Join us on Monday, September 30, for an event focused on building community and fostering connections within the regional grain value chain in the Philadelphia area! This gathering is for local grain enthusiasts, producers, and food and beverage businesses to learn and connect with others interested in the regional grain economy. 

Featuring an open house and tours at Castle Valley Mill, followed by local beer, bites, and networking at Forest and Main Brewing. Evening programming includes a talk from Tara Nurin, a freelance journalist and author of “A Woman’s Place Is In The Brewhouse - A Forgotten History of Alewives, Brewsters, Witches and CEOS.”

Event Schedule

4:30pm - 6:00pm - Castle Valley Mill Open House

  • Address: 1730 Lower State Rd, Doylestown, PA 18901

Located in the heart of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Castle Valley Mill continues to produce the finest stone ground flours, pasta, meals, and cleaned whole berry grains. Processed slowly and at cool temperatures on antique buhr mills, the flavor, nutrients, and wholesome goodness of the grain is preserved, and produces exceptional quality foods. When able, Castle Valley Mill uses local Bucks County grains and they always grind the grains fresh.

Tours of the mill take 30 minutes, and will be done on roughly the half hour mark. There is limited parking at the mill, so please carpool if possible. There is a beautiful pond and vista views to enjoy before and after your tour.  

6:30pm - Check in at Forest and Main Brewing 

  • Address: 241 N. Main St. Ambler, Pa. 19002

7:00pm - Welcome

7:20pm - Keynote Speaker Tara Nurin 

You’ve probably heard that our hunter-gathering ancestors likely founded the first agrarian societies AKA “civilizations,” to grow grain for bread. But did you know some prominent historians believe these women and men might have been trying to grow wheat and barley for beer instead? And did you know that if you fast forward 10,000 years, Colonial Americans jealously guarded their grain crops from reaching the hands of other beer-brewing colonists? Join the Common Grain Alliance as local beer journalist and author Tara Nurin shows us how grain – with the help of women – has shaped the world of alcohol throughout time.

8:00pm  - Networking and Small Bites 

9:00pm - Adjourn