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.
