Craft Malt Converts: Beacon Brewing Co

For Southern proud LaGrange, Georgia-based Beacon Brewing Company, the choice to switch to Southern malt to brew Southern beer was essential to their brand. The decision fell perfectly in line with their desire to provide patrons with a fusion of local flavors accompanied by local lore.

Why the Switch?

According to Dave Hash, Head Brewer at Craft Malt Certified™ Beacon Brewing, “For us, it was a combination of the efficiency and flavor we get from the malt as well as the mission of supporting our local southeastern beer economy. That, coupled with the bulk grain pricing we were able to get, made the switch very enticing.”  

Beyond flavor and price, Beacon strives to “be a part of the community, not apart from the community.” Hash went further to say, “Applying this philosophy on a macro scale makes perfect sense for us and gives us a chance to support our local southeastern farmers and maltsters. Switching to Riverbend is the perfect way for us to do that.” 

Malt Selection

Of Riverbend’s available standard malts, Beacon Brewing uses a whopping eleven. Their base malts are created exclusively with Chesapeake Pilsner and Southern Select.  For their specialty malts, Beacon incorporates Light and Dark Munich, Vienna, Great Chit, Appalachian Wheat, Munich Rye, Carolina Rye, and Cumberland Corn. Their Sweetland Light uses exclusively Chesapeake Pilsner and Great Chit and the Vienna, and according to Dave, “The Vienna Malt and Cumberland Corn really shine in our Mexican Lager.”

But Hash says he does have a favorite. The head brewer goes on to say that by far, his favorite usage of Riverbend malts is “the Munich Rye and Carolina Rye malts in our Red Rye DIPA. The spicy rye characteristics pair really well with English crystal malt and citrusy hop bitterness, and you can really get that tingling, slightly cooling mouthfeel that you’d get from a rye whiskey.” 

A Sense of Place

Beacon Brewing Company lives by a local first motto. “In an industry that relies so much on homogeneity in its raw ingredients, it’s refreshing to be able to use an ingredient that allows us to maintain and exceed operational integrity while supporting our local farmers,” Hash adds. “I’m just proud to be using Southern malt to brew Southern beer.” 

Learn more about Beacon Brewing Company’s Southern pride at beaconbeer.com.