1 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:13,839 Speaker 1: This is Beer in Front, part of the Odd Pods 2 00:00:13,919 --> 00:00:19,320 Media Network and the Beer Media Group. Sometimes the beer 3 00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:22,600 in front of you is the best one yet. I'll 4 00:00:22,600 --> 00:00:25,960 talk to people around the beer world and get their 5 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:31,440 stories all about beer. That's Beer in Front and it's 6 00:00:31,480 --> 00:00:40,759 coming up now. Welcome to Beer in Front. It's Labor Day, 7 00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:43,679 so I hope you're having a good labor day. I'm 8 00:00:43,759 --> 00:00:47,520 your host. Dave's alatoris Beer in Front is a proud 9 00:00:47,719 --> 00:00:52,000 odd Pods Media Network member and charter member of the 10 00:00:52,039 --> 00:00:57,159 Beer Media Group. This week I'm talking malt Riverbend Malt 11 00:00:57,200 --> 00:01:00,640 House in Asheville, North Carolina. They've been putting out some 12 00:01:00,799 --> 00:01:04,680 great malt since twenty ten. Today I'm going to talk 13 00:01:04,680 --> 00:01:07,680 to Brent Manning, who's a co founder of River Bend. 14 00:01:07,959 --> 00:01:10,959 We're going to talk all about malt, and later on 15 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:13,879 in the show, I'm gonna have a couple malt focused 16 00:01:13,959 --> 00:01:18,000 beers and this is all malt. We're not doing hops 17 00:01:18,040 --> 00:01:22,480 this week. It's all malt. So I love malt. I 18 00:01:22,560 --> 00:01:26,079 love malt focused beers. It was great to talk to 19 00:01:26,200 --> 00:01:30,200 Brent kind of get a idea of what's going on 20 00:01:30,840 --> 00:01:35,359 in the malt world. It's also craft malt month. I 21 00:01:35,480 --> 00:01:38,000 did not know this until I talked to Brent, So 22 00:01:38,200 --> 00:01:41,799 September is craft malt month, and I'll talk a little 23 00:01:41,799 --> 00:01:45,519 bit more about that later on in the episode. But 24 00:01:46,480 --> 00:01:50,120 go find yourself a good malt focused beer if you're 25 00:01:50,159 --> 00:01:54,280 in the North Carolina area, get something that's made with 26 00:01:54,560 --> 00:02:08,319 River Bend malt and enjoy. In beer and beverage news, 27 00:02:08,759 --> 00:02:13,680 ab Morey this is a global bakery and yeast division 28 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:19,800 of Associated British Foods. They've acquired Omega Yeast. This was 29 00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:24,520 effective earlier in August. I had Lance on from Omega 30 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:27,960 a couple years ago on the show to talk about them, 31 00:02:28,439 --> 00:02:32,039 So I mean they congratulations to them. Hopefully they made 32 00:02:32,080 --> 00:02:35,719 some nice coin on this. It doesn't say what's going 33 00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:39,280 to happen to the facility here in Chicago right on 34 00:02:39,560 --> 00:02:43,680 Montrose by the Expressway, or its employees, so hopefully they'll 35 00:02:43,759 --> 00:02:48,560 keep this here in Chicago. But ab Morey is purchased 36 00:02:48,639 --> 00:02:53,800 Omega Yeast. If you're interested in owning a brewery, Left 37 00:02:53,840 --> 00:02:58,120 Hand is selling stock. They're trying to scale up. I 38 00:02:58,159 --> 00:03:01,759 guess this is through a company called Funder, and they're 39 00:03:01,840 --> 00:03:07,000 launching a community investment at about thirty six dollars a share, 40 00:03:07,759 --> 00:03:11,319 So if you're interested in investing in a brewery, you 41 00:03:11,360 --> 00:03:14,319 could check out weep Under and you could own a 42 00:03:14,319 --> 00:03:18,199 part of Left Hand locally here in Chicago. If you 43 00:03:18,199 --> 00:03:22,800 go to Dubtail on Sunday, September eighth, between one and three, 44 00:03:23,080 --> 00:03:27,360 they're doing a gear swap in social So if you 45 00:03:27,479 --> 00:03:31,400 have outdoor gear that you want to swap with other 46 00:03:31,719 --> 00:03:35,759 like minded people, head over to Dubtail. They do have 47 00:03:35,879 --> 00:03:39,680 this cool looking do rag that I don't have any 48 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:42,800 gear you've seen videos of me, I don't. I'm not 49 00:03:42,919 --> 00:03:47,039 the outdoors seat type, but I would like this do rag, 50 00:03:47,159 --> 00:03:49,719 So I might have to go on Sunday just to 51 00:03:49,759 --> 00:03:54,159 get the do rag. Workers at the Stone Brewing Facility 52 00:03:54,199 --> 00:03:58,120 in Virginia. Now Stone is owned by Sapporo. They've begun 53 00:03:58,159 --> 00:04:01,639 a union drive with the teams, so keep an eye 54 00:04:01,719 --> 00:04:06,919 out for that. Beyonce is teaming up with Nnessey to 55 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:10,599 come out with Sir Davis Whiskey. This is going to 56 00:04:10,639 --> 00:04:14,680 be a fifty one percent rye forty nine percent malted barley, 57 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:17,480 and it's going to be eighty nine bucks a bottle. 58 00:04:17,959 --> 00:04:22,399 So if you're looking for some whiskey from Beyonce, you 59 00:04:22,480 --> 00:04:27,800 gotta find Sir Davis do Sekis is given college football 60 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:32,120 fans a chance to get some pre beer whenever a 61 00:04:32,199 --> 00:04:36,519 college football team goes for the two point conversion. Check 62 00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:40,680 out dose ekis dot com slash a go for dots 63 00:04:41,079 --> 00:04:43,720 to learn more. It's not available in every state. It's 64 00:04:43,759 --> 00:04:47,399 not available here in Illinois, but it's available I think 65 00:04:47,480 --> 00:04:51,360 nine or ten different states. It's a promo with Drew Brees, 66 00:04:51,519 --> 00:04:56,160 former quarterback of the New Orleans Saints and Purdue boiler Makers. 67 00:04:56,399 --> 00:04:58,600 So if you need to get some pre dose ekis, 68 00:04:59,079 --> 00:05:04,079 check out those com slash go for dose Not only 69 00:05:04,120 --> 00:05:08,720 do I love beer, I love saltwater taffy. Like if 70 00:05:08,759 --> 00:05:12,120 I get a bag of saltwater taffy, it's not last 71 00:05:12,160 --> 00:05:15,959 in the day. But now lining Coogle is coming up 72 00:05:16,040 --> 00:05:20,839 with lakewater taffy. This is gonna be like I don't 73 00:05:20,839 --> 00:05:24,199 know if it's made with I think it's imfused with 74 00:05:24,639 --> 00:05:29,480 summer shandy and real lakewater from the Great Lakes. So 75 00:05:30,079 --> 00:05:34,600 you need to check out Fresh Daffy dot com slash 76 00:05:34,920 --> 00:05:37,959 Liney's Lakewater. Think you can get a bag of this 77 00:05:38,040 --> 00:05:41,240 for about six bucks, you know, including shipping and handling. 78 00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:45,240 But I need to get this because I'm a huge 79 00:05:45,279 --> 00:05:50,319 fan of saltwater taffy. Soul. Now they're coming up with 80 00:05:51,319 --> 00:05:57,720 this lighted umbrella. It's a solar umbrella for food vendor safety. 81 00:05:57,879 --> 00:06:01,519 So this looks really cool. This announced in Chicago this 82 00:06:01,639 --> 00:06:07,000 week and it's called Soul sol Or Umbrellas. It's a 83 00:06:07,079 --> 00:06:12,199 solar powered umbrella designed to illuminate Latino street vendors carts 84 00:06:12,240 --> 00:06:15,079 and create a better sense of safety. So this looks 85 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:20,600 really cool from Soul. Finally, and this always happens after 86 00:06:20,759 --> 00:06:26,800 I record something, but late breaking news out of Chicago. 87 00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:32,920 Ravinia versus Brevinia has come to an end. Ravinia Brewing 88 00:06:33,360 --> 00:06:37,680 They've announced the settlement with the festival on Friday. The 89 00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:43,759 craft brewery is going to rebrand. I've talked about this before. 90 00:06:43,920 --> 00:06:48,639 I've been to Vinia. I've talked to people with Bravinia. 91 00:06:49,560 --> 00:06:53,000 You know what side I'm on. But they're also a 92 00:06:53,120 --> 00:06:57,800 small business and spending a shit ton of money on 93 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:01,920 legal fees. There's no way to become a successful business, 94 00:07:02,439 --> 00:07:04,720 so they're going to rebrand. Now I'm reading this on 95 00:07:04,759 --> 00:07:09,279 the Chicago Tribune that I guess the Ravinia Festival is 96 00:07:09,360 --> 00:07:15,000 going to provide assistance during the transition but finally the 97 00:07:15,079 --> 00:07:20,480 lawsuits over. It's done. They'll be rebranding to a new name, 98 00:07:21,360 --> 00:07:24,399 but the beers and everything will hopefully stay the same. 99 00:07:24,480 --> 00:07:27,680 I'm assuming they're going to but I haven't been to 100 00:07:27,720 --> 00:07:29,879 the Highland Park spot, so I can't speak for that, 101 00:07:30,279 --> 00:07:33,120 but I know people that work there. I've been to 102 00:07:33,199 --> 00:07:36,639 the one here in the city, and I think it's phenomenal. 103 00:07:36,759 --> 00:07:39,800 The beer is great, the food is great, so please 104 00:07:39,839 --> 00:07:44,240 continue to support them. If you guys want to rename 105 00:07:44,319 --> 00:07:49,480 this like the Beer in Front Brewery, trust me, my 106 00:07:49,600 --> 00:07:54,000 attorneys will be a lot nicer than the festival's attorneys. 107 00:07:54,160 --> 00:07:58,480 But I'm glad this is finally over. Wash our hands 108 00:07:58,480 --> 00:08:01,560 of this and let's can can you making great beer, 109 00:08:02,240 --> 00:08:06,680 great food? But definitely check out whatever they're going to 110 00:08:06,759 --> 00:08:11,000 be called, and it wouldn't Park in Chicago, But I mean, 111 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:14,240 they're great people. It's a great brewery. The food is 112 00:08:14,279 --> 00:08:18,199 phenomenal as well. Get that deep friede ramen. Trust me 113 00:08:18,279 --> 00:08:21,319 on this one, you're gonna like it. But I'm glad 114 00:08:21,360 --> 00:08:24,879 this is finally over, and I'm glad everyone could finally 115 00:08:25,040 --> 00:08:38,440 move on. River Bend malt House opened in Ashville, North Carolina, 116 00:08:38,759 --> 00:08:42,360 in twenty ten. It was the first craft malt house 117 00:08:42,679 --> 00:08:47,559 east of the Mississippi, producing quality malt for breweries and distilleries. 118 00:08:47,919 --> 00:08:50,759 For the past three years, it has been included in 119 00:08:50,759 --> 00:08:55,360 Ink Magazine's Fastest Growing Private Companies and is the first 120 00:08:55,480 --> 00:08:59,440 regentified malt house in the world. Brent Manning, a co 121 00:08:59,519 --> 00:09:02,759 founder of River Bend, is joining me today. Brent, thanks 122 00:09:02,799 --> 00:09:04,960 so much for taking time out to talk about malt. 123 00:09:05,720 --> 00:09:08,480 Speaker 2: You bet, yeah, yeah, appreciate it. And yeah, just we 124 00:09:08,759 --> 00:09:13,200 were one of the first us in valley malt up 125 00:09:13,240 --> 00:09:18,120 in Massachusetts. We're kind of kicking off about the same time, 126 00:09:19,200 --> 00:09:21,519 but yeah, yeah, it was an exciting time. You know, 127 00:09:21,679 --> 00:09:27,440 around twenty ten, Kraft Beer was really really roaring into it, 128 00:09:27,519 --> 00:09:29,480 this new reality, So it was exciting. 129 00:09:30,279 --> 00:09:34,360 Speaker 1: Well, opening a spot in Ashville. I'm going to need 130 00:09:34,399 --> 00:09:36,919 you to get me some lottery tickets or something. I mean, 131 00:09:36,960 --> 00:09:40,080 you picked a great part to do this, with a 132 00:09:40,159 --> 00:09:43,840 fantastic beer and brewery scene. The builds Moore one of 133 00:09:43,879 --> 00:09:46,600 my favorite music venues around the country, and the Orange 134 00:09:46,639 --> 00:09:49,600 Peel is there, and now River Bend. What do you 135 00:09:49,639 --> 00:09:51,720 guys have in the soil and in the water that 136 00:09:51,879 --> 00:09:53,879 makes Ashville such a great spot? 137 00:09:54,440 --> 00:09:57,720 Speaker 2: Yeah, it really is. It's a great spot. It's been 138 00:09:57,799 --> 00:10:00,399 you know, it's been a tourism destination for well over 139 00:10:00,440 --> 00:10:04,600 one hundred years. You know, we've had a huge creative 140 00:10:04,720 --> 00:10:08,440 class as part of our calling our city home for 141 00:10:08,480 --> 00:10:12,519 a long time. So it's definitely a special spot. And 142 00:10:12,600 --> 00:10:17,480 when my my co founder Brian Simpson and I good buddies, 143 00:10:17,519 --> 00:10:20,480 we were environmental consultants together on the coast of North 144 00:10:20,519 --> 00:10:26,639 Carolina and early two thousand's and you know, the the 145 00:10:26,639 --> 00:10:29,440 the housing market collapsed, we went looking for you know 146 00:10:30,240 --> 00:10:33,159 what what's career two point zero looked like? And uh, 147 00:10:33,399 --> 00:10:36,279 you know, Asheville definitely bubbled to the top. My my 148 00:10:36,320 --> 00:10:39,120 wife and I had had seen Asheville as a little 149 00:10:39,240 --> 00:10:43,039 escape hatch and had gone hiking and several times up here, 150 00:10:43,200 --> 00:10:46,720 got married up here, and uh, you know the old 151 00:10:46,799 --> 00:10:49,559 job the old joke is after your third visit, you're 152 00:10:49,600 --> 00:10:52,559 looking for a house. And uh that that's pretty much 153 00:10:52,879 --> 00:10:56,519 where we were very much. You know, I loved the energy, 154 00:10:56,679 --> 00:11:01,360 the creativity, and and of course the outdoor opportunities were 155 00:11:01,399 --> 00:11:05,120 just incredible. Brian's a trail runner and I'm into fishing 156 00:11:05,200 --> 00:11:08,279 and mountain biking, and so it was an easy decision. 157 00:11:08,559 --> 00:11:11,720 The real trick was how are we gonna We had 158 00:11:11,720 --> 00:11:16,000 to fabricate a job to stay here basically, so so 159 00:11:16,080 --> 00:11:18,320 that that was that was the wild thing. You know, 160 00:11:18,399 --> 00:11:21,039 we we looked around. I was a home brewer at 161 00:11:21,080 --> 00:11:23,440 the time, and we were looking around at you know, 162 00:11:23,960 --> 00:11:26,440 craft beer scene, and we're like, man, that this is 163 00:11:26,480 --> 00:11:29,440 really cool that the city's got this going on. But 164 00:11:29,919 --> 00:11:32,159 you know, the Brian and I are very focused on 165 00:11:32,240 --> 00:11:36,360 sustainability and we we'd done a biodiesel cooperative together, and 166 00:11:36,399 --> 00:11:39,279 we we started looking around and we're like, well, way, 167 00:11:40,279 --> 00:11:44,559 there's no local ingredients going into this these beers. And 168 00:11:45,360 --> 00:11:47,480 you know, we're such a foodie town and we're so 169 00:11:47,960 --> 00:11:52,120 we celebrate all things local and you know, heirloom produce 170 00:11:52,240 --> 00:11:55,480 and so forth. And we started down this path of 171 00:11:55,919 --> 00:11:59,919 you know, how do we connect farmers to this craft 172 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:02,360 beer industry. You know, at the time, we weren't even 173 00:12:02,360 --> 00:12:05,320 thinking about spirits. It was just one hundred percent beer. 174 00:12:05,639 --> 00:12:10,320 And it was you know a lot of exciting conversations 175 00:12:10,360 --> 00:12:15,480 with extension professionals in North Carolina and Virginia, and you know, 176 00:12:15,519 --> 00:12:19,240 they helped us school us on you know, what what 177 00:12:19,360 --> 00:12:22,240 was available to us in terms of small grains and 178 00:12:22,759 --> 00:12:26,879 you know at the time that there was nothing really 179 00:12:26,919 --> 00:12:29,840 in the way of small scale malt houses in the US, 180 00:12:29,840 --> 00:12:32,840 and so there wasn't wasn't much of a roadmap on 181 00:12:32,919 --> 00:12:35,720 that front, and so it was it was a kind 182 00:12:35,720 --> 00:12:38,919 of a di y f from the get go. Brian 183 00:12:38,960 --> 00:12:42,360 went and bought a meat smoker from Sam's Club and 184 00:12:43,320 --> 00:12:45,799 duct taped a bathroom fan to it and that was 185 00:12:45,840 --> 00:12:51,360 our first kiln and so it definitely humble beginnings there, 186 00:12:51,600 --> 00:12:54,240 but it was exciting, you know. I mean we we 187 00:12:54,320 --> 00:12:58,559 kind of envisioned a situation where you know, we worked 188 00:12:58,559 --> 00:13:02,399 with local farmers get grain into the malt house. And 189 00:13:03,080 --> 00:13:05,759 you know, this was right, so the south slope of 190 00:13:05,840 --> 00:13:09,320 downtown is kind of our brewing district and so as 191 00:13:09,399 --> 00:13:11,919 that was forming, we were like, oh, well, this will 192 00:13:11,919 --> 00:13:14,120 be cool. You know, we'll get a batch of malt 193 00:13:14,159 --> 00:13:16,960 finished and then we'll load it in the delivery van 194 00:13:17,120 --> 00:13:19,399 and you know, just like the milkman will bring people 195 00:13:19,440 --> 00:13:23,559 their malt. And it did not go that smoothly, of course, 196 00:13:23,639 --> 00:13:27,480 but the idea was there and we were hell bent 197 00:13:27,639 --> 00:13:28,799 on executing. 198 00:13:29,159 --> 00:13:31,240 Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean that spike you mentioned, like working with 199 00:13:31,320 --> 00:13:34,840 local family owned farms, I mean that just seems like 200 00:13:34,919 --> 00:13:39,320 a win win for everyone. The farmers get their product out, 201 00:13:39,639 --> 00:13:43,960 the brewers get to use locally sourced malt. I mean, 202 00:13:44,399 --> 00:13:47,320 it just seems like the perfect scenario there. 203 00:13:47,759 --> 00:13:50,240 Speaker 2: Oh yeah, yeah, you know, And just to kind of 204 00:13:50,360 --> 00:13:53,879 to frame it up for your audience, you know, we're 205 00:13:53,919 --> 00:13:56,919 sitting in Asheville in the western part of North Carolina. 206 00:13:57,159 --> 00:14:02,320 The closest major malt house to Iville is Breece and Hilton, Wisconsin, 207 00:14:02,399 --> 00:14:07,399 and they're buying barley from you know, Wyoming and so forth, 208 00:14:07,600 --> 00:14:10,639 and so it's about a two thousand mile round trip 209 00:14:10,759 --> 00:14:13,639 really from the farm to the fermentor. And you know, 210 00:14:13,679 --> 00:14:16,320 when we looked at at our model, we said, well, 211 00:14:16,519 --> 00:14:19,879 let's go you know, a couple hundred miles and see, 212 00:14:19,960 --> 00:14:25,080 you know, what can we do within that scope. And 213 00:14:25,159 --> 00:14:27,960 so that that was an exciting challenge there. There was 214 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:31,799 basically not much in the way of small grains infrastructure 215 00:14:31,840 --> 00:14:35,639 for North Carolina growers that were working with flour mills, 216 00:14:35,679 --> 00:14:38,919 for example, growing we can grow top quality of soft 217 00:14:38,960 --> 00:14:41,759 red wheat in the South as a winter grain from 218 00:14:41,840 --> 00:14:46,120 October to June, and you know, but typically these farmers 219 00:14:46,759 --> 00:14:51,039 are harvesting and trucking directly to the flour mill and 220 00:14:51,120 --> 00:14:54,200 selling it right then and there. Our model was like, 221 00:14:54,720 --> 00:14:57,000 harvest it, please take care of it. We'll take a 222 00:14:57,039 --> 00:14:59,879 truckload of it as a time throughout the year. And 223 00:15:00,559 --> 00:15:03,039 it was different. You know, we needed sea cleaners, we 224 00:15:03,120 --> 00:15:08,519 needed storage, you know, folks, it was quite quite a 225 00:15:08,600 --> 00:15:12,000 value chain to stitch together to get top quality grain 226 00:15:12,960 --> 00:15:17,240 to the mallhouse in a good fashion, in a safe fashion, 227 00:15:17,279 --> 00:15:20,519 I should say. You know, the great thing about the 228 00:15:20,559 --> 00:15:24,559 winter barley growing season, though, is that it acts as 229 00:15:24,559 --> 00:15:27,080 a cover crop, so we get a lot of environmental 230 00:15:27,080 --> 00:15:30,279 benefits from that point. And then we're also not competing 231 00:15:30,279 --> 00:15:32,720 with corn and soybeans here in North Carolina, the main 232 00:15:32,759 --> 00:15:37,360 cash crops, so we're actually an additional paycheck for our farmers. 233 00:15:37,679 --> 00:15:38,240 Speaker 1: It's awesome. 234 00:15:38,320 --> 00:15:41,519 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, it has a lot of great benefits, and 235 00:15:42,320 --> 00:15:45,440 you know, we've steadily built our network over the years. 236 00:15:45,919 --> 00:15:48,399 I always joke with people, it can't be local enough. 237 00:15:48,559 --> 00:15:53,080 So if I drive an hour north, I'm in Tennessee, 238 00:15:53,279 --> 00:15:56,399 an hour and twenty minutes, I'm in Virginia. And the 239 00:15:56,399 --> 00:15:59,320 minute I meet brewers in those states, they say, well, 240 00:15:59,360 --> 00:16:02,399 what do you have from my state? And so we 241 00:16:02,840 --> 00:16:06,519 you know, obviously started with a solid base in North Carolina, 242 00:16:06,639 --> 00:16:14,799 but it branched out and now get grained from Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Alabama. 243 00:16:15,279 --> 00:16:18,320 South Carolina has been a little tricky, just again from 244 00:16:18,320 --> 00:16:22,840 an infrastructure and climate standpoint, But yeah, trying to pull 245 00:16:22,919 --> 00:16:25,399 grain out of every southern state that we can. 246 00:16:25,840 --> 00:16:29,000 Speaker 1: Oh, that's cool. Now you mentioned earlier your co founder 247 00:16:29,399 --> 00:16:34,279 getting the smoker out of the Sam's Club. What exactly 248 00:16:34,480 --> 00:16:37,799 so you buy the grain from the farmers and then 249 00:16:37,919 --> 00:16:41,519 what exactly you know A cliff notes version is you 250 00:16:41,559 --> 00:16:46,120 know how you get it from the farmers to the breweries. 251 00:16:46,559 --> 00:16:50,399 Speaker 2: Sure, sure, yeah. So the process of malting is basically 252 00:16:50,440 --> 00:16:54,240 designed to manage the enzomatic digestion of the cell walls 253 00:16:54,279 --> 00:16:57,080 inside of each kernel as that are converted into a 254 00:16:57,120 --> 00:17:00,799 starch or simple sugar, and so you can make alcohol 255 00:17:00,840 --> 00:17:03,960 out of raw ingredients. Is just really inefficient. So if 256 00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:07,400 a maltster is in between the raw grain harvest and 257 00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:11,119 the brewery or distillery, you're going to basically manage that 258 00:17:11,160 --> 00:17:16,279 cellular breakdown through three main steps, steeping, germinating, and kilning. Steeping, 259 00:17:16,319 --> 00:17:19,440 we take the grain from about twelve percent moisture where 260 00:17:19,440 --> 00:17:22,400 it's harvested it goes through three wet dry cycles up 261 00:17:22,440 --> 00:17:25,640 to about forty five percent moisture. From here, the grain 262 00:17:26,359 --> 00:17:30,519 is alive. We're essentially tricking the grain into growing by 263 00:17:30,599 --> 00:17:34,680 steeping it. This way, the grain germination process kicks off 264 00:17:35,039 --> 00:17:38,480 enzymes of release from the embryo. That adjustive work begins. 265 00:17:39,079 --> 00:17:43,319 The maltsters then manages the germination process in a cool 266 00:17:43,880 --> 00:17:47,400 condition for anywhere from three to five days, depending on 267 00:17:47,440 --> 00:17:51,480 what type of product we're making, will go my lights 268 00:17:51,480 --> 00:17:54,960 are on kicking me off again. But so that three 269 00:17:54,960 --> 00:17:59,000 to five day process, we will essentially decide the level 270 00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:02,440 of modification or cellular breakdown that we're looking for. And 271 00:18:03,119 --> 00:18:05,920 at that point, you know, we're essentially setting the table 272 00:18:06,039 --> 00:18:09,599 for is this going to be a light, grassy, floral 273 00:18:09,680 --> 00:18:12,200 pilsner or is this going to be like a rich, 274 00:18:13,279 --> 00:18:18,279 you know, sweet aromatic, honey toned munich. And that would 275 00:18:18,279 --> 00:18:21,519 be you know, like the five day germination link. And 276 00:18:22,079 --> 00:18:25,119 we couple that with a kilning regime that's twenty four 277 00:18:25,160 --> 00:18:29,079 hours long. Three main steps free dry forestry and curing, 278 00:18:29,400 --> 00:18:32,960 and again you're going to go anywhere from one hundred 279 00:18:32,960 --> 00:18:36,160 and twenty to two hundred and twenty fahrenheit over this process, 280 00:18:36,519 --> 00:18:40,359 and as the maltster designs the recipe, we're either highlighting 281 00:18:40,359 --> 00:18:44,640 that grassy note of the pilsner malt or accentuating those rich, 282 00:18:44,720 --> 00:18:48,039 deep toffee caramel notes of a dark Munich product. So 283 00:18:49,240 --> 00:18:51,480 there's a lot of a lot of room to play. 284 00:18:52,160 --> 00:18:55,519 We only have maybe half a dozen raw materials to 285 00:18:55,599 --> 00:18:58,720 work with, but primarily it's barley. But we can develop, 286 00:18:58,839 --> 00:19:01,880 you know, dozens of pro spot tweaking, all these. 287 00:19:01,799 --> 00:19:05,440 Speaker 1: Variables going, you know, with such a vibrant beer scene, 288 00:19:05,640 --> 00:19:09,640 it has to be extremely rewarding for you the team 289 00:19:09,680 --> 00:19:13,599 there at River Bend, when you could go to a 290 00:19:13,640 --> 00:19:18,119 local brewery and have something that you helped create. 291 00:19:18,319 --> 00:19:21,200 Speaker 2: Oh yeah, yeah, this is this is this feeling never 292 00:19:21,240 --> 00:19:25,960 gets old, you know. We uh, it's it's been so fun, 293 00:19:26,640 --> 00:19:29,680 especially as we've gotten a little bit more established, you know, 294 00:19:29,920 --> 00:19:33,400 and and and we began to have we just did 295 00:19:33,440 --> 00:19:38,640 some fun collaborations last week, a good good account of 296 00:19:38,640 --> 00:19:41,680 ours and Knoxville, Tennessee print Shop. You know, we we 297 00:19:41,759 --> 00:19:45,599 had an opportunity to develop a traditional steam beer recipe 298 00:19:45,599 --> 00:19:48,799 together and uh, you know that's going to come out 299 00:19:48,799 --> 00:19:50,920 in a couple of weeks. And then we've got flagship 300 00:19:50,960 --> 00:19:56,359 Beers like Ashville Brewings. Perfect day, I PA and you know, 301 00:19:56,920 --> 00:19:59,480 I always just it just feels great to you know, 302 00:19:59,519 --> 00:20:01,960 belly up to the bar with some bodies and order 303 00:20:02,039 --> 00:20:05,640 around and you know, tell everybody with pribub I'd like 304 00:20:06,039 --> 00:20:08,920 had a hand in making this happen, so exactly, it's 305 00:20:08,960 --> 00:20:09,799 definitely special. 306 00:20:10,640 --> 00:20:14,079 Speaker 1: Now you mentioned you also work with distilleries outside of 307 00:20:14,200 --> 00:20:15,119 craft breweries. 308 00:20:15,359 --> 00:20:18,720 Speaker 2: Yeah, this is definitely you know, I always tell people 309 00:20:18,960 --> 00:20:23,119 it wasn't ever, it wasn't even mentioned in our business 310 00:20:23,200 --> 00:20:27,720 plan to include a distillery business because at the time, 311 00:20:27,880 --> 00:20:30,440 it just wasn't a thing in North Carolina. I think 312 00:20:30,480 --> 00:20:33,400 it was technically legal to make distilled spirits, but it 313 00:20:33,480 --> 00:20:37,680 just wasn't on our radar. And flash forward to twenty 314 00:20:37,720 --> 00:20:41,680 twenty four. It's now probably about thirty percent of our business. 315 00:20:42,200 --> 00:20:47,400 And yeah, and it's a different, totally different market. You know, 316 00:20:47,559 --> 00:20:53,160 they're most distillers if they're doing a traditional bourbon or 317 00:20:53,200 --> 00:20:55,440 looking for malt to do a lot of the heavy 318 00:20:55,480 --> 00:20:58,599 lifting in terms of the conversion of that raw horn. 319 00:21:00,240 --> 00:21:03,119 So we've got that's kind of an interesting challenge from 320 00:21:03,119 --> 00:21:08,160 a maltster's perspective to really push enzymes to the forefront 321 00:21:08,640 --> 00:21:11,480 in terms of your goals for product development. And then 322 00:21:11,519 --> 00:21:13,880 on the flip side, we have the American single malt 323 00:21:13,920 --> 00:21:18,079 whiskey movement that's continuing to gather steam, and that's really, 324 00:21:18,799 --> 00:21:21,680 in my opinion, the best of both worlds. We get 325 00:21:21,720 --> 00:21:25,200 to take, you know, all the deep rich flavors of 326 00:21:25,599 --> 00:21:28,839 specialty malt that we can create here in in the 327 00:21:28,960 --> 00:21:32,720 malt house, and they transfer all the way to the 328 00:21:32,720 --> 00:21:37,039 finished distill it. And it's just been really fun to 329 00:21:37,200 --> 00:21:40,640 explore these sort of this sort of new wave of 330 00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:44,119 American single malt recipes with some of our customers. 331 00:21:44,119 --> 00:21:46,799 Speaker 1: Like here locally, you know, I'm from Chicago. Like, the 332 00:21:46,960 --> 00:21:51,640 barrel aged beers are really popular in the winter. If 333 00:21:51,640 --> 00:21:54,960 you've gotten to a point yet where a brewery could 334 00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:59,079 get a barrel from a whiskey product that you helped 335 00:21:59,160 --> 00:22:01,480 create and then a beer as well, I mean, that 336 00:22:01,519 --> 00:22:05,680 would just be the perfect circle. There. We're close. 337 00:22:05,799 --> 00:22:09,480 Speaker 2: We're I've got some I've got some guys in in 338 00:22:09,599 --> 00:22:14,319 Tennessee that are starting to circulate some barrels. Uh they're 339 00:22:14,400 --> 00:22:17,599 they're called Leaper's Fork. They they they make an excellent 340 00:22:17,920 --> 00:22:21,519 bottled in Bond, Tennessee whiskey and bourbon, and so some 341 00:22:21,599 --> 00:22:23,960 of their barrels are getting out and about around the 342 00:22:24,480 --> 00:22:29,680 Tennessee brewing community, and yeah, it's fun to connect these dots, 343 00:22:30,039 --> 00:22:34,880 you know. And we have even some folks that are 344 00:22:34,960 --> 00:22:40,240 are legally registered as Bruce stilleries, so okay, they sometimes 345 00:22:40,279 --> 00:22:42,680 the barrel doesn't even leave the building, but it gets 346 00:22:42,680 --> 00:22:44,000 to do double duty. 347 00:22:44,319 --> 00:22:47,680 Speaker 1: Yeah. Can a brewery or distillery, can they call you 348 00:22:47,759 --> 00:22:50,119 guys up over a river bend and say, hey, we're 349 00:22:50,119 --> 00:22:55,039 looking for this specific type of malt. Does that happen? 350 00:22:55,079 --> 00:22:56,920 Can you do that for them? Yeah? 351 00:22:57,079 --> 00:23:00,279 Speaker 2: Oh yeah, our custom malt program has been a lot 352 00:23:00,279 --> 00:23:03,000 of fun. It's really where we get to stretch our 353 00:23:03,079 --> 00:23:05,960 legs from a creative standpoint. 354 00:23:06,480 --> 00:23:06,680 Speaker 1: You know. 355 00:23:06,799 --> 00:23:11,319 Speaker 2: It's, uh, we've got a couple of distilleries right now 356 00:23:11,559 --> 00:23:16,599 that we're developing some specialty malts for and you know 357 00:23:17,079 --> 00:23:20,640 it's really cool because they'll they'll typically give us sort 358 00:23:20,680 --> 00:23:23,599 of bookend it. They'll say, you know, we're working with 359 00:23:23,920 --> 00:23:27,039 product X from this malt house in Germany and product 360 00:23:27,279 --> 00:23:31,440 Y from this malt house in Canada. Can you put 361 00:23:31,480 --> 00:23:35,160 something right in the middle of that in terms of color, 362 00:23:35,200 --> 00:23:38,960 flavor profiles, et cetera. Or you know, we've also got 363 00:23:40,559 --> 00:23:44,920 our you know, we've got a range of different smokers 364 00:23:45,240 --> 00:23:49,559 and different woods that people can experiment with, so that's 365 00:23:49,559 --> 00:23:53,039 always fun. You know, I've got an account that every 366 00:23:53,119 --> 00:23:56,000 year they trim their fig tree, they fill up their 367 00:23:56,039 --> 00:23:58,200 pickup truck and they bring it to the malt house 368 00:23:58,200 --> 00:24:01,839 so that we can smoke some malt with the fig 369 00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:06,079 wood and you know, just fun projects like that. Yeah, 370 00:24:06,119 --> 00:24:06,880 it's good stuff. 371 00:24:07,119 --> 00:24:10,119 Speaker 1: It's cool that you're the first regentified malt house in 372 00:24:10,160 --> 00:24:15,279 the world. What does regenerative agriculture, how does that work? 373 00:24:15,400 --> 00:24:17,559 And you know, frankly, why is it important to everyone? 374 00:24:17,799 --> 00:24:20,720 Speaker 2: Yeah, so this was a great step for us that 375 00:24:20,759 --> 00:24:24,839 we're super proud of. So regenerative agriculture is basically a 376 00:24:24,880 --> 00:24:29,799 suite of practices that's designed to restore the biological health 377 00:24:29,839 --> 00:24:34,759 of the soil. And so that can include practices like 378 00:24:34,960 --> 00:24:38,720 no till farming, where you're basically limiting the amount of 379 00:24:38,720 --> 00:24:43,799 disturbance that's happening during the different cycles of production during 380 00:24:43,839 --> 00:24:47,359 the year. You know, there's all sorts of strategies, you know, 381 00:24:47,599 --> 00:24:51,559 cover cropping. Cover cropping can be as simple as a 382 00:24:51,640 --> 00:24:55,640 single monocrop in an off season that just basically holds 383 00:24:55,640 --> 00:25:00,079 soil in place and contributes to organic matter development. But 384 00:25:00,359 --> 00:25:04,319 you know, beyond that, what we see is, you know, 385 00:25:04,440 --> 00:25:09,039 this restoration of soil help also has the added benefit 386 00:25:09,240 --> 00:25:13,720 of carbon sequestration. So there's a tremendous amount of benefits 387 00:25:13,759 --> 00:25:18,440 for the planet. There's our waterways, our air quality, you 388 00:25:18,519 --> 00:25:21,119 name it. There's a lot of winds here, and so 389 00:25:21,799 --> 00:25:26,279 we're excited to support this. When we originally started the 390 00:25:26,319 --> 00:25:30,559 mald House, we were organic and everything was you know, 391 00:25:30,599 --> 00:25:34,680 we delivered the grain in a biodiesel powered van and 392 00:25:34,960 --> 00:25:37,880 you know, we were just just as utopian as you 393 00:25:37,920 --> 00:25:43,440 could possibly imagine. And we had a really rough harvest 394 00:25:43,799 --> 00:25:46,880 on the second year and we kind of looked at 395 00:25:46,880 --> 00:25:49,680 ourselves and ate, well, we can either start working with 396 00:25:49,759 --> 00:25:54,759 conventional grain or we can close. So so the idea was, well, 397 00:25:54,839 --> 00:25:57,920 let's go conventional, but you know, keep it local. And 398 00:25:57,960 --> 00:26:02,759 then when this reginative opportunity came about, we said, this 399 00:26:02,799 --> 00:26:05,839 is a great opportunity to come back to our roots 400 00:26:06,319 --> 00:26:10,039 and really put our money where our mouth is when 401 00:26:10,079 --> 00:26:13,960 it comes to the environmental stewardship side of what we're 402 00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:14,960 trying to accomplish. 403 00:26:15,200 --> 00:26:19,319 Speaker 1: Looking at the press release that Emily sent over from Radcraft, 404 00:26:19,759 --> 00:26:22,440 looked like revenue was up one hundred and thirty five 405 00:26:22,480 --> 00:26:25,720 percent over the past three years, placing you on inc 406 00:26:25,880 --> 00:26:30,599 Magazine's Top five thousand fastest Growing private Companies. So not 407 00:26:30,640 --> 00:26:33,119 only are you doing things at riverbend the right way, 408 00:26:33,400 --> 00:26:36,759 the business is growing, you're getting national attention for your work. 409 00:26:37,079 --> 00:26:39,920 That has to be extremely satisfying as well, because one 410 00:26:40,039 --> 00:26:43,359 you start a business to make money, So I mean 411 00:26:43,400 --> 00:26:45,359 that has to be really rewarding as well. 412 00:26:46,119 --> 00:26:50,039 Speaker 2: It is, it is, It's it's been quite the ride. 413 00:26:51,079 --> 00:26:55,880 We made a big jump in twenty eighteen. We went 414 00:26:55,960 --> 00:26:58,640 from a ten thousand square foot facility to about a 415 00:26:58,759 --> 00:27:03,279 sixty thousand square foot facility and you know, big machines 416 00:27:03,480 --> 00:27:08,000 versus just our traditional floor malt and you know, it 417 00:27:08,039 --> 00:27:10,559 was a big jump. And I think you know what 418 00:27:11,400 --> 00:27:14,319 we find the most you know, satisfying about the INK 419 00:27:14,400 --> 00:27:18,759 five thousand thing is that you know, we're making an 420 00:27:18,799 --> 00:27:23,920 agriculturally based product, manufacturing it in a week long process. 421 00:27:24,039 --> 00:27:28,759 So this is this is old school manufacturing basically. And 422 00:27:28,839 --> 00:27:31,880 if you look at a lot of our cohorts on 423 00:27:31,920 --> 00:27:34,440 this INK five thousand list, and not to take anything 424 00:27:34,480 --> 00:27:38,400 away from them, but they're in tech, and tech is 425 00:27:38,759 --> 00:27:44,640 inherently easier to scale than agriculturally based manufacturing, and so 426 00:27:45,359 --> 00:27:47,799 it's pretty gratifying that we've been able to kind of 427 00:27:47,839 --> 00:27:52,680 hold our own across in that kind of modern business landscape. 428 00:27:53,200 --> 00:27:56,279 Speaker 1: Yeah, especially you know, you're kind of taking on big 429 00:27:56,359 --> 00:27:59,920 agra here, so getting able to do things to right 430 00:28:00,119 --> 00:28:02,640 way like you're doing it, keeping it local in private, 431 00:28:02,920 --> 00:28:03,839 that's fantastic. 432 00:28:04,519 --> 00:28:08,079 Speaker 2: Yeah, Yeah, it feels good. And you know, we very 433 00:28:08,119 --> 00:28:11,559 much appreciate the support from our brewers and distillers. We've 434 00:28:11,599 --> 00:28:14,720 got typically in a given year, maybe about three hundred 435 00:28:15,119 --> 00:28:19,519 across the region that support us and then and those 436 00:28:19,519 --> 00:28:23,759 are large and small operations, and it's it's been really 437 00:28:23,759 --> 00:28:28,279 gratifying to grow the business we're We started, we had 438 00:28:28,400 --> 00:28:31,920 two ten ton vessels and the floor malt in our 439 00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:36,039 expanded sixty thousand square foot facility, and we're now at 440 00:28:36,119 --> 00:28:39,200 four ten ton vessels and on our way to processing 441 00:28:39,240 --> 00:28:43,000 about five million pounds this year, so quite when we started, 442 00:28:43,039 --> 00:28:46,200 we did I think forty thousand pounds the first year, 443 00:28:46,400 --> 00:28:50,319 so it's it's been quite the ride from a single 444 00:28:50,400 --> 00:28:52,359 truckload to five million pounds. 445 00:28:52,480 --> 00:28:56,200 Speaker 1: Yeah. You know, my cousin still lives in Ashville, so 446 00:28:56,240 --> 00:28:58,279 I'm going to have to nice Yeah, I first, and 447 00:28:58,480 --> 00:29:00,200 some stuff my way. You actually you mentioned and you 448 00:29:00,240 --> 00:29:02,920 got married there. She was probably in the band that 449 00:29:03,359 --> 00:29:05,599 performed at your wedding because she's all been doing that 450 00:29:05,720 --> 00:29:09,440 for years, emporium. But yeah, so I'll have to have 451 00:29:09,559 --> 00:29:12,039 her send me some Ashville beer so I could have 452 00:29:12,240 --> 00:29:15,720 something that's made, you know, from River Bend. 453 00:29:15,839 --> 00:29:19,119 Speaker 2: So yeah, yeah, we've got a great contingent here. You know, 454 00:29:19,200 --> 00:29:23,200 we've got our buddies at Asheville Brewing, Twin Leaf across 455 00:29:23,200 --> 00:29:29,519 the street, Wicked Wed silicoa Dissolver. There's all sorts of 456 00:29:29,519 --> 00:29:35,119 options for picking out local stuff. So yeah, she should 457 00:29:35,119 --> 00:29:37,599 be able to put a nice care package together for you. 458 00:29:37,799 --> 00:29:41,000 Speaker 1: Oh that's awesome. Well, Brent, I really appreciate you taking 459 00:29:41,039 --> 00:29:43,960 time out this morning to talk about Malt, to talk 460 00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:47,240 about River Bend. And this was really great. I hope 461 00:29:47,240 --> 00:29:50,279 everybody's enjoying this because it was really fascinating to learn 462 00:29:50,279 --> 00:29:53,240 about your company and also the basic you know, how 463 00:29:53,279 --> 00:29:56,759 you go from farmer to glass. 464 00:29:55,920 --> 00:29:58,200 Speaker 2: Right, right, It's always fun to watch the light bulb 465 00:29:58,240 --> 00:30:00,880 turn on. So yeah, I appreciate the opportunity. 466 00:30:01,279 --> 00:30:03,079 Speaker 1: All right, Brent, take care of yourself. We'll talk to 467 00:30:03,119 --> 00:30:04,880 you later, sir, all right, cheers. 468 00:30:15,119 --> 00:30:17,960 Speaker 3: If you like fun, then you're gonna love the beard 469 00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:20,720 Out Podcast. It's a podcast where we talk about two 470 00:30:20,799 --> 00:30:23,839 of the greatest things in the world, beer and weird Out. 471 00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:26,960 Speaker 4: And frankly, we talk more about weird Out than anything 472 00:30:27,079 --> 00:30:28,480 because he's. 473 00:30:28,240 --> 00:30:29,759 Speaker 3: The gift that keeps on given. 474 00:30:30,200 --> 00:30:33,799 Speaker 4: So join us as we talk through weird Al's career, 475 00:30:34,079 --> 00:30:36,519 what he needs to us, and we have some very 476 00:30:36,559 --> 00:30:40,000 special guests on to discuss the magic that is Alfred 477 00:30:40,240 --> 00:30:41,559 Matthew Yankovic. 478 00:30:42,039 --> 00:30:44,720 Speaker 3: Beard Out part of the Odd God's Media Network. 479 00:30:49,319 --> 00:30:52,319 Speaker 1: Oh that was really great. I think once again Brent 480 00:30:52,440 --> 00:30:56,160 Manning over at River Bend Malt House for coming on 481 00:30:56,319 --> 00:31:01,079 and talking about malt September as our recording this and 482 00:31:01,160 --> 00:31:05,240 this episode's coming out on the second of September. We're 483 00:31:05,400 --> 00:31:10,039 day two into craft Malt Month. You could find if 484 00:31:10,119 --> 00:31:14,000 you go to their website craft maltmonth dot com, you 485 00:31:14,039 --> 00:31:17,839 can learn all about craft malt. You could find places 486 00:31:17,960 --> 00:31:22,839 near you, malt houses near you that are doing things 487 00:31:23,039 --> 00:31:26,319 the right way. This is really cool. There's a couple 488 00:31:26,400 --> 00:31:31,119 places in Illinois downstate that do this, so this is 489 00:31:31,200 --> 00:31:34,599 really cool. And frankly, you don't know you buy a 490 00:31:34,599 --> 00:31:37,720 beer at you know, your liquor store or whatever. You 491 00:31:37,759 --> 00:31:41,359 don't know where the malts coming from the hops are 492 00:31:41,400 --> 00:31:45,000 coming from, So this is really cool. Hopefully we could 493 00:31:45,000 --> 00:31:49,319 get more breweries involved that will purchase malt from these 494 00:31:49,400 --> 00:31:55,799 local independent malt houses supporting family farms in everyone's region. 495 00:31:56,319 --> 00:31:58,720 This is really cool. I know when I spoke to 496 00:31:58,799 --> 00:32:00,960 Billy Goat Hop Farm, I mean it was the same thing, 497 00:32:01,079 --> 00:32:07,079 like learning about how local independent places like this really 498 00:32:07,119 --> 00:32:10,440 make craft beer and make craft beer better. And it 499 00:32:10,440 --> 00:32:15,839 would be great to see more breweries utilizing craft products 500 00:32:16,079 --> 00:32:21,160 from smaller independent companies. So please check out craft Mault Month. 501 00:32:21,400 --> 00:32:25,160 They have a list of events around the country that 502 00:32:25,240 --> 00:32:29,160 you could participate in. You know, malt houses around the country. 503 00:32:29,240 --> 00:32:32,480 Check for your state. I love this logo, Brent. If 504 00:32:32,480 --> 00:32:36,680 you're listening, you're a big shooter. I need to buy. 505 00:32:37,079 --> 00:32:40,559 Send me a link where I could purchase a Craft 506 00:32:40,759 --> 00:32:44,519 Malt Month T shirt or hat because I will definitely 507 00:32:44,559 --> 00:32:49,279 buy this and wear this proudly. But enjoy Craft Malt 508 00:32:49,319 --> 00:33:04,799 Month everyone, and please check out craft Maltmonth dot com. 509 00:33:04,960 --> 00:33:06,799 All right, the beer that's in front of me now. 510 00:33:07,240 --> 00:33:12,319 After talking to Brent over Hat River Bend, I wanted 511 00:33:12,319 --> 00:33:15,920 to have some malti focused beers here for the week. 512 00:33:16,319 --> 00:33:21,880 And luckily it's Octoberfest season, so everyone's coming out with 513 00:33:22,000 --> 00:33:26,480 an Octoberfest. I'm going to have one from Lakefront up 514 00:33:26,519 --> 00:33:30,359 in Milwaukee. They put out some really good stuff. This 515 00:33:30,400 --> 00:33:34,000 one is a Marsen style. Now you'll find two different 516 00:33:34,079 --> 00:33:38,839 kinds of Octoberfest beers out there. One is a Marsin 517 00:33:39,319 --> 00:33:43,960 one is the fest beer. They're both great, But this 518 00:33:44,000 --> 00:33:47,039 one happens to be a mars And style. I'm looking 519 00:33:47,160 --> 00:33:50,960 forward to it. According to the can, it's amber red 520 00:33:51,000 --> 00:33:56,480 and color and multibody make this an excellent German style lagger. 521 00:33:56,640 --> 00:33:59,960 So who am I to argue with the great folks 522 00:34:00,119 --> 00:34:09,320 over at Lakefront, So let's crack open. They're Octoberfest. Wow, 523 00:34:09,360 --> 00:34:14,960 what an absolutely gorgeous color here, dark amber, ruby red, 524 00:34:15,480 --> 00:34:20,440 spectacular color. Good boam, what a great aroma. You really 525 00:34:20,480 --> 00:34:25,559 get all those malt notes out of the aroma. Being 526 00:34:25,599 --> 00:34:30,039 so IPA heavy in the craft beer world, it's nice 527 00:34:30,280 --> 00:34:34,039 this time of year just to have a good malt 528 00:34:34,199 --> 00:34:38,000 focused beer. This one smells great, it looks great. I 529 00:34:38,000 --> 00:34:43,079 can't wait to taste this here. Oh yeah, man, that 530 00:34:43,280 --> 00:34:47,880 is so good. You get all the sweetness up front, 531 00:34:48,519 --> 00:34:53,360 very smooth, good clean finish, good mouthfeal here. There's no 532 00:34:53,519 --> 00:34:58,639 bitterness to this whatsoever. This is just outstanding. Now, this 533 00:34:58,800 --> 00:35:02,360 is five point six percent alcohol, something you could have 534 00:35:02,440 --> 00:35:06,079 a couple of. You might want to throw some brats 535 00:35:06,119 --> 00:35:08,679 in a pan with maybe a can of this and 536 00:35:09,159 --> 00:35:12,960 steep those bratworths in this Octoberfest here from Lakefront, I 537 00:35:13,039 --> 00:35:15,840 think you'll be in good shape. But no, this is 538 00:35:16,039 --> 00:35:21,519 just a really good beer. Yeah, that's something I would 539 00:35:21,599 --> 00:35:23,800 drink all the time. I mean I should have grabbed 540 00:35:23,840 --> 00:35:26,440 more of these. I think this is that good. I 541 00:35:26,480 --> 00:35:29,840 love this time of year. Every brewery out there seems 542 00:35:29,880 --> 00:35:34,880 to have an Octoberfest or something special for the autumn. 543 00:35:35,320 --> 00:35:39,079 This one is absolutely top notch. If you see this 544 00:35:39,280 --> 00:35:43,119 from Lakefront, if you're in their distribution area, I would 545 00:35:43,119 --> 00:35:45,639 definitely put this one in the cart. Great look and 546 00:35:45,760 --> 00:35:49,360 can I love everything about this. So if you see 547 00:35:49,559 --> 00:35:55,239 the Octoberfest from Lakefront Brewery up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, definitely 548 00:35:55,280 --> 00:35:58,880 put it in the cart. You will not be disappointed, 549 00:36:08,519 --> 00:36:11,039 all right. Next up in my Malty Beers, there is 550 00:36:11,079 --> 00:36:15,800 another mars in Octoberfest. This one is from Central Waters 551 00:36:15,840 --> 00:36:19,679 in Wisconsin. I love everything that they put out. This 552 00:36:19,719 --> 00:36:23,320 is a five point five percent alcohol beer, and let's 553 00:36:23,360 --> 00:36:36,480 crack it open. This is another one. Beautiful color, good 554 00:36:36,639 --> 00:36:43,960 foam here, smells really good. Yeah, I get a lot 555 00:36:44,079 --> 00:36:47,639 of that malt in the aroma. I think it smells excellent. 556 00:36:49,079 --> 00:36:54,800 Oh yeah, really good. Nice and sweet. Maybe a little 557 00:36:54,840 --> 00:36:57,320 bit more sweet than the first one that I had. 558 00:36:57,679 --> 00:37:00,719 But I'm really liking this. It's got an ice clean, 559 00:37:00,920 --> 00:37:05,840 smooth finish here. I'm really liking this one as well. Yeah, No, 560 00:37:05,920 --> 00:37:09,679 that's good. That's good. Everything from Central Waters is great. 561 00:37:09,880 --> 00:37:13,039 I remember maybe ten years ago or so I was 562 00:37:13,119 --> 00:37:15,159 up there, did a tour, had some of their stuff. 563 00:37:15,679 --> 00:37:19,320 I think I still have a growler from Central Water 564 00:37:19,519 --> 00:37:23,119 somewhere in the Beer in Front Studios. But no, they're 565 00:37:23,119 --> 00:37:27,679 a great brewery up there up in Amherst, Wisconsin. If 566 00:37:27,679 --> 00:37:30,599 you see anything from them, you definitely have to put 567 00:37:30,639 --> 00:37:34,239 in the cart. That's good stuff. This Octoberfest is another winner. 568 00:37:34,559 --> 00:37:36,519 So if you're up in Wisconsin, or if you're in 569 00:37:36,559 --> 00:37:42,039 their distribution area, you need to pick up Central Waters Octoberfest. Lagger. 570 00:37:42,360 --> 00:37:57,360 Put this one in the cart as well. Well. All right, 571 00:37:57,400 --> 00:37:59,960 that's gonna wrap things up for this edition of Beer 572 00:38:00,320 --> 00:38:04,159 in front. I thank you very much for listening. I 573 00:38:04,199 --> 00:38:07,880 also want to think once again Brent Manning, co founder 574 00:38:07,920 --> 00:38:11,599 of River Bend Malt House in Ashville, North Carolina, for 575 00:38:11,679 --> 00:38:16,159 coming on and talking about malt. If you're in the southeast, 576 00:38:16,440 --> 00:38:19,480 you have to find some beers made from River Bend. 577 00:38:19,880 --> 00:38:23,079 I think you're gonna enjoy them. I need Tracy. If 578 00:38:23,079 --> 00:38:26,800 you're listening, my cousin Tracy and Ashville Tracy, we need 579 00:38:26,840 --> 00:38:29,559 to talk. I need to get some Ashville beer as 580 00:38:29,599 --> 00:38:34,039 I'll send you some like meat from Chicago. If you walked, 581 00:38:34,079 --> 00:38:37,039 we'll do a swap. So I'm looking forward to trying 582 00:38:37,079 --> 00:38:39,920 some stuff from the Ashville area and made with the 583 00:38:40,000 --> 00:38:42,880 malt from River Bend. Once again, thank you for listening. 584 00:38:43,039 --> 00:38:45,840 Have a great week everyone. I'll talk to you next week. 585 00:38:45,880 --> 00:38:49,800 And remember sometimes the beer in front of you is 586 00:38:49,920 --> 00:38:51,000 the best one yet.