Entries by Brent Manning

Our 10th (!!!!) Harvest Report – 2021

Wow, the samples are starting to arrive and they look beautiful!

 

Each year we hold our collective breathe from late May to mid June, watching the weather and waiting for early reports on grain quality. These crucial weeks determine the next 15 months for us. If heavy rains fall and the crop suffers, we have a long road ahead. If the skies clear, we can match quality specs with just about anyone.

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National Homebrew Day – May 7th

Homebrewing was an integral part of our early development and we are excited to celebrate National Homebrew Day on May 7th!

Homebrew Day

I started homebrewing back in Wilmington with an old 5 gallon pot and igloo cooler. I cobbled together a gravity system with old chairs and end tables in the driveway for those early brews.  I always tell people that I had “Dogfish Head Syndrome” when it came to recipe design.

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Calculating our footprint

Footprint

 

We launched Riverbend in 2010 with the intent of building a more sustainable supply chain for craft beer and spirits production. The first page of our website included a declaration of support for our local farmers and the planet. We pledged to pay living wages to our farmers for their grain and have made good on those promises year after year. 

 

In honor of Earth Day/Month,

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Using a CoA for Malting and Brewing – Pt. 3

We work hard to produce consistent, quality malt. As part of this process, we send every batch to a third party lab which provides us with a full Certificate of Analysis (CoA). A recent review of a discrepancy in color, prompted an interesting discussion between the two laboratories that we use, Montana State University Malt Quality Laboratory and Hartwick College Center for Craft Food and Beverage.  Cheers to Hannah (MSU) and Aaron (Hartwick) for the their thoughts and edits on this post!

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Craft Malt Conference – 2021

The art of creating good malt out of bad barley has not yet been discovered.

  • Robert Free, 1888 (UK Barley Breeder)

Craft Malt Conference

Craft Malt Conference – Summary

Wow! What an exciting few days for the craft malt community! Three solid days of technical presentations and happy hours all done from the comfort of home. I’ll admit that I had some concerns about the digital fatigue factor of a multi-day event housed exclusively online.

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