Lifestyle

Farm-to-Table: An All-Texas Beer is in the Works & It’s Worth the Wait

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Tony Maples Photography

 

Texans tend to be excited about anything that’s made in Texas, including the lineup of unique Texas craft beers. A Texas farm-to-table beer would make us proud! But, some have recently begun to realize that the only Texas ingredient in their locally brewed beer was the water. The four ingredients in a traditionally brewed beer are water, barley, hops, and yeast, and Texas-grown barley and hops just didn’t exist. This is about to change; Allison is a brewer at Jester King Brewery, which is known as a pioneer in the Texas craft beer industry.

Texas Grown

Texas Grown Barley

Photo: Brandon Ade

Back in 2012, Brandon Ade saw this as an opportunity. The Indiana native and Purdue University graduate moved to Texas to work as a computer engineer, but before long he quit to build a barley malting plant. Unfortunately, there wasn’t any beer-quality barley grown in the state, so he went to the plant experts – Texas A&M University. Six years later, Leander-based Blacklands Malt is providing high-quality Texas-grown barley malt.

Green Malt in Process at Blacklands Malt

Blacklands Malt's Brandon Ade with a handful of malt

Photo: Robert C Deming

Maltsters must start with high-grade barley, and this required a commitment from some west Texas farmers. Brandon puts the grain through a complex process called malting. Here Brandon examines grain in the middle of the malting process. Jester King Brewery and Oasis Texas Brewery are just two of the Texas craft breweries which are using this Texas-grown and Texas-malted barley to bring beer one important step closer to being all-Texas.

Oasis Texas Brewer Brian Dwyer With Blacklands Malt

Oasis Texas Brewer Brian Dwyer

Photo: Robert C Deming

Brian is the head brewer at Oasis Texas Brewing, fifteen miles northwest of the Texas Capitol building. He is also a recent immigrant to the state, coming from a brewing job in Maine, where local brewers had been supporting the growth of the local barley farming for years. Brian connected quickly with Brandon, with the result that Oasis is about to brew a beer from 100% Texas malt. For Brandon and Brian, it isn’t so much about being “all-Texan” as much as being local, of high quality, and very unique.

Texas Grown Hop Cone

Hop Cone
Photo: Robert C Deming

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