Grainswest - Fall 2021

Fall 2021 Grains West 38 n 2016, Rosthern, SK, barley farmer Matt Enns escaped the Prairie deep freeze to relax in the Florida sun for the winter. More than a mere getaway, he intended to use this time to formulate his next career move after having expanded his stake in the family farm. As fate would have it, while he calculated his agricultural future, he joined a craft beer club near Orlando for the duration of his holiday. Its enthusiastic young members hosted tasting events where they sampled new and unique local brews produced by Florida’s vibrant craft brewing industry. His time with the club inspired Enns to launch Maker’s Malt, a micro-maltster venture. Established in 2018, the business would in turn help inspire those in Saskatchewan’s fledgling craft beer industry to take flight. Enns’s Florida epiphany was not only that the state’s burgeoning craft beer market hinted at the potential for similar growth in Saskatchewan. He and his fellow barley farmers could serve the discerning tastes and thirst for novelty of brewers and their clientele. “I left the farm to work as a physiotherapist for 10 years, but came back to grow barley,” said Enns, who chairs SaskBarley. “Maybe because I returned to farming on a non-traditional path, I wanted to do something a little unique. I had an inkling of where craft beer could be in Saskatchewan. “There were a few enthusiastic brewers and it was a premium product that had good market potential. We farm in an area of the province known for its barley, and in particular, its malt barley. But there was a disconnect between what the large multinational companies needed in terms of malt product and what a small craft brewery was asking for, and that’s a gap we thought we could fill.” Enns connected with farmers he knew, as well as Saskatchewan barley breeders and ambitious craft brewers eager to make a name for themselves. His intent was to explore a business I BY JENNIFER BARBER • LEAD IMAGE COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN FEATURE Farmer-ownedmaltster co-operative pursues craft brewers MEET YOUR MAKER’S From left to right, CDC plant breeder Aaron Beattie, Maker's Malt CEOMatt Enns and 9 Mile Legacy Brewing co-owner Garrett Pederson.