We are taking a trip up to Asheville this week, and I’m really looking forward to it. Not only will we get to sample some of the best beer around, but we are also going to be meeting with some brewery owners and talking about good hard business stuff. Which isn’t a position we have been in during previous trips to the city.
One thing I am super duper excited about is talking with the guys at Riverbend Malt House. I spoke to Brent a couple weeks back about purchasing their White Wheat for use in our Session Ale. He told me all about their methods for making malt right here in the Old North State, and then also suggested we try their 6-row pale malt. We have already talked on here about how consistency in exact flavor is not our primary goal. It’s consistency in quality that we want to maintain. And since the only knock I’ve ever heard about on this kind of local, smaller batch malting is the consistency from batch to batch, I am all for giving this stuff a whirl. We already use base malts that are more flavorful that your run of the mill Cargill 2row. We use munich and maris otter, golden promise and bohemian pilsner. They are all a little more expensive than 2-row, but provide a lot more complex flavor profile.
Hopefully we will be able to test the stuff soon, and I will let all of you know how it goes, until then, Viva Ashevegas.