WARREN WILSON TOUR
Last week we gave a tour to a group of students from Warren Wilson College. The students were part of an ethnobotany class taught by Jay Bost. This was a new audience for us, but it gave us a great opportunity to focus on some of the sustainability aspects of our work that are often omitted during a typical tour. We started with a brief overview of the commodity markets that control the price of grain and transitioned into the “day in the life” of a maltster routine that Brian and I have been perfecting over the past several months. We also covered some of the basics of brewing beer, just to get them in the mood for spring break!
Professor Simpson lectures on the importance of steeping intervals…
The student were engaged in our discussions regarding fossil fuel consumption, development of local food systems, and brewing quality craft beer from 6-row barley. We also got a chance to learn about several of their class projects, like growing mushrooms on compost material and brewing beer from moss! Needless to say, this was much different than my college experience….they’ve got a great thing going out there in Swannanoa.
