There has been a lot of news about hops growers recently, but hops aren’t the only agricultural commodity coveted by craft brewers. Malts are the craft beer’s backbone — giving the brew its bold body. And malt suppliers in Asheville, N.C., want beer drinkers to know it when they taste a beer made with locally grown grains. National Public Radio (NPR) profiled Brent Manning, co-founder of Riverbend Malt House in Asheville, who is setting out to create a distinct North Carolina malt taste using the power of locally-sourced grains.
Do you know where your malt grains were grown? The micro-malter trend is aiming to produce craft malts that have a unique flavor palate similar to wine grapes.
The explosion of microbreweries in recent years has spurred a small but growing craft malt industry, where tiny malt houses — facilities where malt is produced — conduct the malting process, often entirely by hand.
Craft malt houses have another benefit for farmers, says Manning: They offer some insurance against the vagaries of the market. Farmers’ livelihoods depend on the price they get when they sell their product — and that price can vary wildly. Riverbend’s goal “was to get farmers out of that commodity price loop,” Manning says.
For an in-depth look at the growing craft malt culture, head over to NPR for the extensive and excellent article.