A couple area farmers have a reason to raise their glass, and they are quite happy that glass is full of a Lagunitas beer.
Doug Herman and Pat and Greg Murray are part of a group of farmers who have inked a deal with the American craft brewery to sell their barley for malt to create their unique brews. The arrangement is working out for both sides of the equation.
“There are 14 growers in Alberta and one in Saskatchewan, and we supply malt barley for a big chunk of their production in Petaluma, California and Chicago,” said Herman. “They have two breweries, and they just announced a third will be coming on stream in Southern California.”
He has been part of this arrangement for about four years, and it is going strong.
“It gives price certainty for the brewer and for the grower moving forward. It takes some of the roller coaster out of pricing,” he said.
His barley goes to Rahr Malting near Alix, Alberta where it is malted. Rahr was the original selector of the producers for the group, and Herman was one of the pilot farms. It continued to roll out and expand the program. The group calls itself Chinook Arch Growers.
He says the arrangement provides more than just certainty of price but the certainty of product for the brewer.
“Ultimately the short answer is the best malt in the world is in Alberta,” he said.
He says this is because it is the most disease-free barley on the market. It also has the characteristics that brewers are looking for to put into their product. These are affected by the long hours of sunlight and higher altitude growing conditions. He says the brewer can get a high percentage of extract from Alberta malt than any other, which means more beer for the same amount of barley.
“They market that they are sourcing it from the clean wide open spaces of Western Canada,” he said.
He said the company is on the forefront of craft brewing, and in fact, by the nature of the beers, it takes more malt to produce a craft beer compared to some of the larger breweries, in some cases four times as much.
“Huge amount of hops and huge amounts of malt go into their product,” he said.
Pat Murray says that this arrangement blossomed with end of the Canada Wheat board.
"We had it all in place before the Wheat Board was disbanded," said Murray. "That's when we began direct contracting with them folks down there. They have treated us really well. They appreciate us growing barley for them, and we appreciate having a spot to sell it."
While like most good Alberta boys, he was raised on Pilsner brand and other major labels, but his pallet is more accepting to some of the craft beers now.
“Lagunitas makes so many different types, everybody can find a beer to get their mouth around, and I have found some real enjoyable ones,” he said. “Their flagship is IPA (India Pale Ale).”
In Drumheller, the Recovery Pub caries some Lagunitas products including its IPA and pilsners. Herman has found himself acting as a bit of pitchman for the company extolling it virtues where he goes.
“All the SKUs are available for any of the retail outlets to purchase,” he said.
