Lesser Arts
Lesser Arts is a contemporary farmhouse brewery and regenerative agriculture project in the foothills of California’s Sierra Nevada.
Lesser Arts creates approachable and unapologetically beautiful beers that are presented in an artistically engaging way. Our liquid is created at the intersection of skilled manufacture, art, and stewardship. We aspire to contribute to, inspire, and enrich the unique environment that we live and work in, and to foster a growing community of craftspeople and artisans in our region.
Beers & Our Brewing Ethos
Our beers and other libations are made in small batches by a single beermaker, using simple equipment, local ingredients, and natural processes. The Lesser Arts production calendar is more circadian than regimented, and things change quickly depending on the availability of seasonal ingredients and temperature patterns. In the winter we brew wild beers, lagers, and ales for aging; in the spring we shift to cool-fermented saisons and ales; in the summer we brew warm-fermented saisons and harvest fruit; and in the fall we start in on lagers, rack in and out of barrels, and work with fresh hops.
Most “local” craft breweries use imported “catalog” grain and hops from large agricultural corporations. At Lesser Arts we source all of our ingredients directly from growers and producers. We work in close partnership with Admiral Maltings in Alameda to source California grown and malted grain. We purchase hops from our neighbors at 16 Quartz Hop Farm in Plymouth, Hopping Raccoon Ranch along the California Delta, and . Our water comes from our on-site spring, or our well, depending on the beer we are brewing. We train, nurture, and propagate our yeast cultures in-house. Byproducts of the brewing process are reused onsite through composting, pasturing, and silage practices. We tend to small local vineyards and old orchards in trade for fruit, and have small orchard and husbandry projects on our own property. Tied to the inherent fluctuations of small agriculture, our beers aim for consistent quality rather than mere consistency. Our liquid is an embodiment of California agriculture and our cellar practices; a product of artistry and nature; an intersection of the human and the environment.
Where to try our beers
We offer tastings at the brewery by appointment only. Learn more here.
Lesser Arts does not have a tasting room; please seek us out at these fine establishments. (If you’d like to add your business to this list, please shoot me an email.)
You can purchase Lesser Arts beer direct from web-shop. We offer weekly local pickup in Sutter Creek and shipping to California.
We can sell beer to you in person at farmers markets and pop-up events – check out this page for our current schedule, and to inquire after booking.
Keep Art Human
Like our beer, we create our labels in house, using digital clip art and collage, paper marbling, and printing techniques. We also work with other humans who make cool art.
More about the Lesser Arts
Our moniker and cottage-industry brewery model are inspired by William Morris’ 1893 essay “The Lesser Arts of Life.” Our land management aspirations are influenced by contemporary regenerative agriculture and permaculture movements (most directly by Richard Perkin’s excellent book Regenerative Agriculture). All of our label art and brand design is either made in-house using digital and paper collage techniques, paper marbling, printing and sketching; or made by human artist friends (look for credits).
The best way to stay in the loop about what we’re up to is to subscribe to our free e-zine The Lesser Arts Peripheral. New issues are produced once or twice a month and include production notes, farm and ag projects, and art and music. Lesser Arts also broadcasts intermittently on instagram and facebook.
Lesser Arts is a founding member of the Quartz Mountain Collective.