Linda and Morris Tammen own a small farm in Thawville, Illinois that has been in their family for generations. Over the past decade, they have made incremental steps to transform a few acres into an edible landscape by planting nearly two hundred heirloom apple trees.
As part of this plan, they are in the process of creating a small-scale brewery/cidery/meadery operation. The family is finishing off the north end of an existing Morton machine storage building and converting it into a brewery and a tasting room with exterior seating.
The Morton building was constructed in 2008. When the Tammens retired from farming in 2018, they no longer needed the space for farm machinery, and their children talked them into converting it into a brewery. In addition, they also utilized the shed in 2009 and 2014 for their son’s and daughter’s wedding receptions.
The conversion has truly been a family and community affair. Their son-in-law is an architect, and he designed the remodel. Construction of the brewery has brought with it the unexpected pleasure of working with several former students of Linda’s (a retired teacher) who are now involved in successful construction-related professions.
Their neighbors decided to tear down their old barn and let the Tammens remove the old barn boards so they could use the wood for wainscoting in the brewery tasting room.
The anticipated opening date is in August 2021. For more information, please visit www.artesiabrewing.com/
