Tasting Notes:

Our Malt With A Mission slogan is much more than a saying around here. It’s a set of environmentally conscious practices that we’re constantly refining to reduce our impact.

Each year, Riverbend Malt House collects data points that we use to analyze our footprint. These include grain sourcing, utilities, and recycling and upcycling initiatives. Tracking these metrics ensures that we are always making strides towards reducing our carbon footprint and supporting thoughtful farming practices. In 2024, we’ve added the sourcing, sorting, and malting of regeneratively grown grains to our repertoire as the first-ever Certified Regenified™ malt house. 

Without further ado, here’s a review of our 2024 efforts…

Production

In 2024, we produced 3.5 million pounds of malt. This number was impacted by the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. While we were fortunate to avoid flooding and damage to our building, the loss of power for more than a week caused some of our product to spoil. 

We sourced 94 percent of our raw material from Southeastern farms in 2024. The remaining 6 percent was associated with contract malting projects, and sourced based on the needs of our customers. 

Emissions

We’re proud to report a reduction of 0.5 percent in emissions per pound of malt produced last year. These reductions were primarily driven by LED lights that we installed in our warehouse in late 2023. We upgraded all 141 of our light fixtures to LED panels, which resulted in a 64 percent reduction in power consumption associated with factory lighting. 

Recycling and Upcycling

In collaboration with nearby farms, we upcycled 188,971 pounds of rootlets. This byproduct of our process becomes feed for very happy cows. 

Also in 2024, we diverted 12,600 pounds of polywoven plastic from the landfills through our malt bag recycling program.

Regenified™ Certification

We’re incredibly proud to share that Riverbend became the first malt house to become certified for regenerative farming practices in April 2024. You can read more about our status as a Certified Regenified malt house here. 

Step two: release a Certified Regenified malt. We sourced our grain, 2-row Avalon barley, from Harborview Farms in Maryland to develop our newest malt product. Regenified Southern Select yields aromas of sugar cookie, melon, and honey in the finished malt with rich mouthfeel, exhibiting a creaminess not often encountered in a Pale Ale style malt.

The next step is to craft a Certified Regenified beer, which our partners at Fullsteam Brewery accomplished last month. They brewed Reset: ESB, a beautiful Extra Special Bitter. Fullsteam plans to certify the entire brewery, and expand its range of Certified Regenified products for which Regenified Southern Select will be the base malt in all of their Reset Series of beers— classic styles made with 100 percent local malt.

Looking Ahead

In 2025, Riverbend intends to accomplish the following goals to support our Malt With A Mission ethos. They are as follows:

1. We plan to expand the acreage of our Regenified crop purchasing to 10% of our total barley utilization.
2. We aim to diversify our network of growers across the Southeast region.
3. We are developing a comprehensive plan for long-term emissions reduction at the malt house.

Who’s with us? Let us know how our environmentally conscious malt products can support your company goals, and please reach out if you’re a grower or producer interested in becoming Certified Regenified.