Entries by Scott Hickman

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Good Beer Hunting: Fields of Gold — As Barley Prices Rise, Craft Malt Hopes to Shine with Greater Cost Parity

The climate of the commodity grain supply chain in 2022 was bleak, to say the least. Our customers vented about shipping delays and inconsistencies, corporatization, and price upsurges— all served with a side of obtuse sales strategies and degraded product quality. As occasional issues turn endemic, we continue to scrutinize our malt quality, business model, and customer service standards. And we’re proud to report that our proactive mission has mitigated reactivity to the aggressively changing malt industry.

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Looking Back On 2022: The Return to Conviviality in the Craft Beer Industry

Conviviality – (noun) the quality of being friendly and lively; friendliness.

For good reason, face-to-face sales calls during the pandemic looked a lot different. Masks and social distancing made it tough to connect with customers sans curated tastings that had become the hallmark of our industry. Once we arrived on the other side of Omicron in early 2022, things began to ease up a bit– allowing a more comfortable vibe to return to our day to day routine.

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Craft Malt Converts: Fullsteam Brewery

Fullsteam

Durham, North Carolina-based Fullsteam Brewery is a long-standing partner of ours. Years ago, they were one of the first craft breweries to go all-in on our mission by switching to Riverbend as a primary base malt provider. Utilizing local ingredients falls in line with their Southern Beer Economy ethos and dedication to sourcing within North Carolina as much as possible. 

“We were proud to support Riverbend before expansion,

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Florida Beer Blog: The Unsung Hero Of Beer

We’re thrilled to return to the Florida Beer Blog! This time David Butler hosted our Florida, Georgia, and Alabama Territory Manager Tyler Adams for an in-depth conversation about craft malt– including the malting process, SRM, smoked malt, custom malt projects, single-origin Pilsner varieties like Chesapeake Pilsner and Cumberland Pilsner, and Florida 401 Grain Rye (commonly known as Florida Black Rye), to name a few of the topics they covered.

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WNC Magazine: Local Brewers And Experts Weigh In On The North Carolina Beer Industry’s Recent Boom And Its Future

As the number of breweries in North Carolina continues to increase, so too have the number of ancillary support businesses, says WNC Magazine in their latest article about the local beer scene. “Businesses such as White Labs, an international producer of yeast, and Riverbend Malt House, a craft grain maltster, offer easy access to quality ingredients, saving time and money as well as helping brewers produce better beer in a competitive marketplace.”

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Riverbend Malt House Launches Seasonal Malt Program With Double Kilned Munich

Riverbend Malt House debuted Double Kilned Munich this week as part of a new seasonal malt program to serve the varying needs of craft brewers and distillers in the Southeast region. This small-batch malt is available only while supplies last.

As its name suggests, Double Kilned Munich makes two trips through the kiln, a process that helps develop the complex flavors and increases color to approximately 50 SRM.

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Oak & Grist Distilling Co. – Single Malt Whiskey 04

🥃 SINGLE MALT WHISKEY 04 🥃 ⁠
🌾 GRAIN BILL: 100% locally malted barley from @riverbendmalt⁠
🌾 CASK TYPE: 53-gallon used bourbon barrels from Buffalo Trace and Heaven Hill Distilleries⁠
🌾 CHAR LEVEL: residual⁠
🌾 AGE: 50% 3 years, 121 days // 25% 3 years, 168 days // 25% 5 years, 37 days⁠
🌾 DISPOSITION: red berry, honeycomb, orange, brioche, worn leather, creme brulee⁠

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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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