Similar thinking went into the evolution of Round Barn Winery, Brewery and Distillery in Baroda, MI, about 14 miles from the Indiana border near Lake Michigan. Rick Moersch was an accomplished winemaker who, after a few decades working for others, opened his own winery, Heart of the Vineyard, in 1992. Four years later, the state laws changed and allowed wineries to hold distillation licenses, so Moersch took courses and decided to start making brandies and cognacs. He and wife Sherrie purchased an Amish-built round barn from a community in Indiana and used it to house the distillery. Soon enough people began calling the venture Round Barn, so Heart of the Vineyard was dropped and the business became known for its signature architectural feature.
There was some extra space in that large barn, so the Moersches converted part into a banquet hall, where weddings and other events are regularly held. They obtained a liquor license to serve their wine and spirits on the property but faced a problem: If they wanted to serve beer, they would have to make it themselves.
“Basically, we started some home brewing on a pilot system,” explains Christian Moersch, the brewery operations manager and son of the founder. “It was enough to do weddings.” Soon enough, however, there was an extra keg of this or that lying around between special events, and soon beer was moving out the door along with its beverage brethren.
Realizing that they had another potential consumer business on their hands, they worked with consultants, solicited advice from other Michigan breweries like Founders and “were shown the way.” A 10-barrel system was installed along with a bottling line, and now there are 11 brews in their lineup, including seasonals. Overall, they are producing about 1,200 barrels of beer, 10,000 cases of wine and about 10,000 cases of spirits per year.
“It was dumb luck that we ended up with all three,” Moersch says.
At Cisco on Nantucket, there was less happenstance and a little more planning involved, as is evident when visiting its brick and cobblestone courtyard full of tables and benches. Salty local fishermen and madras-wearing tourists mix, each purchasing the local drink of their choice from one of the three beverage “houses” at the periphery. The Triple
Eight Distillery house is seemingly the most popular, serving everything from Bloody Marys to single-malt Nantucket whiskey. The winery house is what you would expect from vino tasters: swirling, sipping and spitting. At the brewery house, it’s not uncommon for customers to be lined up six deep at the small bar.
Most first-time tourists and visitors come for the tour. They likely return several more times during their vacation simply to imbibe. When Jeffrey Horner, the brewer, gives tours, there are two rules: The first is that guests are encouraged to interrupt the spiel at any time with questions. The second is that a glass never stays empty.
As Horner—a man with muttonchops and welcoming attitude—recited the rules, growlers appeared as if by wizardry, with everything from the unfiltered Belgian-style wheat ale known as Grey Lady to a very brown IPA, a tongue-in-cheek nod to black IPAs or Cascadian dark ales. Contents were tipped into glasses, and Horner spent the next hour or so talking about the brewing equipment (Cisco also brews at two locations on the mainland), the winery (pours of blueberry pinot gris and a chardonnay were offered) and the distillery, where the presentation wrapped up with a sample of jalapeño pineapple vodka. This reporter can attest that it is difficult to make it through the tour with a clear head, but all things in moderation. Be cautioned however: The heavy mixing of all three drinks can lead to a less enthusiastic start to the next day.
This triumvirate started with wine. Dean and Melissa Long simply wanted to plant grapes, and so in 1981 they founded the Nantucket Vineyard. They hoped to create wines with native grapes, but the local weather made that an impossibility, so now wines are made on the island with the choicest grapes selected and brought in from around the country.
A little more than a decade later, Randy and Wendy Hudson came together on the island and formed a working relationship with Dean and Melissa. They moved to the property, worked for the business and opened a brewery.
After a few years Jay Harman came on. He was a college student when Randy and Wendy met him, working on a business plan and contemplating opening his own brewery on the island. It was a happy instance of join-them-rather-than-beat-them, and Harman, in his role as brewery CEO, has been a tireless proponent of the operation. Brewery lore tells that he capped 60,000 bottles of beer during his first summer with the company—no small task.
As the business grew and the need for more space became apparent, Cisco expanded and Dean had the foresight to build a distillery, which he named Triple Eight. It is known for its vodkas, with flavors like cranberry and blueberry, but its rum and whiskey are also sought after. Both, by the way, clock in at 88.8 proof. The whiskey, called The Notch, sells for $888 per bottle—and it moves fast.
Cisco Brewers is not unlike an adult amusement park without the rides (unless you’re lucky enough to get a lift in its refurbished VW van) and after just a few minutes with a drink in hand, it’s clear to see why it is one of the most popular spots on the island. It is also, interestingly enough, not the only brewery-winery-distillery in Massachusetts. The other is Nashoba Valley Winery in Bolton, which also produces cider and perry.
