Where you from my Flora?

If breweries were movie directors, Fonta Flora would would be Wes Anderson. Like Mr. Anderson, their name is synonymous with attention to detail, boutique qualities, and the unique-bordering-on-eccentric.

But while Wes Anderson has a flair for the zoological — check out the fauna in Life Aquatic — Fonta Flora reaps inspiration from agriculture. From their yearly State of Origin festival, to their dedication to local farms, to the full sleeve of tattoos (an eggplant, a beet, some corn…) on the left arm of founder and brewer, Todd Boera, these guys love some flora.

The fourth-annual State of Origin is coming up on June 10. Each year, the festival serves as one of the most engaging calls to action in craft beer today, and it’s been the catalyst behind some of the most interesting small-batch brews in recent memory. Unlike many other beer festivals, which practically encourage breweries to bring their usual core lineup, this one requires every brewery to bring a beer featuring an ingredient grown in their state of origin. This idea challenges brewers to push themselves and engage with local farms and ingredients. Most importantly it gives the attendees a chance to try beers that might never be available again.

I reached out to Todd to wrap my mind around how much Fonta Flora works with local farms as a matter of course. In 2016 alone, they spent $30,000 on fruits and veggies to use as adjuncts in their beers. This included 2000 lbs of blueberries from Perry’s Berries, 2000 lbs of strawberries from Barbee Farm, and 500 lbs of both bloody butcher corn and kiwis from Fox Farms. Todd’s been working with these farmers for as many as four years. To put those numbers in perspective, that is literally one f-ing GD shit ton of fruits.

A big part of Todd’s approach to building recipes is looking at what is growing nearby and imagining how the plants’ flavor profiles could work partnered with a classic beer style. I’ve been on the road with him a few times and one of the most unique things about this dude is how far he takes his passion. This man takes “stop and smell the roses” to the next level. Walking down streets in Charleston, DC, Asheville, or anywhere, he’ll stop at each flower or fruit he sees, smash it in his hands, breathe it in with a furrowed brow, and nod his head. It’s amazing. At six and half feet tall with a big beard, jorts, and a schmedium shirt, you can imagine the looks he ignores from strangers.

Each year, State of Origin stands out as one of the best beer events in the South East and this year is no different. Featured are several breweries that rarely (if ever) show up around Western North Carolina. Jester King, Birds Fly South, Scratch, and the soon-to-open Salud Cerveceria are among the ringers for me personally, but I plan on making my way through the original and creative beers made by all twenty six breweries. See you soon in Morganton.