops focus on baking, gardening and making natural beauty products. Last August, Sr. Imelda Schmidt led a culinary and medicinal herbs workshop.

There’s also an annual Open Farm Day, retreats and camps.

Heartland Farm is also a registered agri-tourism operator. Last week, lodgers included two members of World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF).

Bottling the beer

Members of the Beer Brewing workshop will return to Heartland Farm on Oct. 17 to bottle the batch. Sr. Belanger warned that their brew won’t be ready to drink yet. It takes about three hours to brew the “wort,” or the liquid that will become beer after fermentation over the next two weeks. After bottling, the beer will need about two weeks to naturally carbonate in the bottle.