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It’s Hoptober and at Swank Farms, the air is filled with the smell of malts and hops. The farm’s third annual Hoptoberfest, a one-day event held on Sept. 14, will feature over 20 brewers and winemakers, live music by Salinas-based One 2 Many Band and pop-up vendors.
Hoptoberfest is the opening event of the farm’s fall season, which will pick up again Oct. 4 with the opening of the Corn Maze, the Trail of Lights and the Pumpkin Patch, all part of the Swank Farms Experience. This is the first year Hoptoberfest is being held as an event separate from the Experience.
“Basically, we are going to have a lot of brewers and wineries here,” said Swank Farm owner Dick Swank. “Each will have one or two things to sample and it’s going to be a good time for everybody.”
For the first time, there are also two ticket options. General admission is $30, which includes eight free pours, unlimited samples and a souvenir glass. The farm offers VIP tickets for $60, which include pours and samples in a larger souvenir glass, free food, access to seating on the second floor of Bonnie’s Barn and a goodie bag filled with Swank Farms produce. Parking for the event is free.
That is not the only change at Swank Farms this year: Swank has been getting some help with event planning from his new wife, Satarupa Swank. They met through a mutual friend and were married earlier this year.
“I was out with a couple of friends at the Tres Pinos Inn,” Dick said, “It was three guys with three bottles of wine and, of course, we started talking about girls. My security guy, Seth, said, ‘I know this girl in India. She is really nice, really sharp—you should talk to her.’”
Not long after striking up a long-distance friendship, Dick was on a plane to Singapore, where he met Satarupa in person for the first time.
“We went off to Bali,” she said. “We were there for nine days, the longest date in my life.” Satarupa is now head of marketing and has been helping to plan events for the farm. She has invited eight pop-up vendors to join in the Hoptoberfest celebration. The Fall Festival will feature even more pop-ups, with as many as 30 being considered for inclusion.
The event will feature tacos and sliders prepared by Swank Farm Chef Valdo, who will also create a farm-to-table spread highlighting produce grown on the farm.
“We are going to introduce grilled fresh vegetables,” Dick said, “along with our famous salsa. And we may also break out some of Satarupa’s green cilantro chutney, which everybody loves.”
This year, the Hoptoberfest will be open to children for the first time. Even though they obviously cannot participate in the tastings, there is still plenty for kids to do at the farm, including goat fishing (feeding farm animals with stalks of corn), bouncing on the giant inflated jumping pillows, wandering the corn and sunflower fields and riding the giant slide.
”We thought if parents are having fun, kids should have fun, too,” Satarupa said. “Nobody has to sacrifice having a good time. We see how excited people are about being on the farm, especially the children—they just don’t want to leave.”
Satarupa was also responsible for the farm’s first-ever summer camp, held over three days last July. Activities included a competition among the kids to plan this year’s corn maze.
“It was a last-minute kind of thing,” she said. “We had Amber Painter, a kindergarten teacher here in Hollister, as director of activities. Every review we got from it was positive. We had 30 kids this year and hope to have 100 next year.”
The full Swank Farm Experience will open on Oct. 4 and attendees who come the first weekend will get a free pumpkin. The and everyone else who comes this year, will also find extra thrills and chills at the Haunted Corn Maze, which Satarupa promises will have even more chainsaw-wielding maniacs hiding in the stalks.
“We have six right now and more are coming,” said Dick. “They are kind of like mice—they just like to multiply.”
Breweries and wineries at the Hoptoberfest:
- Alvarado Street Brewery
- Brewery 25
- Buena Vista Brewing
- Calera Winery
- Damm Vineyards
- Derose Winery
- Discretion Brewing
- Grillin & Chillin Alehouse
- Humble Sea Brewery
- Mad Pursuit
- Other Brother Beer
- Pinnacle Brewing Company
- Promised Land Beer
- Suncoast/Nuthouse Brewery
- Swank Beer Experience
Two of the three beers that Swank Farms will be tasting were available for me to try:
Swank Beer Experience From the Porch Golden Ale (4.9%) – “Made with Willamette hops and a combination of Brewer’s, Honey and Wheat malts, this is a delightfully smooth light beer. “This is my midday beer,” Swank said and it is indeed so light that you might not even notice how quickly you have finished your glass.
Swank Beer Experience Marzen Summer Lager (5.8%) – “I call this an evening beer,” Swank said, ‘because it is perfect to relax with.” Pilsner, Munich, carahell and melanoidin hops are combined with Magnum and Hallertauer Milttelfrueh hops to make a malty and slightly bitter beer that is very drinkable. To me, this is a perfect hot dog and hamburger beer, with both slathered in German mustard to complement the edginess of the hops.
A West Coast IPA, currently being brewed, will be available for tasting at the event. Beers from Alvarado Brewery and Brewery Twenty-Five will be on tap.
Hoptoberfest takes place on Sept. 14 from 1-5 p.m. Swank Farms is located at 4751 Pacheco Pass Hwy, Hollister.
Recommendations for future Eat, Drink, Savor articles can be emailed to roberteliason@benitolink.com.
BenitoLink thanks our underwriters, Hollister Super and Windmill Market, for helping to expand the Eat, Drink, Savor series and give our readers the stories that interest them. Hollister Super (two stores in Hollister) and Windmill Market (in San Juan Bautista) support reporting on the inspired and creative people behind the many delicious food and drink products made in San Benito County. All editorial decisions are made by BenitoLink.
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