ABF Farms adds Twin Peaks Creamery
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BERTHOUD, Colo. — Americans love cheese.
In fact, a survey conducted by Boar’s Head found that 87% of respondents would rather give up chocolate, coffee and even alcohol, than give up their favorite dairy delight.
Twin Peaks Creamery in Berthoud, Colo., aims to satisfy that need for milk’s final and most glorious form.
Nestled where the Great Plains meet the Rocky Mountains lies ABF Farms and the newly minted Twin Peaks Creamery, or TPC for short, owned and operated by seventh generation Coloradans and third generation farmers Brien and Alyssa Fiske.
Brien’s great grandpa was a chicken farmer. His grandpa was a dairyman, who in the late 1950s began what would be considered a modern-day dairy operation in Berthoud. He started with three cows and eventually grew to become a Grade A dairy, providing bulk milk to Dairy Farmers of America.
As time went on urban development pushed the operation to the eastern plains where it continues to operate today.
A NEW VENTURE
In 2017, Brien’s family opened a new dairy on his grandparent’s original farm in Berthoud. Brien managed the installation side of things where upwards of 500 cows were milked every day. The years that followed would be a volatile time for the dairy industry and he found himself looking for something that would keep him tied to his agricultural roots, but offered a more fulfilling way of life.
After their wedding in 2023, Brien and Alyssa opened in Berthoud and started selling direct to consumer beef, which is raised and finished at their farm and processed locally.
“The beef sales have been good. It’s a really competitive business but we have a lot of repeat business,” Brien said.
ABF Farms raises and sells Holstein meat.
“It takes longer to finish, up to two years to be ready to slaughter, but we like the meat,” he continued.
Soon the itch to return to dairy gave the Fiskes the push they needed to venture into the cheese-making business.
“We started working with a consultant who helped us with the permitting and the search for our equipment. We found a 1,000-pound vat in Kansas. So we drove out there to get it and hauled it home on a trailer. We put it in our existing barn and got to work. Alyssa did all this while she was in her third trimester of pregnancy,” Brien said proudly.
ORIGINAL GENETICS
They kept 10 cows from Brien’s family’s original herd, which any farmer or rancher will tell you is special.
“We are still working with the genetics my family started generations ago, and that means a lot to us. These cows were born and raised on this farm,” Brien said.
Those 10 cows, Pearl, Velma, Winky, Buttercup, Dopey, Ursula, Slowpoke, Brownie, Rosie and Secretariat are milked once a day and now provide all the milk for TPC cheese-making operations.
“We started making cheese last July and had our first wheels ready to sell in November,” Brien said.
“We specialize in Alpine style cheese. We traveled to Switzerland to do some research and learn the best way to make these style of cheeses,” he continued.
Alpine cheeses include Gruyère, Appenzeller and Raclette among many others.
TPC puts their own spin on these classics with “Alpine”Zeller, Colorado Flurries cheese curds, Rocky Mountain Raclette and Evergreen “Curdurado” cheese curds.
MAKING THE CHEESE
TPC starts their process using fresh milk that’s heated and a starter culture is added. After an hour of incubation, the rennet sets the curd which is stirred and cut and the whey drained off. The curds are then pressed in molds TPC acquired from Switzerland. The next day the molded cheese is placed in a brine bath for about two days. It’s then aged in temperature-controlled environment, where its turned, wiped with salt water to keep mold at bay and encourage yeast growth.
After about 60 days, the cheese becomes stabilized, which means the natural rind is dry to the touch and the texture of the cheese finished.
As the salt penetrates, it goes through a softening phase where the microbes go to work creating flavor. By day 70 the cheese dries out and it’s turned occasionally. It’s now ready to be shipped.
“After about 60 days we try the cheese to check the flavor and see if it needs more time,” Brien said.
STARTS WITH THE COWS
Brien said they take great care in all the moving parts leading up to the final product, which starts with what the cows eat.
“Cheese is a representation of the milk,” he said.
“We feed a dry hay diet and mineral. That’s it. It produces a rich raw milk which makes great cheese. As long as the cheese is aged at least 60 days, raw milk is allowed to be used according to the USDA,” he said.
Brien explained that cows that are fed fermented feed can pass those flavors through their milk to the cheese which pushed the end flavor profile away from the nutty and spicy signature flavors they enjoy making.
“There are a lot of moving parts,” Brien said with a chuckle.
Now with their 1-year-old daughter and fourth generation farm “supervisor” Grace in tow, Brien and Alyssa enjoy providing their community and surrounding area with great tasting beef and cheese.
“We take pride in the fact that our beef is born, raised and processed right here in Colorado. And same with our cheese. If you come to the farm to pick some up, you’ll see our cows and the barn and all the facilities where we make our cheese,” Brien said.
ABF Farms also has a farm stand where they sell eggs and local honey.
“Cheese and beef make great gifts, especially for people who are hard to shop for, everyone loves cheese,” Brien said.
TPC can ship products arriving at your doorstep via next-day air although Brien said most of their business now comes from about a 20-mile radius of their farm.
“The farthest we’ve shipped is Alaska, we have insulated coolers that will keep items frozen for up to 60 hours,” Brien said.
“We have some popular beef and cheese bundles available now, along with eggs and honey at the farm stand. We love providing home grown and healthy food for our community,” Brien said.
Their cheeses can be found at a select few retail locations currently, including St Killian’s Cheese Shop and So Damn Gouda Cheese and Provisions in Denver as well as just north of the border at Chalk and Cheese in Laramie, Wyo.
For information on the ordering beef or cheese, carrying their products at your retail location or to chat with Brien or Alyssa, visit their website abfarms.co or find them on Facebook and Instagram.
