Lone Mountain Farms: A Family Farm to Brewery Operation in Athol, Idaho

BY S. MICHAL BENNETT

Emily and Luke Black of Lone Mountain Farms moved to Athol, Idaho to get away from the hustle and bustle, but their farm and brewery operation are now bringing new crowds looking to enjoy old-style beers straight to their door.

Pulling into the gravel parking yard at Lone Mountain Farms, you get the distinct impression that this isn’t a typical farm. Or even what you might imagine when you think of a farm that also brews beer. To the right sits a dusty field of low-growing grains. In front of the charming farmhouse is a flourishing bed of tall popcorn stalks, giant cabbages, and prolific potatoes. Just ahead is a simple yet elegant brewhouse and pint room, flanked by a verdant hop arbor and welcoming trellised patio.

“We’re an estate brewery,” says Luke Black, who owns Lone Mountain with his wife Emily.

Not too long after Luke and Emily met, they flew down to California to visit his aunt. She took them wine tasting at an estate vineyard, a traditional vineyard that grows grapes, makes wine, and bottles on site. It had a rustic vibe, and the Blacks felt right at home.

“I remember thinking,” says Luke, “that we lived in an area where hops and grains grow really well. So, why weren’t there any estate breweries in North Idaho?” On the plane ride back, the concept for Lone Mountain Farms was born.

Luke grew up on a retired farm in Rathdrum, ID, and pursued a career in the tech industry for 22 years. Emily grew up in Montana and spent her summers on her dad’s cattle ranch in Whitehall. They met at a software company in Coeur d’Alene, got married, and moved into a house in Post Falls. “We hated neighborhood life and sitting at a desk all the time,” says Luke. “So, we started looking for property where we could do some farming.”

LINC-ing up With Local Grains

Brewing and old-world European beers had always been an interest of Luke’s. But when he started working towards establishing an estate brewery, he had a big misconception, one that took him a long time to figure out. “I had started growing hops at my mom’s house, because I thought that was what made beer taste better,” he says. “It turns out that it’s grain that makes it better.”

They became acquainted with the people at LINC Foods in Spokane, who had their own malt house. Joel Williamson and Teddy Benson from LINC brewed a doppelbock for a gathering, and the fantastic flavors sparked something in the Blacks. They knew then that grains were the ingredient that would give them what they were looking for. Joel and Teddy went on to start their brewery at The Grain Shed in Spokane and are still “cousin” businesses with Lone Mountain.

Once Luke figured out the malt detail, he began gathering the applicable licenses and working towards recipes, processes, and quality. Luke’s brewing experience, as well as that of his brother and Lone Mountain brewer, DJ, had never reached beyond a few brew kits. But they were fascinated with the history of beer, particularly with brews from the 1800s. According to their research and developing personal taste, the 1850s was the best time to drink beer, so they determined to bring back some of the brews from that era.

Embracing the Olde-Style

In order to perfect their take on old-world beers, the Blacks hired Thomas Croskrey, a devotee of the style whose own meadery, brewery and restaurant, Emrys Fermentations, is under construction in Liberty Lake. Croskrey helped lay a solid foundation, but soon it came time to face the fact that most modern brew systems don’t support the 1800s style of making beer. So, Luke and his tech background began to custom build a brand-new brew system.

The first beer they brewed on their original system, the Forager, is their most popular farmers market beer to this day. This eighth century beer is the oldest style still made today, and people love it. However, the size and in-house development of their brew system has afforded them the opportunity to experiment and formulate recipes that they appreciate and want to drink.

“Because we weren’t brewers,” says Luke, “it allowed us to put aside a dogmatic approach to doing things that a lot of brewers have. My family is extremely methodical, and we’re always reiterating stuff, never happy with it.” As a result, DJ has brewed almost 200 batches of beer in two years. And this summer, Luke is bringing their final system online, one that is almost fully automated and even has its own cleaning system.

“I feel like we’re at a level that we’re really happy with,” says Luke. The original concept was to grow the grains and hops needed for brewing right on the farm, but the soil just didn’t cooperate. They sourced most of their grains from a local friend’s farm and continued using LINC to malt them, while operating a produce and canned beer CSA and farm stand from the property. The challenges of 2020 took their toll as Luke and Emily shifted gears to get product to their customers through pick up and delivery.

Although Emily’s passion lies in watching everything grow and bloom into something beautiful, by the end of the year, she needed a break from the farming side of their busines. “We downsized,” she says. “This year, we grew just enough produce for us, as well as cabbages to make and sell my family’s sauerkraut recipe.”

Growing into a Space of Their Own

Much of 2021 has been spent working on the next thing: moving pint service off the farm and into an official Lone Mountain Farms Taphouse. “We can welcome the public there,” says Emily, “and then do tours and dinners here. It will be more intimate, something that people can really connect to and care about.”

The Lone Mountain Taphouse is located at Lancaster Market just north of Hayden and right on the busy I-95 corridor. Hoping to be a true farm-to-table restaurant, they will work closely with local farmers and ranchers to source as many ingredients as possible – and pay a fair market price for those ingredients. The menu will tell these farm stories and pay forward the cost of sourcing quality local foods, something many food establishments are hesitant to do. But, the Blacks are hoping that their initiative will encourage other restaurants to do the same, cause more farms to thrive, and create value for customers who desire to invest their dollars in our local communities.

“I wish there were more farms around here,” says Luke, “because I would use them 100%. We’re going to pay more for local ingredients, but hopefully it will snowball, and we’ll get more people buying that way.”

About Lone Mountain Farms

LONE MOUNTAIN FARMS
lonemountainfarms.com
208.684.6708
25415 N Ramsey Rd
Athol, ID 83801

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