Thinking local

Sourcing local begins with a mindset. It is narrowing our horizon; rather than looking an inch deep and a mile wide, it asks us to know the flavor and character of our place intimately. Rather than than consider every ingredient in the known universe as our palette, it encourages us to dive deep into the taste of our own place, because nowhere in the world taste like where you are right now.

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The Local Grain Network is not here to be puritanical, to say, “Thou shalt not,” to preclude you from making mango-papaya IPA or Spice Road gin.

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Instead we simply hope to encourage you to explore the ingredients where you are, to support your local economies of grain, as well as spices and hops. Support your neighbors rather then being separated from the source of your materials by six or eight layers of intermediaries and thousands of miles of transit.

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Looking local is different for everyone. If you’re in the grain-growing heart of the country, you might have a farmer next door or down the road. If you’re in the Pacific Northwest, you’re probably already sourcing hops locally. For others, it might mean looking within your state, or your neighboring state. Hop Growers of America has identified 30 states with some level of commercial hop growing. Whatever state you’re in, there’s probably corn, wheat, barley or rye being grown there.

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But thinking local can also mean looking outside of the traditional realm of beer flavors, beyond hops and malt. In Durham, North Carolina, Fullsteam Brewery forages black walnuts, spicebush, hickory nut, goldenrod and other ingredients, and they’ve paid for $400,000 in local brewing materials.

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Sourcing local can mean going beyond the standard varieties of brewing and distilling grains. Instead of using commodity yellow dent corn, Pinckney Bend Distillery in Missouri looked 15 miles up the road and found a unique local strain of corn that was being grown for corn cob pipes. They’re turning a waste product into whiskey with local flavor.

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Whatever your local is, embrace it. Start thinking about what your location tastes like. Find the ingredients that make your place different, and use them to tell a better story about your materials and your product. Support the agricultural businesses where you are. Shake the hands of the farmers who grow your grain.

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Find your local.