Award Winning
RED SHED MALTING
F
by STePHAnie RHoDeS amily business is filling a niche and winning awards
A dinner table conversation quickly turned into a growing, award-winning business for Penhold’s Hamill family. While the Hamill’s have been farming Alberta barley for four generations, their segue into malt barley has been a fairly recent detour, one that was almost accidental. After trying his hand at home brewing, Joe Hamill, now the maltster and roaster for Red Shed Malting, wondered if there was a way to incorporate his family’s barley into his own home brews. That question lead to the idea that the Hamill’s barley could play a part in helping Alberta’s growing craft beer industry stay true to its local roots by supplying it with locally created specialty malts. Following the dinner table discussion, Matt Hamill was also onboard with the idea of incorporating the family’s farm and livelihood into a new business venture. Prelaunch research reinforced that they were onto something, showing that specialty malts were being imported into Canada to fill local demand. That sparked the inspiration to tie their 2000-acre family farm to a quickly growing market in the province and to provide local breweries the opportunity to shop locally. “Alberta is known for its barley - it makes the best barley in the world. So, it’s kind of like ‘how come we’re not using our own barley to make our specialty malts and beers’,” says Daelyn Hamill, head of social media and marketing for Red Shed Malting. “So, there was a market, a niche market for us to enter and bring something that is Canadian made, and it’s local, sustainable and traceable to our family farm.” Daelyn says that there are two large companies in Canada making malts for base malts, but not specialty malts, and that’s where Red Shed Malting came in. “We should be able to make a dark beer with specialty malt that’s Canadian—100 per cent Canadian beer,” said Daelyn. “So then we talked with breweries and distilleries to see if there was a need for that and an interest and there was.”
14
winter/christmas 2020
P rairie Living
Photo top left: Red Shed Malting team in front of the building that is to become the new indoor farmers market for Craft beer Commonwealth. Pictured left to right: Joe Hamill, Daelyn Hamill, bentley Hamill, isabella Hamill, John Hamill, Susie Hamill, and Matt Hamill. Photo submitted by Daelyn Hamill, Red Shed Malting. Photo top right: Joe Hamill and Matt Hamill of Red Shed Malting. Photo submitted by Daelyn Hamill, Red Shed Malting. Photo bottom right: Photo submitted by Daelyn Hamill, Red Shed Malting.