Malt is the focus of our beers. The rich, malty character that makes people exclaim “This beer is so flavorful” comes in part from our use of Skagit Valley Malt from Skagit Valley Malting Company.
I am a bit upset right now. Upset because magazines just don’t include us in their articles. But this last article from Sip Magazine not including us in an article about breweries who use Skagit Valley Malt is just not thorough reporting and this is why.
We were early adapters of Skagit Valley Malting. We started using them in our beer back in early 2015 before they had a website. There were two malt choices at that time – Copeland and Alba, both pale. Four people worked there, including the engineers who invented the first malt roaster held together by duct tape that malted our first barley bought from them.
We have had many successes in part because of our use of Skagit Valley Malting and doing this has opened many doors for us. Our Blended Sours Melange Deux and Mandala were paired with meals at The Herbfarm restaurant in the Spring of 2018 in part because of the use of Skagit Valley Malt. Subsequently, we won a Silver and Bronze at the Washington Beer Awards for these same beers. We won again in 2019, this time Gold and Bronze, for our Errant Whispers and Catwalk Blended Barrel Aged Sours. Partly because of our use of Skagit Valley Malting, we are now in all the Whole Foods in the Puget Sound region. Since we first started using their malt, we have been in many farmers markets in the region, including Ballard Farmers Market, the biggest and one may argue the hardest to get into in the state. All this done by just Eric and I.
Finally we use about 90% Skagit Valley Malt in all our beers. The only time we do not use Skagit Valley Malt is when a specialty malt is not available to us.
We mention this fact every time we sell a beer to someone new – in the taproom, at a farmers market, at a brewfest, at an event, making a sales call to a taproom, bottle shop or grocery store. Using local grain is a key factor in our story and our identity as a brewery.