This one time, at barley camp…

At this moment barley growers and maltsters across North America are in the thick of it: harvesting thousands of acres of barley, hauling tons of grain to malting facilities, preparing more tons for short- and long-term storage, working with procurement teams to plan out strategies for the year ahead. It’s a whirlwind of activity, the end result of months of work, all focused on getting the highest quality malt into the mills of brewers just like you. But how much do you know about this essential component, the backbone, foundation, and soul of your beer? Last month, RahrBSG hosted Barley Days at the Rahr Malting Company facility in Alix, Alberta, Canada, to take brewers inside the process – from farm to foam.

The one-day event brought professional brewers and brewery staff to Alberta from all over Canada and the United States to immerse them in all things barley and malt. The day started with a tour of Rahr Malting Company’s Alix campus, including the colossal 11-story tower design malthouse where brewers follow the entire malting process, top to bottom, from steeping raw barley in water to begin the germination process to kilning malt and transferring it for delivery and/or storage. What seemed to impress brewers most was the sheer scale of the malthouse, which has a daily output of about 460 metric tons.

Tours included the facility’s grain elevator, storage vessels, and quality control lab areas where attendees asked more questions and tasted wort from malt steep tests. They were led by experienced barley procurement and malting staff including site operations director Cody Marshall, who has been with Rahr Malting for 31 of the 33 years the company has been malting out of the facility, and production supervisor Mykael Hughes-Mussio, the malting team’s newest member. Curious brewers in attendance came to Rahr with a lot of questions they were able to ask one-on-one and get a deeper understanding of the year-round work that goes into creating consistent world-class malt.

“I believe it is very important for all who love beer and work in this industry to experience first-hand just how much work goes into providing an excellent, consistent product,” said Mauricio Arratia, head brewer at The Tank Brewing Co. in Miami. “Malt is such a huge part of what makes great beer, and people need to know that there is a reason why we’re able to do what we do with it. It’s not by chance or coincidence, it’s hard-working people.”

After the malthouse tour, the group hopped on the bus to visit two barley farms for an up close look at the grain and more direct conversations with growers. Their first stop was Davidson Brothers Farm near Red Deer, where Dave Davidson walked attendees into a field of Churchill and AC Prairie varieties. Churchill is one of the varieties used to produce Rahr To Thee Pils™ and AC Prairie is an experimental variety Rahr is looking at with a higher enzyme package.

Davidson talked about progress of the growing year, and answered many questions, comparing agronomic traits on the varieties (yields, proteins, plumpness, disease resistance) and showing how an established variety like Churchill compares to a newer variety such as Prairie. Rahr’s barley procurement program staff maintain constant contact with growers to track barley growth and help with any challenges that might arise. “Farmers are open to new varieties,” said Rahr supply chain director Kevin Sich during the field visit, “but the variety must prove itself on their farm to be grown. We the maltster have a lot of interest in the growing conditions and then how it will perform in the malthouse.”

For the second farm visit, the bus headed north of Edmonton to Watrin Grains Ltd. Farm where we were greeted by farmer Lee Watrin and many members of his family and team who work the farm. Watrin grows Synergy, the main variety used by Rahr Malting Company. It is the most recognized variety grown across Western Canada (around 38% of the malt barley acres grown) and is the standard variety that all other varieties are compared to. The family gave us a wonderful farm tour that included time in the field, checking out large pieces of harvesting equipment, a lengthy group Q&A, and, of course, a few beers.

Nurturing a personal relationship between growers and brewers is a key goal of Rahr’s planning for Barley Days. Brewers told us they enjoyed the chance to connect directly with growers, to better understand the pressures their barley crops face, and what responses they have available to ensure yield and quality remain high. “It’s important for us as brewers to understand all the care and hard work that goes into producing high quality malt before it reaches the brewery,” said brewmaster Erica McOuster of Toronto’s Steam Whistle Brewing. “We can’t take it for granted. Barley breeders and growers need to think years, even decades ahead in order to support a strong malting barley industry in Canada. Gaining that perspective as a brewer can help make our beers more consistent and sustainable year over year.”

We look forward to future Barley Days, showing off the barley-rich prairies of Alberta, visiting Rahr Malting Company and partner farms in coming years. Follow RahrBSG and Rahr Malting Co. on social for a heads-up about upcoming events.

Also, a big shout-out to Campio Brewing for hosting our Barley Days kick-off welcome reception the night before and to Blindman Brewing and Blind Enthusiasm for top-notch beer, brewery tours, and good vibes the day of the event. Your hospitality was next level. Cheers to you all!