Green Bluff | Fresh Fruits, Vegetables, and Brews For Autumn

The autumn season is almost upon us here in Spokane. Certainly, there’s no better way to celebrate than a trip to Green Bluff. Green Bluff is known for its illustrious farms and fall-themed activities that are fun for the whole family.  Whether you plan on picking fresh apples or exploring the corn maze, you’re sure to have a blast out in Green Bluff.

What’s in Season?

This fall, Green Bluff has all of the produce you need fresh and ready to pick.

Apples

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Whether you plan on baking an apple pie or canning some fresh applesauce, Green Bluff has a wide variety of apples for you to choose from. Growers like Smith’s Hilltop Orchard and Siemer’s Farm have apples fresh and ready to pick all the way into October.

Blackberries

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Compared to apple-picking, blackberries have a short window of availability. Farms like Hansen’s Green Bluff Orchard and Beck’s Harvest House only have blackberries fresh and ready to pick into September. So, be sure to head out soon if you want some fresh blackberries!

Blueberries

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Similarly, blueberries are also only available to pick until the end of September. You can find blueberries to pick at Eleven Acre Farms or Beck’s Harvest House. Not only are they fresh, but they’re a great deal too! At Eleven Acre Farms, you can get an entire pound of Blueberries for just $3.

Peaches

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Looking to sink your teeth into a sweet juicy peach? Then make sure you get to Green Bluff before the end of September! You can find fresh peaches ripe for picking at farms like Priddy Good Fruit and Sunset Orchard.

Pears

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If you’re a fan of pears, make sure you get to Green Bluff before the end of the pear season in September. You can find a wide selection of pears for picking at farms like Cole’s Orchard or Sunshine Farm.

Plums & Prunes

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Though previous fruits on this list are only available into September, you can enjoy plums and prunes well into October! There is no shortage of plum and prune options out in Green Bluff. You can find plums and prunes from growers like Walter’s Fruit Ranch and the Cherrshack Orchard.

Garlic

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Looking for vegetables? Consider picking some fresh garlic! Garlic is available for picking well into October. You can find garlic at farms like Wildland Cooperative or Hidden Acres Orchards.

Tomatoes

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Pair your garlic with some ripe juicy tomatoes! Like garlic, tomatoes are in season into the month of October. So, make sure to stop by farms like White Gables Orchard or Found Barn Farm for some plump red tomatoes.

Eggs

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Straying from the path of fruits and veggies, you can get fresh eggs from Green Bluff all year round! You can find great deals on eggs at farms like Halbig Family Farm and Strawberry Hill Nutrition Farm.

Brews & Beverages

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As well as fruits and vegetables, many farms in Green Bluff run their own breweries. One such brewery is Big Barn Brewing. Their beer is a product of a unique combination of scientific accuracy, locally sourced ingredients, and creativity. This father/son brewing team takes pride in the consistency of their standard recipes. However, they are also always experimenting with new flavors and ideas – usually based on the season’s bummer crops.

Lone Pine Pilsner

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This German-style pilsner is a craft beer made simple. Here in Spokane County, the Ponderosa Pine is king. In fact, many Ponderosas stand as tall as the property or fence line markers in this high desert transition zone. This clean, traditional German Pilsner is made almost exclusively of pilsner malt, their German noble hop of choice — Hallertauer. Furthermore, this beer is lagered for a couple of weeks to ensure a fresh, easy-drinking brew that will stand tall and resilient for years to come. When you head out to Green Bluff, be sure to try some of Big Barn Brewing’s Lone Pine Pilsner.

Honey Sage & Mead Honey Lagers

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Farm-fresh local honey lingers on your tongue in this refreshing, well-balanced lager. Big Barn Brewing’s honey lager is a clean, crisp brew that sparkles and effervesces so as to belie the fact that this too is a naturally unfiltered Big Barn brew. Washington 2-row barley blends nicely with cascade hops to make this a unique and exceptional lager.

Bodacious Blonde Ale

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City folks have their lawnmower beers. Meanwhile, Big Barn has their tractor beers. This malt-forward blonde ale refreshingly satisfies the thirsty pallet. Beer lovers who desire a break from hop and malt-heavy beers yet still crave something with character need to look no further than this startingly satisfying brew.

Peone Wheat

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Just southwest of Green Bluff lies the Peone Prairie — the northernmost part of the famous Palouse prairie and excellent farming land for growing brewing grains such as wheat and barley. Named for the Peone Prarie, this lightly hopped brew does justice to their neighboring farm community. Rich wheat flavors come through this lightly hopped German wheat beer, making this one of Big Barn’s favorite brews.

Peach Wit: Seasonal Release

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This Big Barn seasonal ties together their standard German wheat ale with the best their farm has to offer — fresh, juicy peaches. Subtle fruit undertones from their tree-ripened peaches pair well with the signature fruity esters found in a German-style wheat beer.

Bluff Top Belgian

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This Belgian is a bluff top original. Big Barn’s local farm Belgian captures the same country charm which originally made Belgians unique. They incorporate their own handmade golden Belgian candy, both Mich and Belgian malts, and a nice combination of orange zest, coriander, and juniper to spice this wonderful brew.

Rusty Red Ale

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Not your typical Red, this Red is not overly malty. Rather, it finished dry and with a subtle black coffee bite. This ale is named for the Red Rooster that showed up on their farm one day.

Golden Pumpkin Ale: Seasonal Release

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Few pumpkin ales can offer what Big Barn Brewing’s does. Their home-grown, freshly-harvested sugar pumpkins are roasted with seeds and all until caramelized, then steeped with hearty grain bill to make this brew truly golden. This carefully balanced 2-row barley, roasted pumpkins, cinnamon, molasses, ginger, clove, and real vanilla pair makes this a superb fall seasonal microbrew.

Dirt Road Rye IPA

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Dirt Road Rye is a nicely balanced Rye IPA with Big Barn’s classic rural roots. The Rye gives a mellow spiciness to the traditional IPA hop character expected here in the northwest.

Farmyard Mosaic IPA

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This beer was originally brewers as Big Barn’s special-release IPA for the 2016 Spokane Craft Beer Week IPA showdown. Hopped during the boil with Centennial hops and dry-hopped with Mosaic, this is an exceptional IPA. The unique flavor of the artisanally malted 2-row barley from Palouse Pint, Spokane’s only local craft maltster, makes this one of the most local beers around.

Dunn Day IPA

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Dunn Day is Big Barn’s classic American IPA with utilizes all of their own farm-fresh hops. This brew is single-hopped with Centennial hops, a Northwest favorite. This beer finishes smooth rather than having the lingering sting common with so many IPAs.

Midnight Harvest Black IPA

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Big Barn’s Midnight Harvest is a Black IPA, or Cascadian Dark Ale, born in their very own hop yard. At the peak of their hop season, their heavy cones brought down the trellis with their weight. So, their brewers headed to the hop yard for a moonlit harvest. During that midnight harvest, the idea for this beer was born. Cascade, Willamette, and Chinook hops grown on their farm harmonize to make this beer exceptionally floral IPA with the color of a porter, but an easy-to-drink medium body.

Fallow IPA

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Amarilla and Centennial hops harmonize in this imperial IPA to give a brew with a flavor as crisp as the fresh air on Green Bluff. Big Barn’s Fallow IPA is aggressively hopped in the boil giving the bitterness that many seasoned Northwesterners seek in their IPAs. Additionally, to round it all out, an equally aggressive dry-hopping warms the palate with a spectacularly fresh floral hop character.

Blackberry Porter: Seasonal Release

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This porter does great justice to Big Barn’s farming roots. Their farm-fresh blackberries make their appearance via the addition of their homemade blackberry puree just at the end of the boil. A hint of blackberry on the nose is followed by a hearty porter body. As in most of their fruit beers, the blackberry undertones remain subtle yet just strong enough to make this an outstanding fall seasonal.

Mountain Smoke Porter

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Imagine the sweet smell of an open applewood fire. See yourself sitting with close friends around that same campfire in the misty mountains of the northwest. Enjoy rich roasted malts that suggest chocolate, caramel, molasses, and coffee…now you are experiencing Big Barn’s Mountain Smoke Porter.

Big Oat Stout

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If you’re interested in a substantial beer, this is it. Oatmeal and roasted barley harmonize to produce a dry stout that is more drinkable than most. Styrian Golding hops balance with coffee and caramel notes to produce an experience you won’t want to limit to one pint.

Black Dog Stout

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At Big Barn, they have a farm dog named Nandi. She is a Black Labs and Chesapeake Bay mix that both the farm owners and visitors love to death. She is the most laid back loving dog that farm owners have ever had. Their black dog stout is meant to deliver the same gift to you that Nandi’s presence on the farm delivers to the folks at Big Barn. Tip back a glass and let the deep, rich chocolate, caramel, and hints of finely brewed coffee put a smile on your face.

Want a more in-depth look at some of the farms at Green Bluff? Check out our blog here!

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