Spring
2016
grainswest.com
35
“My favourite barley right now is Newdale, though I like
Bentley a lot. They both stand up really well and yield well.
Newdale in particular is pretty easy to combine,” John said. “I
think standability is the most important thing on our farm. Once
the barley starts to lodge, you lose some of the plumpness on
the kernels.”
He is particularly excited to work with CDC Kindersley in the
upcoming season, both for its growing qualities and to explore
its potential in the malt house.
“I don’t think craft maltsters are getting the opportunity to
try Kindersley. It’s early maturity and high yield, and I have
some land that’s prone to early frost if it’s cold in the fall. It’s
supposed to be ready quite a bit earlier and still maintain
yield,” he said.
“Every farm is a little bit different for varieties. You have to try it
yourself on your farm,” John said. “The thing we’re most excited
about is to taste our barley in a beer and know it’s our barley.”
Matt and Joe are looking to change the conversation about
Alberta malt barley from one of traceability to one of terroir.
“Terroir is a term used more often when you talk about wine. It’s
used to describe how a region’s climate, soil and terrain affects
the taste of the product,” Matt explained. “It’s not a term used
very often in the beer industry, and not something that’s been
explored too much in malting, but we believe it should be.
“In Alberta, we have some of the best agricultural land
around, we have ideal conditions to grow some of the world’s
best barley, and we have some really strong brewers. We want
to be specific enough in what we create that we can start to
identify the Alberta terroir.”
Just as the small brewers have been able to develop new
flavours and products, Red Shed will take advantage of the
experimentation and customization that its small size allows.
The maltsters’ plan is to offer unique products that brewers
can’t find at the large malting houses.
“Value added is important in Alberta, and I think we’re the
missing cog in the beer line,” Matt said. “Everyone we talk to is
excited to get some specialty malts that are made in Alberta. It
has been really well received.”
Breathing some creativity back into a commodity market is
not just creating better beer—it’s better business. Red Shed
Malting has created an opportunity for Joe and his wife Daelyn
to come back to the family farm and invest in a new facet of the
business.
“The brewers are producing some really great-tasting beers—
so much better tasting than what we were drinking before.
These brewers are so excited and into their products, just to be
part of that is really exciting and changes the excitement that I
have on the farm growing the barley too,” John said.
“Craft brewers use way more barley in their beers. There will
need to be more barley grown, so it opens up opportunities.
We’re just getting started in a beer revolution here. I think that’s
really exciting for the craft maltsters and barley growers in
Alberta.”
MICRO-MALT:
Because Red Shed
malts on a much smaller scale than
the commercial maltsters, they can
experiment with di erent malt styles to
create a unique product for brewers.
