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.
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Workin’ On The Building…
Our kiln…constructed of recycled panels from an old Winn-Dixie butcher shop
I know you’re all asking yourselves….what is taking so long? Trust us, we are right there with you. Since our return from Canada (and even during) we have worked with our contractors, city inspectors, and spent countless hours searching for equipment on the interwebs. Along the way we’ve experience the normal cost overruns, scheduling conflicts, and logistical headaches that plague most businesses during their initial start-up….but I’m proud to say we are well on our way!
Construction of the kiln (aka drying room) has been the big challenge….Anytime you put a lot of heat into an enclosed space, you raise the eyebrows of city inspectors, licensed professionals, and sub-contractors. This has required us to spend extra time to ensure that we meet all applicable building codes and address all safety concerns. This is a good thing….at the end of the day we want to bring people in, show them around and have everyone feel comfortable with what we are doing.
Our two steep tanks…each will hold about 1,000 pounds of grain
The other pieces of the malt house puzzle are also coming together. We found a great deal on some stainless steel tanks that we will use for steeping. A small-scale seed cleaner and debearder are also on their way to us from Illinois. The guys up there at Commodity Traders really came through for us…they recondition these machines to better than new condition and were extremely knowledgable about all aspects of the grain cleaning process.
Next week we will be completing the kiln and hopefully installing the duct work. Production could begin by late August if all goes well. Stay tuned for more updates!
Learning Aboot Malt…..
Brian checks out a fresh batch of 2-row malt
Greetings from Winnipeg! Brent and I just completed our second week of malt training at the Canadian Malt Barley Technical Centre. Our typical day starts with 3-4 hours of lecture in the morning, followed by “hands-on” work in the malt house or lab in the afternoon. The lectures have covered everything from the biochemistry of malting to world market conditions. These lectures have been presented by a variety of staff members who have decades of experience in the field of large-scale malting and brewing operations.
In addition to the lectures, CMBTC has also performed a comprehensive malt analysis on several samples we brought from North Carolina. While I won’t bore you with the specifics, the take home message is encouraging….our 6-row barley is comparable to commercially available varieties!
Whats next you ask?….We’ve got 1 more week of training where we tie the finished malt to brewing process. This will give us the tools we need to work with our clients to produce high-quality craft beer. We will also tour a large commercial malt house that produces 90,000 tons of malt a year!
After that we’ll be back in Asheville to resume construction at the malt house. Maybe we can get together for pint, eh? (Sorry, couldn’t resist using the other Canadian language joke)
Hitting The “Ground” Running….
The development of local food systems is essential to creating a durable and sustainable economy in our region … A recent article in Grist Magazine highlights one of our key partners, Carolina Ground (aka NC Organic Bread Flour Project), who is forging their own food system for organically grown wheat in our state. They also do a little name dropping on our behalf. Check it out here.