Saltbox Kitchen Wants to Start Brewing Its Own Beer

The team behind a West Concord farm-to-table cafe is making good on its promise to add a brewery to its existing business. Saltbox Kitchen — an offshoot of Saltbox Farms — plans to add a beer component to its 84 Commonwealth Ave. space and has launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the project.

Already in Saltbox's repertoire: a catering company, a cooking school, and a cafe, all of which source products from the farm itself. Now, it will add beer-making to the list.

"Just like cooking, brewing allows us to think creatively about which ingredients and flavors to combine to create beer that will pair well with the food we like to cook," the team wrote on its Kickstarter page.

During the buildout of its cafe, which opened last summer, the Saltbox team included the infrastructure to support brewing with a half-barrel system. Saltbox has since been approved for its license and can proceed with brewing, but it needs some equipment to get started. The $30,000 fundraising goal will help Saltbox purchase equipment and ingredients.

Saltbox plans to brew everything from farmhouse ales to IPAs and pale ales, and the team will incorporate other ingredients from the farm, "including grapes, hops, squash, melon, fennel, honey and spices." The beer will only be available at the cafe, but people will be able to take home growlers.

Saltbox has set a June 13 deadline for fundraising the full $30,000.