Entries by Scott Hickman

Chemist Spirits – Biltmore Single Malt Whiskey

The elegant rose-gold tint of Biltmore Estate single malt whiskey provides a visual hint of its heavy Sangiovese cask influence. It is dominated on the nose by butterscotch and caramelized sugar with notes of maple syrup, pralines, candied pecans, dates, and syrupy stewed plums. The delicate spices beautifully integrate with the soft fruits, dried apricots, honey, and vanilla sugar and a sweet smooth creaminess which is complemented with hints of butterscotch and cherry syrup, with lingering fine-ground pepper and polished oak on the finish.

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Bean To Barstool: A Malty Bend in the River

Tis’ the season for holiday gifting, and what better way to treat the sweet tooth in your life than a bar of locally made, craft malted chocolate in their stocking? The Bean To Barstool podcast interviewed our co-founder Brian alongside the French Broad Chocolates co-founder Jael Skeffington about this storied product. Also featured in this episode is Kyle Spears & Dan Lauro, the brewers at Carillon Brewing Company in Dayton,

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Winner’s Circle: Southeast Beers Made With Riverbend Win 2022 Hardware

Congratulations to our customers on taking home hardware at many industry competitions in 2022!

An array of Riverbend malt supporters won medals at the 2022 U.S. Open Beer Championship. Props to Cherry Street Brewing who earned five medals, including a gold for the the 12.12.12 made with our rye that won first place in the Barrel-Aged Barley Wine category and the Atomic Funk made with Chesapeake Pilsner that placed third in the Brett Beer category.

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A Homebrewer’s Journey to Craft Malt

For Learn To Homebrew Day 2022, we asked Tom Hardinge to guest blog for us about his latest batch made with Riverbend! Here’s his story. 
Homebrew

Homebrewers are experimenters. 

Who else would take a perfectly good pint and say, “I could make that!” and then proceed to invest most of their free time and hard-earned money attempting to reproduce something that’s readily available in bulk for $19.99 at Costco? Well as it turns out,

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Riverbend Malt House 2022 Harvest Report

The Riverbend Malt House 11 Year Harvest is cut, and we’re pleased to report that we have a tremendous amount of high-quality, locally-sourced barley to offer our customers on a consistent basis.

Here’s Our 2022 Harvest Report.

 

Crop Conditions 

While the spring started off cooler than normal, temperatures rose quickly throughout May and into June. Some isolated areas reported mild drought conditions due to below average rainfall during the same period.

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West Virginia Beer Roads: What You Should Know About Craft Malt

West Virginia Beer Roads, a podcast all about beer from a West Virginia perspective, hosted us for an all-about-malt episode. On the show with us was Weathered Ground Brewing Co., who use Riverbend malt in many of their saisons

 

They tasted Weathered Ground’s Of The Sun and Moon and Stars, which uses Cumberland Pilsner as a base with the additions of Heritage Malt and Appalachian Wheat in the grist.

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You’re Invited To A Craft Malt Showcase at Brick Store Pub on September 20

Brick Store Pub will host what might be Georgia’s largest consumer-facing showcase of craft malt to-date on September 20, featuring a tap takeover of 14 beers brewed with malt from Riverbend Malt House. 

 

WHAT

Craft breweries across the Southeast have united to build this one-of-a-kind tap list that includes a wide array of beer styles made with Riverbend 6 and 2-Row barley varieties, wheat, rye,

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Tennessee’s Farm To Tap Returns For Second Year

Farm to Tap

Summertime in Tennessee means fresh fruit and vegetables, and lots of them at Farm to Tap. Harding House Brewing Co. in West Nashville celebrates this bounty with an annual green tomato Saison, Proleptic, that boasts fresh green grape flavors and bright effervescence. “I dare you to try it,” says brewery owner Nate Underwood. “It sounds crazy, but I love this beer because it represents our practice of looking to our area for ingredient selection.

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The American Single Malt Whiskey Standard of Identity in 2022

Malt Whiskey

Largely influenced by petitioning from the American Single Malt Whiskey commission, the Alcohol Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) is proposing to establish a standard of identity for American single malt whiskey. Like a lot of craft malt, beer, and spirits distillers we’ve been advocates of this style of whiskey for years now. 

It’s a game-changer for the craft malt community because for the first time there will be a minimum qualification for single malt produced in the United States,

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