Entries by Brent Manning

WARREN WILSON TOUR

Last week we gave a tour to a group of students from Warren Wilson College.  The students were part of an ethnobotany class taught by Jay Bost.  This was a new audience for us, but it gave us a great opportunity to focus on some of the sustainability aspects of our work that are often omitted during a typical tour.  We started with a brief overview of the commodity markets that control the price of grain and transitioned into the “day in the life” of a maltster routine that Brian and I have been perfecting over the past several months.  

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MALT RAKE 2.0 – GETTING MEDIEVAL!

As with most things in life, everyday brings a new set of challenges in the malt house.  One of the major issues we’ve been dealing with is grain raking.  Specifically, how to accomplish this task without breaking our backs.  As the batch sizes got bigger over the first few months, we quickly realized that our first malt rake had a tendency to float to the top of the bed after just a few feet of travel leaving the germinating barley relatively undisturbed.  

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ROAD TRIP: ORGANIC COMMODITY CONFERENCE

A few weeks ago, I headed down to the Organic Commodity Conference held in Rocky Mount, NC, that was arranged by our friends at the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association (CFSA).  This event offers a chance for farmers, scientists, policy makers, and end users to get to know one another.  It also provides a great opportunity for someone with little to no farming background (like myself) to really get a feel for the market pitfalls,

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NEW YEARS EVE @ ARCADE ASHEVILLE

So this is pretty exciting news!  We have been working the folks over at Arcade Asheville on a special beer release to celebrate their 1st anniversary on New Year’s Eve.  That evening we will be releasing the first kegs of “8-bit Ale” to the public starting at 5PM.

The “8-bit” name was chosen in honor of the early Nintendo game console that we all grew up playing…..you know the one I’m talking about.

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HOMEBREW FOR THE HOLIDAYS!

Looking for a unique gift for the homebrewer on your list?  How about some local malt to brew with?

We just dropped off a fresh batch of malt at 2 Asheville homebrew shops.  Please check out Asheville Brewers Supply on Merrimon Avenue or Fifth Seasonon Banks Avenue (downtown).  Both of these shops can tell you all you need to know about working with our 6-row barley.

Just our way of helping you get into the Christmas spirits!

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A BEAUTIFUL WHISKEY HELMET…..

Last week I got a phone call from the good folks at the Blue Ridge Distilling Company based in Golden Valley, North Carolina.  We started talking about local grain production, craft distilling, and the challenges of running a small business.  By the time the conversation was over, we were both excited about the idea of producing local spirits, and I made plans to visit their facility the following day.  I also realized that I had a fair bit of googling to do!

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Farm To Table Meets Grain to Growler

This weekend we are headed to the Raleigh/Durham area for the 2011 Sustainable Agriculture Conference that is hosted by our friends at Carolina Farm Stewardship Association.  They have compiled an amazing line-up of foodies, farmers, and permaculture professionals for several days of workshops and presentations.

But you know what we are really stoked about?…..the first batches of brew from Weeping Radish using Riverbend malts will be featured this weekend!!

Uli (owner of Weeping Radish) will be bringing along a sneak peak of their seasonal Doppelbock.  

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Eastbound and Down……

I spent most of last Wednesday in our Sprinter van…running the gauntlet of I-40 for close to 500 miles.

I met with our buddy Uli Bennowitz, from the Weeping Radish Brewery, by the side of the road and dropped off our first shipment of malt!  Weeping Radish is located near Manteo and focuses primarily on German styles.  Although their beer is not currently available in WNC, they are expanding their distribution channels and offer shipping services on their website,

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