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They spent the first year reclaiming
the steeply sloping hillsides, building
their creamery and aging cave onto
the existing Dutch gambrel barn.
Eight Brown Swiss cows joined the
operation the following year to begin
re-fertilizing the nutrient depleted
soils. In 2014, they produced their
first cheese, an aged Appenzeller-
style wheel made from raw milk.
Aptly named for an architectural
feature on their barn, Dutch Knuckle,
the cheese is my favorite of the trip.
Aged for 8-12 months, each firm cut
triangle is grassy and full of rich beef
broth characteristics.
"We knew we wanted to make an
alpine style cheese here," Brooks
says. "It just felt right for this place."
In 2016, Casey Galligan joined the
team to manage the creamery after
apprenticing with cheese makers in
Languedoc, France and neighboring
Vermont. It was in Vermont while they
were all working as interns together
that she met Eaton and Brooks, and
the trio shared their dreams to work a
small farm together.
They increased the herd to
12 Brown Swiss cows and one
Jersey cow; and added two more
exceptional cheeses to their line-up.
Poundcake is a pound-sized wheel
washed in a salt brine encasing a
semi-soft buttery, nutty core, and
Little Dickens is a rich and fluffy
button with a citrus tang and notes
of mushroom. In addition, they sell
60 gallons of raw milk a week during
the pasture season.
"Our goal from the beginning has
always been how to increase the
quality of life of the people and the
animals living here," says Brooks. "We
wanted a smaller herd that directly
fed the community around us."
F OUR FAT F O W L
On the Massachusetts border just
outside Berkshires territory, Four
Fat Fowl is churning out one of the
Cheeses from
Four Fat Fowl
Chad Parker stacks St. Stephen
after a brine bath at Four Fat Fowl
