Walnut Grove Farms – Adairville, Kentucky

One of the most challenging aspects of running a malt house is planning for harvest season. We sit around a table at the end of every summer armed with our sales data, information on market trends, available acreage, and the latest variety trial data from our agriculture extension partners.

Even with all that data, the task can be daunting. We have to think 18 months ahead to ensure that we have adequate supply to meet demand. That often requires a leap of faith— sometimes we find ourselves with excess grain and malt from a variety that never took off, or the opposite: a shortage of something in demand. Both are problematic from a relationship and cash flow management perspective. Every year teaches us that we can only do so much planning, and ultimately we get what we get. Here’s what we got in 2024: 

Regenerative Agriculture 

In addition to covering our standard product line, innovation also has a seat at the table. This year’s plan included several new farms and varieties, along with our first foray into certified regenerative agriculture. After rigorous auditing, we became the first Certified Regenified™ malt house on the planet. Regenified™, a practice and outcomes-based land verification and product certification program is paving the way for a healthier planet and transparency across our food system, and we are thrilled to partner with them to affect change in the entire small grains supply chain. Learn more at regenified.com. 

Avalon Barley at Biltmore Estate

Avalon Barley Takes The Lead

Barley represents about 70% of what we produce, so that acreage takes center stage during this process. Just like in the early days, we attempt to mitigate risk by spreading different varieties and volumes across multiple farms throughout the Southeast. We listen to our growers about what is working and isn’t on their individual farms. They walk and work the land daily, and we take their observations seriously. 

Much like our customers, our growers are also fans of the Avalon barley. This variety factored more heavily in this year’s mix as we look to diversify our mix of 2-row varieties. This year marks the third year Avalon barley has been in production for us, and we are excited to see it take a starring role! In the coming months we will welcome high-quality lots of this new varietal from farmers in North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and Tennessee.

At The Mercy Of Mother Nature

While the Avalon barley made it to harvest somewhat unscathed, other varietals and several of our small batch, innovation projects took it on the chin this year. Rainfall patterns were unseasonably dry in April and unseasonably wet in May, a pattern that distinctly impacts quality. A dry April restricts kernel growth when the barley is in the crucial ‘head fill’ stage. As the grain transitions into the ripening phase in mid to late May, excessive precipitation can stress the kernels and potentially trigger pre-harvest sprout damage. These impacts were evident as we reviewed lab data showing low test weight and reduced RVA levels (rapid viscosity analysis), which is a measure of pre-harvest sprout damage. 

Thankfully, only between 10 and 15 percent of our acreage was impacted. We still estimate that we will have sufficient high-quality grain to support production over the year. 

We deeply appreciate the efforts of our farming partners this year. Their work makes a tremendous impact on the quality of our harvest and ensures that we’ll have truly local pints and spirits for the foreseeable future. Be sure to raise a glass to them the next time you belly up to the bar!

Happy Craft Malt Month!

— Brent Manning

Earlier this year, Riverbend Malt House became the first-ever Regenified™ Certified Malt House in the world. We thought we’d share more with y’all about what that means, and how it will benefit your breweries and distilleries.

First, let’s define Regenerative Agriculture.

The term ‘regenerative agriculture’ captures a broad suite of practices that focus on soil health as the foundation for supporting entire ecosystems. No-till farming and cover cropping minimize disturbance which promotes carbon sequestration and reduces polluted runoff, to name a couple examples of these practices. Regenerative agriculture does just that— it regenerates soil health, increasing biodiversity and invariably nutrient availability. Think of it like your gut microbiome or a healthy yeast pitch that you can repropagate. 

Sustaining simply keeps us where we are. Regenerative agriculture is a road map not just for sustainability, but for long-term improvement of this planet we call home. Part of our Malt With a Mission philosophy is to improve agriculture for future generations.

Meet Regenified™

A lot of farms practice regenerative techniques, which we support and commend. In an effort to establish standards for our malt house and products, we wanted to partner with a certification program. That’s where Regenified™ comes in. This practice and outcomes-based land verification and product certification program rigorously audits and certifies those who adopt regenerative practices, paving the way for a healthier planet and transparency across our food system. Meet them at regenified.com.

So what does it mean to be a Regenified™ Certified Malt House? 

A Regenified™ Certified Malt House has the unique ability to manage, store, and process certified grains while maintaining full traceability. That means we will purchase grains from Regenified™ Certified farmers (more about that soon!), and store and process them separately to ensure transparent tracking— like we say, from grain to glass. 

Why should brewers and distillers choose a Regenified™ Certified malt provider? 

Choosing craft over commodity malt is an important step toward shortening supply chains and producing more eco-conscious beer and spirits. Choosing a Regenified™ malt provider makes even further strides for the environment. Acreage managed in this manner can support healthy soil, reduce erosion, and sequester carbon, all of which support farm resilience and ultimately better quality grains— which, of course, add value and flavor to the craft beer and spirits they become. 

All of these benefits can be achieved while producing the same barley varieties that farmers are used to working with, maintaining consistency along the supply chain. 

“When Brian and I started Riverbend we envisioned a utopian environment where organic, locally-grown barley would be malted in an energy efficient manner and delivered in a biodiesel powered van. We quickly learned that all of these ideals could not co-exist. We transitioned to conventionally-grown barley after the dismal 2012 harvest. We then began working with a more regional model for sourcing that added to our carbon footprint,” says Riverbend Co-Founder Brent Manning. “While these decisions ultimately propelled our growth, it sometimes felt like we weren’t following through on our environmental commitments.” 

Enter regenerative agriculture and Regenified™. We now have a strategy that will yield healthier soils and waterways through the implementation and tracking of these practices. The years ahead will generate exciting results that speak to improved biodiversity, reduced chemical and fertilizer use, and carbon sequestration.

Expanding these practices across the Southeast will positively impact conditions on several thousand acres of land, honoring our commitment to the environment in a measurable way. We’d be honored if your craft brewery or distillery wanted to join us in making this meaningful impact. 

Interested in sourcing Regenified™ grains for your next project? Contact us to learn more. 

Image courtesy South Main Brewing

As summer fully blooms, we know brewers are already thinking into the next season– more specifically, Oktoberfest. It’s time to get those German-style lager recipes going!

Our sales team is here to help you craft the perfect recipe, so please feel free to reach out. We can share stats on individual batches to help ensure you hit your target color, flavor profile, and ABV!

You can also design a malt blend to create signature flavor profiles. Please reach out to your Riverbend representative or email sales@riverbendmalt.com for more information about our custom malt program. 

Without further ado, here is our Oktoberfest planning guide to our standard malt offerings to help plan all of your 2024 recipes. Scroll down for sample grain bills!

Czech-Style Pilsner (<2 SRM)

This product was inspired by the malts hailing from the Hana valley in the eastern portion of the Czech Republic that remain truly under-modified and low in color. In order to reign in these traits, we reduced our steep out moisture and reduced germination temperatures, and coupled this approach with a cool, gentle kiln recipe to ensure minimal color development. The result is a malt with a distinct flavor and color of 2 SRM or less. The lack of modification opens the door for brewers to utilize step mashing or multiple decoctions to increase efficiency and build flavor. Don’t have that capability in your brewhouse? Not to worry– we aimed for a level modification that doesn’t require these steps.

Chesapeake Pilsner (2 SRM)

One of our best selling flagships, this malt has been featured in a wide array of lagers around the Southeast. Produced using 100% VA-grown barley, this malt contributes notes of fresh-baked crackers, melon, and honeysuckle. 

Cumberland Pilsner (2 SRM)

This Pilsner is produced using 100% Calypso barley. Calypso imparts a breadier, doughier profile when compared to the Chesapeake Pilsner Malt. Perfect for lightly hopped lagers.

Vienna Malt (4-6 SRM)

We kiln this style similarly to our Light Munich malt, with a cooler curing temperature to minimize color development. Vienna Malt helps to create full body and smooth mouthfeel, with honey-like sweetness and light toast in the finish.

Light Munich (8-12 SRM)

Producing a high-quality Munich-style malt requires a completely different approach to the process. Higher kilning temperatures and extended times combine to create the rich, bready flavor profile that these malts are known for. We use a proprietary blend of 2-row barley varieties as the base for this product. Try it as a base malt for your next Doppelbock recipe or in smaller percentages in a Helles!

Dark Munich (25-35 SRM)

A continuation of the Munich-style, this product is crafted using an intense 30+ hour kiln cycle that utilizes high temperatures and different air flow management techniques. The result is an aromatic malt that delivers notes of baker’s chocolate, toast, and dark fruit. 

Double Kilned Munich (50 SRM)

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. This malt will contribute a beautiful, ruby red hue and notes of dark fruit and toffee with a touch of fresh roasted coffee flavor. Use in low percentages in your Oktoberfest recipe to impart that satisfying dry, toasty finish.

Sample Grain Bills

Festbier 

Cumberland Pilsner – 70%

Vienna Malt – 22%

Dark Munich – 8%

Oktoberfest 

Chesapeake Pilsner – 36%

Light Munich – 23%

Dark Munich – 23%

Vienna Malt – 18%

It’s hard to believe, but Riverbend Malt House will be phasing out 6-row barley products by the end of 2024.

This decision speaks to the growth, evolution, and transformation that our malt house has experienced during the last thirteen years. A market for malting barley in the Southeast did not exist when we first started. Thoroughbred, which we’ve successfully worked with since our inception, was the only barley that had a genetic connection to traditional malting varieties; but that was distant at best.

Now, we’ve evolved even further to a spectrum of 2-row barley varieties and barley bred specifically to amplify beer and spirits. Oh what a time to be alive!

First batch of Thoroughbred loading into the steep tank at Riverbend Malt House 1.o

The Evolution From 6 To 2-Row

The road was rocky at first. Starting with organically grown grain posed additional problems and quality concerns. We shifted to conventionally grown grain after the rainy 2012 harvest rendered the organic material un-useable. This ushered in a dramatic increase in malt quality and consistency. We still had smaller kernels, but they delivered more extract and overall performance than our earlier runs. The learning curve was steep in those early years, but we kept climbing!

The world of mixed culture beer production took off shortly thereafter and our 6-row Pilsner malt quickly gained popularity with those breweries who were searching for a malt with “rustic character”. Meanwhile our Heritage Malt found its way into Mexican Lagers throughout the Southeast.

By 2018, our original 6-row Pilsner malt still had a following (you know who y’all are out there!)— but as the portfolio grew, interest waned. New 2-row varieties like Calypso and Violetta were emerging. The availability of these varieties opened new doors for us, specifically with large-scale breweries that were not set up to work with the smaller 6-row barley kernels. They achieved higher extract levels, and discovered a broader palette of flavors in the resulting products. Our single origin Pilsner series was launched soon after, revealing even more Southern terroir in beers and spirits made with Riverbend malts.

Why The Switch Now?

Which brings us to the “why now?” of this story. Simply put, we are the only market for 6-row Thoroughbred in the Southeast, and that means our growers take big risks when they plant it. Planting modern 2-row varieties offers more security for the family farms that wee buy our grains from, with more options and slightly higher yields come harvest.

We also anticipate having substantially more Avalon barley available this year. Thoroughbred served as one of the “parents” that helped bring this new variety into existence, designed to boost efficiency in craft brewhouses to boot.

6-Row Barley Malt Substitutes

Our Czech-Style Pilsner malt can be a good alternative for our 6-row products. This product brings some of the grassy notes of our OG 6-row Pilsner. If you are not set up to step mash or decoct, consider blending in a few bags of our new Speakeasy malt to help drive conversion.

We will be working on a 2-row substitute for Heritage Malt this summer as well.

Last Chance Dance

If you’d like to reserve some of the remaining inventory of 6-row Pilsner malt and Heritage Malt to make your favorite Pre-Prohibition Pilsner or Mexican Lager recipe, please give us a shout!

ARTICLE UPDATED from 13 to 20 Lagers in June 2024. Some of these beers were limited releases, so we do not guarantee they are still available from when this article was originlly published in May 2024. 

Happy Mexican Lager season!

It delights us to say that there’s now a ‘season’ for this formerly more obscure lager style! Mexican Lagers are having a moment in the lager Renaissance sweeping the Southeastern states, and we couldn’t be more excited about it.

The Mexican Lager beer style, loosely defined, tends to mimic traditional German and Austrian-style Vienna Lagers made with corn additions in Mexico in the late 1800s and early 1900s. This article by Casket Beer gets into Mexican Lager’s history if you want a deep dive. 

This spring, breweries across the South are releasing Mexican Lagers made with our barley and corn malt across the map— adding another layer of local terroir to the rich cultural history of the evolution of the style. The use of malted corn in place of the flaked corn offers the opportunity to explore unique flavors that each variety can impart.

Our malted corn portfolio includes Cumberland Corn, which delivers the classic creamy sweetness of homemade cornbread. Hickory King Corn goes in the opposite direction, contributing the crisp, earthy notes of hearth baked tortillas. Bloody Butcher Corn brings a mix of chai spices not typically associated with Southern grown corn. 

“I think this style is gaining more and more popularity because of the “state-of-mind” experience these beers tend to offer, as well as their drinkability,” says Yee-Haw Brewing Co. Head Brewer Dan Rowe. “They lean into being slightly malty, yet very approachable light-bodied lagers, with a dry finish. That earthy touch of corn in the flavor and reduced bitterness differentiates it from its counterparts from Germany, the Czech Republic and your standard American macro lager. Circling back around to that “state of mind” experience, they’re a perfect companion to virtually any outdoor activities, especially during all warmer weather months.” 

From May 3 to 5, Yee-Haw Brewing Co. hosted Cerveza Fest at the brewery’s taprooms in Johnson City, Knoxville, and Nashville, Tennessee, as well as Greenville, South Carolina. The spotlights: their flagship Mexican Lager Cerveza, and the lime-infused Cerveza Lime made for the occasion. 

Yee-Haw’s Cerveza is made with Riverbend Cumberland Corn, produced with Tennessee-grown corn. “The corn creates a lager with more complexity,” says Rowe. “You start finding more and more slight nuances of sweetness and depending on the level of bitterness you’re going for as a brewer, it can potentially be the key ingredient to providing balance.” 

Marlow Artisanal Ales agrees. The folks at Marlow are ‘massive nerds about tortillas’, reporting they can taste the variation between homemade tortillas made with different corn varieties. “So, we sought out heirloom varieties that would make the biggest impact in our beer,” they explained. They chose Bloody Butcher and King Hickory corn malts for Marlito, a drinkable experience with slight corn perceived sweetness in the finish, although the beer finished quite dry.

Explore even more Mexican Lagers made with Riverbend malted corn varieties, and other malt styles too. 

1718 Brewing Ocracoke Vera Cruz is made with just a touch of sea salt and lime, and Riverbend malt of course. It’s deliciously crisp and named after an old local party shoal.

Akademia Brewing Company Alma Mexican Lager is bright and effervescent with low bitterness and a subtle sweetness from the malt and flaked maize grain bill. 

Alga Beer Co. El Sur is a highly anticipated release made with our Vienna and Hickory King Corn malt styles. This light, bright, warm weather lager will be available in cans and on draught on Sunday, May 5.

Crooked Culture Esta Bien Conmigo is an effervescent Mexican Lager; a refreshing and easy-drinking beer that embodies the spirit of Mexico’s warm and sunny climate. 

Hazelwood Brewing Noche is a beautiful Dark Mexican Lager expression made with our malt. We love to see the dark-hued subset of the Mexican Lager trending this season– those added colors and flavors are all about the malt!

Honor Brewing Company Tough Ombré. Grab a 4-pack of this easy-drinking lager made with Riverbend malt, and don’t forget to grab some limes on the way home.

Homeplace Beer Company recently collaborated with Big Pillow Brewing Company on Los Vecinos Mexican Lager with Riverbend Chesapeake Pilsner and Bloody Butcher corn malts. Served with a lime and salted rim upon request. 

Lenny Boy Brewing Company Uno Mas⁠. Made with our Chesapeake Pilsner and Cumberland Corn malts, Uno Mas Mexican Lager is balanced, crisp and dry-finishing with a touch of honey and corn. ⁠

Lookout Brewing Grassy-Ass. The name says it all! On Cinco de Mayo, Lookout released this crispy, refreshing Mexican Lager for your summer drinking pleasure. Then they created another version of it– this delicious corn lager base infused with Marigolds from Two Trees Farms, Marigold Mexican Lager.

NoFo Brewing Co. Collateral is a thirst-quenching Mexican Lager brewed with Bloody Butcher corn that helps to impart an earthy aroma. This crisp tasting and clean finishing beer is eminently drinkable, especially with a squeeze of lime.

Riverside Rhapsody It’s Cohn! Mexican Lager is brewed with our Chesapeake Pilsner and Cumberland Corn malts, fermented long and cold, and spunded for natural carbonation. 

Salt Face Mule Brewing Co. Maize Runner is a Pre-Prohibition American Corn Lager that weighs in at only 4.4% ABV. This batch was brewed with our Bloody Butcher Corn malt to bring forward rich flavors of Southern-style cornbread and freshly baked French baguette.

Senoia Beer Company Muertos Viventes is a year-round offering made with Chesapeake Pilsner and Hickory King Corn. Its flavors of freshly baked bread, tortillas, and earthy spice are especially nice during Mexican Lager season.

Shellring Aleworks Chela De Playa is brewed with our Vienna, Pilsner, Cumberland Pilsner and Hickory King Corn malts. It’s brewed to pair with the South Carolina summer heat. This year, Chela De Playa Noche Dark Mexican Lager joins the lineup— Caramel malt and Hickory King Corn deliver a crisp, malty version of Shellring’s Mexican-style Lager. 

South Main Brewing OSCURO is another Mexican-Style Dark Lager that starts with a canvas of Cumberland Pilsner, Vienna malts in order to elicit hints of slightly sweet kettle corn, slightly roasty caramel, and a grassy crispness. Cumberland Corn smooths out the dryness for a rounded finish. Deep amber in color and robust in flavor, it’s also snappy and refreshing. Think LALO’s Lager & Dark Horse had a baby.

Is your Mexican Lager #madewithRiverbend malt? Submit it here so we can include it on this list.