History
Richmond Farm & Brewery, Inc. got its name from the small village of Richmond- located on the outskirts of Bangor, Pennsylvania. This small village is where husband and wife, Eric and Milissa, were born and raised.
We love it here, the history, the slate and beautiful properties. Also, we like how close we are to other towns, cities and attractions.
After growing up in this community and raising two beautiful daughters, we decided to turn our old, run down barn into a Brewery. We purchased part of the land in April of 2015 and then the rest in October of 2017, which included the farmhouse and barn. This old barn dates back to the late 1920’s. It is two floors and 221 ft. long. Once owned by Charlie Diehl a.k.a. The Diehly Farm. Shortly after this time the 100-acre farm sat vacant for over 20 years. Today, we have a beer named after Diehly.
After purchasing the first half of the property, all the fields were in shambles and need some TLC. Eric and his brothers brushed hog the 100 acres to prepare them for corn planting. At this point we were still unsure of what to do with the old barn and farmhouse. We were thrilled to find out the barn was salvageable. Now our minds were thinking about what we could do with the barn. Eric started out fixing the barn to move our small herd of cows from our current barn- though that never happened. We asked our daughters for some ideas; one said a doggy daycare and the other suggested a haunted barn and corn maze. Neither of those ideas were a hit with us, we were still undecided what to do with the barn and property.
After many trips to Austin, Texas to visit our Daughter, Brittani, we decided to look into opening a brewery in our barn. During our stay in ATX we would site-see and visit the many breweries and wineries located in Barns or on ranches. Eric would taste craft beer and started to pick up a passion for them. Every time, we would say Bangor really needs something like this. I thought, could we ever do something like this in our Barn? We bounced the idea off of Brit and Jon and they both thought it was an awesome idea! In July of 2018 we returned from ATX and I was persistent with Eric to check with the Township’s ordinance and see if this would be possible. He said, “You really want to do this?” Low and behold it is possible! Now the fun begins!
We love old, rustic things and working on projects together. We try to do as much as possible ourselves and when we need assistance, we always hire locals. We love keeping everything local in our community. It always seems like we have three projects going at once, Eric is never still always thinking ahead to the next project.
The Barn Today
The lower level of the barn is dedicated to the production based on a 1-barrel system. The upper level is where you will find the Tap Room. Since the barn is 221 ft. long, we will have lots of room to expand over the upcoming years. A lot of sweat, countless hours, late nights and every weekend until we opened was busy renovating the barn into a brewery. Feel free to view our photo gallery to see the Diehly Farm’s transition into Richmond Farm & Brewery
Eric and Milissa wanted to create a nice family and dog friendly atmosphere where folks can come to relax, enjoy hand crafted beer and the beautiful countryside scenery all while inside an old barn from the 1920’s. We will support our local, family owned business and farms by having their handmade items to sell.
As the first barn brewery in the Lehigh Valley, Richmond Farm & Brewery will be proud to create a family environment. Look forward to family style games, live entertainment and events all while enjoying American farm brewed beer. The days of sipping on bland beer is quickly coming to a halt with the rise in craft breweries popping up all over the country. RFB is proud to be part of the revolution.
Meet Our Brewmaster: Maria Sebastionelli
Yup! That’s right, our head Brewmaster is a talented female! Maria is humble, kind and an easy going person- also born and raised in Bangor. Maria possesses a wealth of knowledge, her talents include winemaking, distilling and now brewing! She loves every opportunity to experiment and create beers with her own personal touch.
The Finest Ingredients
The emphasis of a craft beer is the quality of the product rather than its mass production. We source our ingredients from local farmers when available. Our beer is handcrafted from the finest grain and freshest hops. We support local family owned and operated businesses. We experiment with pretty much anything under the sun to inject our own personal touch to the beer. Our Mission is to provide local, handcrafted beer. Bringing you only the best to your glass! Proudly made in Bangor, Pennsylvania! Enjoy the fruits of our labor. Cheers!
