zachary "Zach" kaiser
FOUNDER, CHIEF STORYTELLER, & CREATIVE LEAD
I grew up admiring culinary aspects of life, recognizing that all people can relate to one thing - food. I grew up working on farms (AeroFarms and others), at local breweries (Neshaminy Creek Brewing Company), and with young entrepreneurs. I studied Environmental Studies and International Studies and traveled to Germany and Costa Rica to pursue my interest in sustainability and farm-to-table culture. I actively lend my experiences to Millstone Cellars, a farmhouse cidery in Maryland, as the Production & Sales Coordinator.
These experiences give me an insider perspective into how we consume, produce, and grow our food. Our relationship to food and our community is closely intertwined and I look to tell these stories in critical, creative, and curious ways with the help of my friends.
I admire the people who put their heart and soul into creating high-quality products and produce clean food. Please join me as I follow the entrepreneurial spirit of individuals shaping food culture and ethics in America.
Stories & Podcasts
Collected and described by Zach Kaiser, cartoon by Benjamin Slyngstad
This is our weekly collection of stories, videos, and insights on the minds of the authors at The Artisan Situation. We recommend reading these after Sunday Brunch.
collected and described by Zach Kaiser, Cartoon by Benjamin Slyngstad
This is our weekly collection of stories, videos, and insights on the minds of the authors at The Artisan Situation. We recommend reading these after Sunday Brunch.
Interview and photos by Zach Kaiser
Welcome to our new series call Thoughts from the Grange. A series of sit-down interviews with young farmers and food entrepreneurs. Brody Mcallister is thoughtful, opinionated, and knowledgable about what makes the Baltimore-area community special, but also vulnerable. The conversation started with discussions about dogs and family, but suddenly dove deep into the fabric that guides our food decisions.
collected and described by Zach Kaiser
This is our weekly collection of stories, videos, and insights on the minds of the authors at The Artisan Situation. We recommend reading these after Sunday Brunch.
Words by Zach Kaiser, Photos by Nick Bailey
Big Hill is bringing people closer to their local agriculture, but at their core they simply want to provide the best experience they can through their cider. Their identity isn't simply farm-to-glass cider making, they are making cider that speaks to their community and connects to the identity of Adams County Pennsylvania.
A collective story carefully curated by Nick Toole, featuring Zach Kaiser
We often choose music to fit our mood, situation, or environment. The right song can illuminate a moment, while the wrong one can ruin it all. We believe that what we drink can do the same. A well-made pilsner makes warm weather warmer, and a good cortado can turn around a tired afternoon. Please read with a good drink in hand and the right tune in the background.
Words and Photos by Zach Kaiser
The world of food is an exciting place. It’s a world with immense tradition and heritage. At the same time, young farmers, chefs, brewers, and educators are shaping a new exciting future in food that features more flavors and more diversity than ever before. Almost every new food start-up these days has to answer two questions: how do we affect the environment and how do we create a sustainable future?
Interview and Photos by Zach Kaiser
Our guest today, Mary Berry, is continuing the work and stewardship that her father exclaimed in that book over forty years ago. Working at the Berry Center, located in her hometown of New Castle, in Henry County Kentucky, Mary is spending her time farming, advocating for farmers, building more resilient communities, and creating economies for the farming population living there. I sat down with her in the Spring of 2017, while traveling west through the rolling hills of Kentucky. Join us at the table, this is Mary Berry, of The Berry Center in New Castle, Kentucky.
Photos and Interview by Zach Kaiser
Over the last couple years, some farmers have recognized the need to bring biodiversity back to our agricultural system. New crops, like the versatile Hemp plant, not only bring biodiversity back to the environment, but help make farms more sustainable, adaptive, and economically viable in highly-variable marketplaces and climates. Known by many as the hemp guy around town, Chad is working to create the largest hemp processing facility in the country that could help catapult the hemp industry into full gear. Chad has his head on a swivel, working with politicians, farmers, retailers, and manufacturers to create the ideal environment for the industry to have a sustainable future.
Photos and Interview by Zach Kaiser
The act of sustainable agriculture and organic farming is still considered by many as practice on the fringes. Farming is hitting a critical pressure point. Jack Algiere is working hard at the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture to help build resourceful, passionate, and thoughtful farmers. Jack fell in love with farming in the early 90s and never looked back.
Photos and interview by Zach Kaiser
Taylor is a powerful energetic figure that captures the energy around her and shares that with others in the form of enthusiasm. Today, Taylor runs the business side of the Suarez Family Brewery located in Livingston, New York, but is also one of the founders of Good Food Jobs, a platform that provides job listings focused on genuine food related opportunities. Her journey as a food citizen can teach us a lot about ourselves, and her enthusiasm for understanding how people embrace food in their lives is inspiring.
Photos and Interview by Zach Kaiser
Diamondback Brewing founded by longtime friends Tom, Francis, and Colin entered the brewing scene as contract brewers, making large batches at other breweries facilities and selling those batches in cans and draft to the local Baltimore community. After a year of contract brewing, they set their sights on finding their own space and now have a bustling tap room in Locust Point in South Baltimore. Next to the smokestack that sits centerstage in the tasting room, I sat down with Tom to see what life is like in the brewery through his eyes. This is Tom Foster of Diamondback Brewing. Listen In.
Photos and Interview by Zach Kaiser
Today, we are going to talk about the apple. Adams County, Pennsylvania is the fifth largest county for apple production in the United States. It is home to apple growers, processors, and cider makers of all sizes. Nobody's hand is more on the pulse of this community than Ben Wenk of Three Springs Fruit Farm. His family has been farming the land in Adams County since 1901 and has seen the apple industry grow from its nascent beginnings into a burgeoning industry.
Photos and Interview by Zach Kaiser
Our journey with this podcast begins with Adam Dellinger. On his five acres farm, in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Adam has begun growing hops for breweries throughout Pennsylvania. He carefully straddles between the world of farming and the world of brewing bringing both of these communities together centered around full-flavored PA grown hops.