LENA — Sometimes, you need glasses to see a business opportunity.

Take the case of a Lena couple who were growing produce and selling it at farmers markets. Nate and Penny Peterson were part of the farm-to-table movement, a growing trend toward connecting people with locally produced food — that is until Nate’s hobby turned into the inspiration for the couple to put their own twist on the trend.

These days, the fruits and vegetables of their labor are going from farm to tap.

Certified organic peaches, apples, and even jalapenos and basil grown on Nate and Penny Peterson’s 10-acre Lena farm are ending up in their brewing kegs and flowing from the taps at Wishful Acres Farm and Brewery, where agriculture and craft beer are inseparably tied.

With year-round staples such as a peach mango fruit ale and Llama Slobber (a light blonde that tastes better than its name), the brewery offers 11 different types of beer on tap at any given time, each with its own flavor profile, and others are available in bottles. In addition, the menu also offers one of the couple’s other nearly 225 recipes — or other flavors they may try out — with a different selection rotating in and out every two to three weeks. With about two or three new beers introduced per month, beer connoisseurs can try around 30 new varieties in a year.

Want to try more than one? Flights are available with four to six samples in 6-ounce glasses. Take-home growlers — 32- and 64-ounce — can also be ordered.

Wishful Acres also blends its own root beer, which is available year-round.

Visitors can enjoy the brews from an indoor taproom, outside on a deck, or even from the Petersons’ back yard, under the shade of the same trees that bear fruit for the beer. Located on a country road, the farm/brewery is an escape from the daily distractions of a busier day, providing a calm and relaxed atmosphere.

“I can’t think of anywhere else that I know that has their products going into their beer,” Penny said. “It’s located literally in our back yard. It’s ‘out in the middle of nowhere,’ people like to tell us. It’s quiet and people like to come and sit outside here. I think that’s an experience you really don’t get anywhere else — maybe in a winery that’s out in the country, but as far as breweries go, there’s not a lot that’s out in the country. You’re out in our orchard drinking our beer.”

Fruit beers are perennial favorites, and seasonal recipes change with the harvest. Weather and soil conditions even shape how beers turn out from year to year. That flexibility keeps the taproom menu fresh, with new one-off recipes released regularly.

“We’re flexible, and we’re not stuck with having to make large quantities of the same beer all of the time,” Nate said. “Since we’re a small place, we’re always fresh. I would go crazy if I had to do the same beers over and over and over again.”

The Petersons’ venture began as a dream of country living, a lifestyle they welcome those from more urban communities to enjoy a taste of when they visit.

The family started farming in 2009 on rented land while living in Freeport. Two years later, they purchased the 10-acres that would became Wishful Acres; the name a nod to their wish that they would one day have their own farm. It originally began as just a farm, and Penny sold their vegetables at farmers markets. The brewery aspect came a few years later, taking root in Nate’s interest in craft brewing — a fitting choice for someone who lived in Freeport, which was a major brewing hub in the Midwest from the 1850s to the 1930s.

Penny bought Nate a home brew kit in 2008, and a casual hobby quickly grew into a passion.

“She bought me my first home brew kit, and by the time I was done going through the first kit, I was already ordering three more,” Nate said. “I was having such a good time doing it. I made beer as a hobby from time to time and my brothers and I would get together to do it. I was always taking the next step with brewing. I got to a certain step in home brewing before I started doing it professionally, and it was just a natural progression.”

That natural progression became what Nate called a “culinary art.”

“It was just how easy and simple it was. I thought it was something much more complex as you get more and more into it. I just fell in love with making my own beer and doing it all by myself.”

That passion turned into a profession when Wishful Acres Brewery opened in 2016 inside a barn on the farm. Since then, the Petersons have developed a reputation for their creative small-batch beers infused with flavors from their own land, which also includes pumpkins, lemon balm, mulberries, black raspberries and radishes.

Fruity beers are the top sellers, Penny said, and the top-selling seasonal sud is Oktoberfest, brewed in the largest batch every fall and typically available until December. If all those fruits and veggies make you hungry, the Petersons also serve light snacks to go with the brews — cheese and cracker trays, potato chips, cheese popcorn, and bags of pretzels — and will also invite food trucks to set up on occasion.

The brewery celebrated its ninth anniversary from Oct. 3-5, and released a new birthday cake flavored beer — a dark, roasty, chocolate stout — for the occasion.

The brew business has been such a success that it’s now the Petersons’ full-time job. Nate previously worked the night shift at a warehouse in Rockford, and doesn’t miss the second-shift work. He’s now spending his time planning his next creations in the brew room, and preparing at least three months ahead for the seasonal brews, such as a cranberry ale and gingerbread stout.

“I remember telling him that we’re going to build up this farm, we’re going to get you off of second shift and we’re all going to work here,” Penny recalled. “Then it wound up being a brewery, which we didn’t plan at the beginning. The ultimate goal was realized, and it turned out a different way than we had envisioned.”

The Petersons’ three sons also lend a hand. Alex, who recently turned 22, is helping pour beers, middle child Evan helps with labeling and other tasks, and their youngest, Tristan, eagerly waits in the wings to help out one day. Penny and Nate remain the constant faces behind the bar, emphasizing the personal touch that comes with being a family-run business.

For Penny, the farm is more than work, it’s a sanctuary.

“It’s peaceful,” Penny said. “It’s relaxing. We had three boys who were really little when I started the farm garden, and it gave me something to do that was quiet. It’s my favorite place to be. I absolutely love it out here.”

The brewery continues to carve out its identity as a place where farm, home and business all converge. For Nate, the journey from hobbyist to professional still feels remarkable, he said.

“It’s been great and very rewarding,” Nate said. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world and couldn’t trade it for anything. Over the years it just kind of came about. The brewery wasn’t really the main thing; it was more about the farming when we first bought the farm. It took a long time, but it was a hobby that turned into a passion, and it turned into a business.”

Wishful Acres Farm and Brewery, ​​​4679 North Flansburg Road in rural Lena, is open from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday, 1 to 7 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. Find it on Facebook and Instagram, go to wishfulacresfarm.com or call 815-990-2380 for more information.