Matt Cunningham from Rustic Brew Farms in Marysville, Ohio joins us to talk about the malting process. A fourth generation farmer, Matt got into the malting business in 2014 as a way to diversify the crops grown on the family farm. Over the past seven years he has grown production from malting by hand, to a malthouse that features two rotating drum vessels each capable of malting 4000-5000 lbs per batch. In this insightful interview Matt walks us through the various steps of growing and malting barley. We discuss the differences in European and North American strains of barley, the effect of kilning temperature on the color of the final malt, growing and malting alternate grains (wheat, rye, corn), and the challenges of starting a small business. Along the way we drink some Ohio beers made with Rustic Brew Farms malt (North High’s Cover Crop and Grove City’s Lt. Dan Doppelbock), discuss Czech Tmaves and wax nostalgic about concerts and our shared love of Metallica.
Don’t forget you can find this episode and earlier ones on our podcast page, as well as Apple Music, Podbean, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. Just search for the Pat’s Pints/Mark’s Mugs – All Things Beer podcast, and don’t hesitate to leave a comment or a rating.
Beers Featured
- Cover Crop – North High Brewing
- Lt. Dan Doppelbock – Grove City Brewing
- Dark – Burial Beer Co. & Fair State Cooperative
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