GRAIN INNOVATION AND THE DISTILLING INDUSTRY
WRITTEN BY BRAD J. BERRON AND SETH DEBOLT PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEVE PATTON
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rains set the stage for exceptional spirits. While it is no longer common to find a still in every farming community, the close ties between the agricultural and distilling communities remain. The agricultural community is delivering across a broad spectrum of grain needs presented by distillers. These innovations in grain and agricultural practices are essential in delivering spirits of the highest sustainability and flavor standards. Locally sourced grains are a great way of improving your transportation carbon footprints while supporting local industry. But not every region has grain varieties that are well-suited to the local soil and climate. Kentucky rye is a great example. While rye is commonly grown in Kentucky as a cover crop, the performance of Kentuckygrown rye has been substandard to the demands of the distilling industry. Chad Lee and Dave Van Sanford are working with Brown-Forman and the Kentucky Small Grains Council to develop a flavorful Kentucky rye that grows well in our ecosystem. The appetite for locally-sourced rye is growing, and there is a nationwide collaboration between like-minded rye breeders to develop ryes well-suited to each major agricultural region. Not only
The agricultural community is delivering across a broad spectrum of grain needs presented by distillers. can regional grains improve product results, they are also a great way of supporting the local economy while increasing your sustainability efforts. Barley breeding efforts in the U.K. and North America diverged decades back when it was noted that the high malt content in Scotch mash bills delivered unacceptably high levels of ethyl carbamate in distilled spirits. As a result, the U.K. has a diverse supply chain of barleys that can be malted to deliver low levels of glycosidic nitriles, which are the main precursors to the carcinogen ethyl carbamate. North American distillers’ malts typically have higher levels of glycosidic nitrile, which is a concern for high ethyl carbamate levels in high-malt mash bills including American single malt products. The development of lower glycosidic nitrile is rapidly underway through the leadership of Pat Hayes at Oregon State University. We at the Beam Institute were fortunate to collaborate with his team and Harmonie Bettenhausen at Hartwick College to take
Locally sourced grains are a great way of improving your transportation carbon footprints while supporting local industry. But not every region has grain varieties that are well-suited to the local soil and climate. 114
these grains all the way to a single malt distillate of exceptional character. While much work remains to bring these malts to the mass market, the work of barley breeders is paving the way for lower ethyl carbamate levels in North American distilled spirits. The use of heritage grains in distilling creates profound changes in flavor over more modern grains. For example, large libraries of maize are available, but the suitability for growth in a particular region for results such as grain yield, lodging, spirit yield, and favorable sensory characteristics are not clear. Beam Institute researchers Virginia Verges, Chad Lee, and Steve Diver are meticulously developing various cultivars of heirloom corn and determining their role in distillate flavor. Their scientific approach brings a lifecycle view of the needs in developing a new grain for distilled spirits. Careful tracking of flowering time, grain fill, crop yields, growth conditions, and plant nutrition provides the Kentucky grains industry the data required to determine the economic potential of these sought-after grains. Simultaneously, analysis of fermentation and sensory profiles of these grains allow distillers to understand how to best leverage these premium grains in their product portfolio.
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