Welcome to the Local Grain Network, a place to learn more about local sourcing, and, eventually, a place for brewers, distillers, maltsters and farmers to connect directly.

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The first thing you might ask is, why are we here? Why are we even talking about this? What’s the matter with our current grain system?

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For many users — brewers and distillers — the system as it exists works fine. The convenience and consistency of commodity grain is paramount. Meat comes from styrofoam trays, bread comes from plastic bags and stays “fresh” for a month or more, and grain or malt come from a warehouse, stocked by a supplier that sources from a facility that processes millions of pounds at a time.

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For those who are happy with commodity grain varieties, there is real value in sourcing those grains locally. Buying commodity varieties from your local grower keeps those dollars in your community and supports your neighbor’s business. And with a simpler supply chain that eliminates layers of shippers, wholesalers, and potentially thousands of miles of travel, you can pay the grower a premium while maintaining or even lowering raw grain costs.

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For those using craft malt, with an additional layer of hands-on, small-scale processing, it can cost two or three times more than commodity malt, but the cost impact on a 12-ounce beer (which requires about a quarter of a pound of malt) or a 750mL bottle of whiskey (a few pounds) is very small.

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The additional cost is especially offset by the value of your story. Consumers are increasingly interested in supporting local businesses (which is part of why they’re in your taproom or tasting room to begin with), and your ability to tell them that you know your farmers, you see them regularly and shake their hands, is priceless. The story that you can tell about your ingredients is worth the extra cents per serving.

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For the environmentally conscious brewer or distiller, there is a tremendous opportunity to trim thousands of miles of travel for barley grown in North Dakota, Montana or Canada, shipped to maltsters in Minnesota, Wisconsin or Washington State, and warehoused in California, Texas, Colorado, New York or Georgia. 

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One of the biggest casualties of the commodity system, though, is flavor. At the end of the day, your grain can be as local and sustainable as possible, and just as uninteresting as commodity grain.

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Popular varieties such as Reid’s yellow dent corn or barley from the American Malting Barley Association’s “approved varieties” list are great avenues to help establish a new relationship with a farmer. They’re grains that can offer security and some peace of mind; they’ve been bred to be consistent and reliable.

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The greater opportunity to develop unique flavor lies in exploring novel varieties, heirloom grains, and terroir. Almost everyone in the country lives somewhere that was once home to unique varieties of grain, acclimated to local environmental conditions. Locating these varieties can be a challenge, but one with profound flavor implications.

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In addition, land-grant universities such as Oregon State and Montana State are exploring flavor-based breeding to introduce greater character into malting barley while maintaining the agronomic advantages of modern strains. Distillers and researchers are exploring and beginning to quantify terroir in spirits, including Rob Arnold at Firestone Walker researching the intersection of corn variety and location in Texas, or the Whiskey Terroir Project’s examination of micronutrients in barley grown in different parts of Ireland.

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There are myriad ways to consider localizing our grain sources. Supply chain factors, flavor, environmental concerns, and marketing value all point towards keeping your supply local.

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These topics and many more will be explored in greater depth in future material that will be available as the Local Grain Network continues to grow. Stay tuned and grow with us!