Richmond was dining at the New World Tavern in downtown Plymouth when he learned of the existence of a new brewer in town, and a very talented one at that. He naturally knew who to call to set up an expedition for the coming Friday evening.

Independent Fermentations is a small operation (for now). Brewer Paul Nixon brews an eclectic assortment of seasonal ales in a barn by his home above the sea in Cedarville, near the Cape Cod Canal. 

IndieFerm (as it's known on Facebook) is a devoted locavore, low-footprint operation. Paul uses locally-grown hops (including his own Cascades and Nuggets, which you can see behind us in this photo) and malt from Valley Malt in Hadley, MA. 

One of the most interesting adaptations he has made to maintaining a small footprint is really old-school: Nixon does not heat or cool the barn, so he uses yeast strains and old recipes that do well at the ambient temperature for the time that it will be fermenting. In the late winter he brewed a cool-friendly Doppel-Alt with a fascinating malty complexity. This summer he's brewing a warmth-tolerant saison and a Belgian tripel.

Independent Fermentations is doing it right: I brought a bunch of that Honey Tripel to the brewhounds at work. It was a big hit and they can't wait to see what else is brewing.