GROWING THE GOODNESS
Cultivating a Craft – From
Farm to Barrel
Tom Lucas and Don Clark are not your average Central Valley almond growers. Their farming roots can be traced back
to Tom’s great grandfather who founded Lucas Dairy in 1938. But after 80 years in cows and corn, the brothers
–
in
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law
are changing the farm’s direction and clearing the fields for acres of almonds and hops. The two new crops are helping
to make their dreams in the craft beer business a reality.
Six years ago Tom started homebrewing in the old milk
farms as a hobby. He discovered through this process that
he could source ingredients for beer recipes directly from
his farm. “I started seeing the connectivity between the
farm and the brewing process,” said Tom. “On the farm
you have grain and hops. It just made sense.”
Their pursuit of owning a brewery and tap room began
there. They invested in more equipment, brewed more
batches every week, and the result was exactly what
they had hoped for. People fell in love with the product
and the city of Ceres, interested in joining the craft
brew scene, encouraged the pair to build their business.
Blaker Brewing, named after the location of the Lucas
family farm, opened in January 2018 and runs out of
a warehouse facility in an industrial area of the city.
With Don managing the farm and Tom focused on the
brewery, it is easy for them to make sure the two remain
connected. “Using products from our farm makes the beer
special,” said Don. “We brought it here – our valley, our
home, our neighbors – so, I think it’s pretty cool.”
Decorations and fixtures in the brewery and tap room
also have ties to the farm and community. The main
wall was built using the ceiling of a historic barnwood
restaurant in Ripon. The bar is made from a salvaged
rafter of an early 1900s building on Mare Island. There
is a seat for two coming out of painted wall made from
the bench of a Lucas family truck.
“One of the pillars of our values is craftsmanship,” said
Tom. “Whatever we can do to repurpose something
or make ourselves, we are going to give it every shot.
Craftsmanship is important to us and we put our heart
and soul into everything we do.”
The beers on tap are also a reflection of their
dedication to farming. Since it all started with dairy,
it was no surprise that lactose was brought into a
few of their beers. Now that the farm is also home to
60 acres of Blue Diamond almonds, they crafted an
Almond Brown Ale. “We wanted to bring the almonds
in and TK, our brewer, put together an almond brown,”
explained Don. “Like a lot of our beers, it was a big hit
and it was good.”
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A L M O N D F A C T S
