Riverbend Malt House is developing alongside the craft malt community, which means that education about everything from small grain production to final products – and everything in between— is critical. We’re committed to providing resources that help our craft brewing and artisanal distilling partners craft the highest quality beers and spirits.
This is your hub for grain research and sensory information, with best practices for marketing your ingredients to boot.
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Scott Hickman
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Scott Hickman2026-06-02 15:36:372026-06-02 15:43:05Recap: The Riverbend Malt House 2026 Southern Lager Celebration
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Emily Hutto
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Emily Hutto2023-03-12 23:14:242026-02-22 04:00:15Malting 101Interested in a topic you don’t see here?
Meet the Brewer: Todd Boera of Fonta Flora
Tasting Notes:
We’re starting a new series on the Kiln Blog: Meet the Brewer. The Meet the Brewer posts will introduce you to some of the special people that make what we do possible. They’re the ones crafting delicious brews out of our malt.
Todd Boera, foraging brewer extraordinaire
Though Fonta Flora Brewery in Morganton just opened last fall, they’ve quickly made a name for themselves with their unique, locally-focused craft beer. Head brewer Todd Boera has made a wide range of beers that you just can’t find anywhere else: a dandelion brett saison, a local carrot IPA, a Belgian blonde with local kiwi. In anticipation of this weekend’s State of Origin beer festival (where Fonta Flora will debut their NC grain/NC honey honeysuckle blonde), we asked Todd a few questions to get a better sense of what he’s all about.
How does using Riverbend malt fit into your brewing philosophy?
The main brewing philosophy at Fonta Flora Brewery is to create a menagerie of complex, creative and rustic libations while utilizing local flora. Riverbend provides us with malted grain, which is obviously a huge component to creating the beer itself. The unique grain that Riverbend manipulates through malting is perfectly suited for the vast range of Belgian beers being created at Fonta Flora Brewery.
What’s your favorite beer to brew?
Fonta Flora Brewery focuses on Belgian/Appalachian Style Saisons. I use the term “Appalachian” to help the drinker realize that they are not typical Saisons. The style originated on farms across Belgium and was brewed with a variety of grains available at the time, which often became a multigrain beer. By utilizing their local grown and malted grains, Riverbend is instrumental in the quest for Fonta Flora Brewery to create a style of beer that is truly unique to the Appalachian Mountains.
You recently mentioned you love to brew with rye. Why is that?
I find Riverbend’s Carolina Rye™ to be the most complex and interesting grain I have ever worked with. The taste profile is incredibly earthy, slick, and slightly spicy. While most brewers stick to the traditional wheat addition in their Saisons, I prefer heavy additions of rye. Although a bit more fickle to work with, the taste profile fits with what I am looking for in my Saisons.
Tell us a little about the State of Origin festival coming up this Saturday. What beers are you looking forward to the most?
To our knowledge, this is the first craft beer festival in the state of North Carolina focused on local ingredients. We asked every invited brewer to craft at least one beer with some/all North Carolina grown ingredients. There are a variety of brewers out there who already do this and some who are crafting something special for the festival. We are releasing a highly anticipated Riverbend grain Belgian blond aged on local honeysuckle flowers and also have one last keg of our dandelion saison. The Wicked Weed/Fonta Flora collaboration will also be released at the festival. “Hipster Nuveau” is a Riverbend grain saison aged on local rhubarb. I am personally looking forward to trying all of the North Carolina ingredient beers from all of the awesome brewers in attendance!
Don’t miss the State of Origin festival this Saturday! VIP doors at 1:30pm, GA doors at 3pm, close at 7:30pm. Tickets available here.
Cellarest Beer Project – Bimble
Style of Beer:
Coffee Blonde Lager
Riverbend Malt(s) Used:
Southern Select (2-row Barley Malt), Great Chit (2-row Barley Malt), Vienna (2-row Barley Malt), and Double Kilned Munich (2-row Barley Malt)
Tasting Notes:
The teams at Riverbend and Cellarest gathered for a cupping at Coffee Library to select two coffees to be included in the blend: one from Brazil and another from Mexico. The naturally processed Brazilian coffee is of the Catuai varietal of the coffee plant, grown and harvested at an altitude of 1100 MASL in the Cerrado Mineiro Region of the Minas Gerais state. The washed processing Mexican coffee was grown and harvested in the Zangolica, Veracruz region of Mexico at an altitude ranging from 1250-1700 MASL. The Brazilian coffee’s notes of almond, brown sugar, and milk chocolate beautifully complement the notes of cinnamon, cocoa, and baking spice flavors of the Mexican coffee.
This beer has incredible depth of flavor with a range of notes from fresh coffee and to cocoa, cinnamon, and brown sugar; to light toffee and honey covered biscuits from its malt additions. Bimble was made with Riverbend Southern Select, Great Chit, Vienna, and Double Kilned Munich styles and hopped with Willamette hops. It was fermented cold with Cellarest’s preferred German Lager yeast inside of an acacia wood foudre.
When/Where Available:
On tap and in cans to-go at Cellarest while supplies last
Release Type:
Limited
Release State:
North Carolina
Cellarest Beer Project Debuts Bimble Coffee Blonde Lager In Collaboration With Riverbend Malt House and Asheville’s Coffee Library
Tasting Notes:
Cellarest Beer Project just released Bimble Coffee Blonde Lager, a blonde-hued beer made with Riverbend Malt House’s most recent pallet coffee blend by Coffee Library. Cans of this storied beer will be available soon.
The Backstory
In 2025, Riverbend Malt House launched the pallet coffee program in tandem with local coffee roaster Coffee Library. We wanted to thank our customers who purchased full pallets of malt with an added treat— because most brewing teams are fueled by morning coffee, partnering with Coffee Library on a specialty blend was a natural fit. Brewers absolutely loved it, and the program continued with a second blend last year. Now, we are excited to involve West Asheville’s beloved Cellarest Beer Project, who have invested in local ingredients since day one, in the third blend of our unfolding coffee program.
Enter Bimble Coffee Blonde Lager
The teams at Riverbend and Cellarest gathered for a cupping at Coffee Library to select two coffees to be included in the blend: one from Brazil and another from Mexico. The naturally processed Brazilian coffee is of the Catuai varietal of the coffee plant, grown and harvested at an altitude of 1100 MASL in the Cerrado Mineiro Region of the Minas Gerais state. The washed processing Mexican coffee was grown and harvested in the Zangolica, Veracruz region of Mexico at an altitude ranging from 1250-1700 MASL. The Brazilian coffee’s notes of almond, brown sugar, and milk chocolate beautifully complement the notes of cinnamon, cocoa, and baking spice flavors of the Mexican coffee.
“I wanted to encourage more cocoa and depth to the Mexican coffee’s brown sugar and cinnamon notes, and the Brazilian seemed to provide that,” says Cellarest Co-Founder and Director of Fermentation Mark R. Goodwin.
“The Mexico coffee provides that nice warm, subtle spice and the Brazil enhances the creaminess and cocoa, chocolate notes,” adds Noah Marines, Head Roaster and Certified Q Arabica Grader at Coffee Library.
The resulting beer has incredible depth of flavor with a range of notes from fresh coffee and to cocoa, cinnamon, and brown sugar; to light toffee and honey covered biscuits from its malt additions. Bimble Coffee Blonde Lager was made with Riverbend Southern Select, Great Chit, Vienna, and Double Kilned Munich styles and hopped with Willamette hops. It was fermented cold with Cellarest’s preferred German Lager yeast inside of an acacia wood foudre.
Get It While You Can
Bimble, a word that represents a relaxed— even aimless— journey taken without haste, is an apt name for this exploration of flavors. The result of these rambles between this trifecta of local Asheville businesses is now on draft at Cellarest Beer Project. Sixteen ounce canned 4-packs will be available to-go from the brewery in coming weeks. Follow @cellarestbeerproject on Instagram and Facebook for can release details.
NoFo Brew Co. – Wharfinger ESB
Style of Beer:
Extra Special Bitter
Riverbend Malt(s) Used:
Southern Select (2-Row Barley Malt), Ridgeline Red (2-Row Barley Malt), Double Kilned Munich (2-Row Barley Malt), Dark Munich (2-Row Barley Malt), Great Chit (Chit Malt)
Tasting Notes:
The Wharfinger is the person in charge of all things happening on their wharf. Riverbend malts were used, and a healthy dose of CTZ and Simcoe hops.
When/Where Available:
On tap at NoFo while supplies last
Release Type:
Limited
Release State:
Georgia