Sister Bay, Wisconsin
Crusin’ Rating: B
Booze Rating: C-
This week, we are continuing our Door County Series with Peach Barn Farmhouse and Brewery in Sister Bay Wisconsin. The penultimate northern imbibery in the county (second to Island Orchard Cider). This is a spot I had been curious about for a while when I heard they were located in a pole barn in Sister Bay. If you’re not familiar with Doory County, Sister Bay is a an inexplicably spendy town - moreso than other spots in Door County- that popped up sort of in the last ten years, going from sleepy to spendy.
Peach Barn is full on Joanna Gaines white and black modern farmhouse on the outside and a little more rustic on the inside. But before checking out the inside, Hannah and I had to peek at the grounds and various activities available for patrons. Lawn games, a large fire pit - complete with blankets to borrow, a vine-covered pergola with lawn furniture to lounge in, several outdoor cocktail tables, and adirondack chairs to lounge in. Even in the midst of fall, the outdoor space was hopping with activity when we arrived, and later consolidated indoors and around that fire pit, as is to be expected on an October evening.
Inside: cement floors, metal walls, concrete bar, a few high tops, and plenty of leather-ish couches made the inside feel like a husband said “I want an indoor beer hangout spot” and his wife said “well I’m picking the furniture.” Other than that, there was a small potbelly stove and plenty of Halloween decorations, one of which might give you a start as you walk in - didn’t expect that giant thing to move. With seating for 70 plus, local art on the wall for sale, and board games, this seemed like a great hangout spot. So much like someone just turned their backyard into a brewery and managed to avoid most of the perceived pretentiousness that comes with Sister Bay. The only thing I was not fully in love with, was the amount of flies that were inside (doors were open to the barn) and that drinks were served in plastic cups. Maybe though glass and concrete floors don’t mix, but the beer definitely tastes better out of a glass and that’s a hill I’ll die on. It was busy, which was great for business, but they really could have used a second bartender - I believe we sat at the “L” shaped concrete bar fifteen minutes before getting any beer.
Hannah and I selected a high top to give us a writing surface and although it was a little cold as night settled in with the doors open it really added to the backyard pole barn experience - I suppose, to an extent, the flies did as well. The Peach Barn, the taproom, is more of a stylized polebarn and we believe it was built new and isn’t any sort of refurbished barn.
We didn’t see evidence of wine or cocktails but there was N/A beer available made by a third party, charcuterie-like snacks in a fridge, and beer available to go as well as a swag area that came in handy for Hannah who forgot to bring a hat. We snagged a flight of five as the last rays of autumn sun vanished.
When Harry Met Sally (4.5% ABV) - This farmhouse ale (a category that includes Saison and Biere de Garde), featuring brilliant clarity and was a pale yellow, totally fitting for serving at the Peach Barn (see what they did there? Not sure how the rom com fits in though) which is more certainly in the Saison side of things smelled of barn hay, grassy, and grainy. Tasting of slightly hay-like fruity funk with slightly high hop bitterness and ended slightly herbal-spicey. This one was decent.
Horsetooth Hazy (7.0% ABV) - A hazy IPA, completely opaque and warm gold, we picked up peach, guava, and some wet wheat on the nose. We found that wet graininess to carry over to the taste, mixed with a sort of leathery-earthiness and a little bit of stone fruit sweetness at the end. Neither of us were really fans of this and thought this was definitely off. That wet graininess gave a heavy impression in the mouth and it really shouldn’t be there.
Silo Sisters Peach sour (6.0% ABV) - Letting Hannah take the wheel for this dark orange to almost amber beer that had sugary peach syrup on the nose and tasted to her like peach juice with sour apple pucker - a “fakey sour” if you will. Hannah liked it solely because there was a serious lack of sours on our Door County trip and I think she was experiencing withdrawal even though she admitted it objectively, was not a great sour beer.
Backyard - Belgian Dubbel (7.8% ABV) - This brownish, mild clear dubbel surprised me by smelling of toasted nuts and old apricots. Not necessarily off for a dubbel but the apricot was unexpected and I don’t believe the nuttiness belonged. I was really hoping for raisins and maybe even dried cherries, apples, or maybe a little clove or pepper even. So starting a little off, tasting this one definitely yielded flavors going from roasted into burnt territory which should not be present at all in this style. I got some charred fruit rather than dried fruits here. I would absolutely skip this one.
Road Trippin’ Smoothie (5.5% ABV) - This one was a seltzer which, a majority of time we are not in love with the setlzers at breweries, finding them far too sweet, but Hannah continues to persevere to find the best. This grapefruit pink seltzer smelled of orange juice and peach and tasted soda-sweet, with orange, strawberry, tangerine, and pink jolly rancher. All together with the impression of any soda you’d find in the store with a pink color, I assume smoothie here references several fruit flavors rather than texture. Hannah said this was too sweet, but she’s not giving up her search!
Well, this one may have been a bit of a miss as far as beer goes, but Hannah really enjoyed the backyard vibe. Since we are there so often in the fall, I am not sure if I see us returning based on the outdoor space alone, which is unfortunate because the beertender was very nice and the outdoor space is great. If you’re in Sister Bay and want some local brews with a cool outdoor area, then definitely check it out. As usual, I’m always open to a revisit, especially since Peach Barn is relatively new - opening in 2021. For now though, I would not recommend traveling to Sister Bay solely for the beer here, but if you’re already there, it might be worth it to sit by the fire!
Better luck next time! Until then, keep on crusin’, don’t stop boozin’!
To learn more about Peach Barn Farmhouse and Brewery please visit their website at: peachbarnbrewing.com or on Facebook: @PeachBarnBrewing or on Instagram: @PeachBarnBrewing
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