The farmer’s brewery – Wolfeboro’s Burnt Timber

WOLFEBORO — Simplicity can contain a world of complexity, and that’s what drives the beer and food at Burnt Timber’s tavern, which Eddie and Mara Michno opened on Lehner Street in September of last year. The brewery goes back a few years, though, as Eddie has been brewing for wholesale customers since 2015.

Michno, a coast guard veteran, started homebrewing during his service. It was also during his service, while he was stationed in Juneau, Alaska, doing search-and-rescue, that he met Mara. The two moved to a small farm in North Wolfeboro in 2013, where his love of beer was joined by an interest in agriculture.

Farming and brewing, it turns out, are happy bedfellows. The pigs eat the spent grain from the brewery, and Michno’s growing understanding of how food is produced informs his beer recipes.

“I don’t brew any of my beers to a particular style,” Michno said. He approaches a new batch at his one-barrel operation with a certain style in mind, then looks for a way to incorporate a twist. “I really enjoy brewing Saison, farmhouse beers that are really yeast-driven.”

A Saison, a golden-colored ale developed in Belgium, invoke a sunny summer day in a farm field. The cloudiness of the beer is reminiscent of dust and pollen in the air, the yeast produces scents of fruit and flowers.

Burnt Timber brews a “Busty! Farmhouse Blonde,” which Michno ferments on peaches and apricots. At seven percent alcohol, it’s a heavier brew than a conventional Saison, which were traditionally consumed by farmers as a form of hydration during the day. He honors that with his “Farm Chores,” a lighter beer that he sweetens with local honey.

The food at Burnt Timber is similarly farmer-friendly. On a recent stormy weekday, the Michnos’ tavern filled up quickly as soon as it opened for lunch. Many of the patrons were families, the younger members of which were drawn immediately to the no-batteries-required collection of table games: Shoot the Moon, Klask, foosball.

The menu at the tavern is brief, but each item earns its place. Again, Michno’s farming is apparent.

“We use our eggs, our pork,” he said. Burnt Timber ferments its own pickles and sauerkraut. “A lot of our food is all local, organic, we know the farmers.”

The past year has been a steep learning curve for Michno and his staff. Making beer, he found out, was the easy part. Building and running a restaurant, and marketing and distributing his beer, are entirely different challenges.

He’s ascended much of that learning curve, especially thinking back to his first days in operation last year. There were times, back then, when he wondered if he would be able to find his way. But then, he recalled, he would watch someone taste his beer for the first time, and he would see their eyes open wide with the first sip.

“That’s one of the coolest feelings,” Michno said.

Michno hopes to grow his business moderately, and might get to a three-and-a-half barrel system eventually. But he doesn’t want to get any bigger. He still wants to be there when someone takes their first sip of his newest brew.

Burnt Timber’s tavern is open Tuesdays through Sunday, beginning at noon.