Rogue Nation Breaks Ground on Floor Malting Facility
Rogue Ales has broken ground on the Rogue Malt Floor located on the Rogue Micro Barley Farm in Oregon’s Tygh Valley Appellation.
The Malt Floor will be a Heritage-malting operation in which Rogue Farm barley will be soaked, floor-germinated, hand-raked on the malt floor, roasted in a brick hearth, and bagged in small batches. Rogue Brewmaster John Maier plans on developing 4-6 varieties of floor malt that will be used in the brewing and distilling of Rogue Ales, Porters, Stouts, Lagers, and Whiskies.
Floor malting began in the 19th century but was gradually replaced by automated equipment that helped reduce labor costs. With the establishment of the malt floor, Rogue joins a select handful of floor maltsters in Germany, England, and the Czech Republic that continue to carry on the heritage malting method.
The Malt Floor will be complete and operational in August — in time for the Rogue Farm barley harvest. Complimentary tours of the Malt Floor will be provided and will also include tours of Rogue rock, Rogue-henge, Rogue creek, and the Rogue fishing pond.
The Rogue Nation Department of Agriculture remains committed to saving the terroir of Oregon hops and barley, one acre at a time, by growing its own.
For more information on the Rogue Malt Floor, Farm tours, or Rogue’s Grow Your Own revolution, contact the Rogue Department of Agriculture at 503.241.3800.
About The Author
Angelo
Angelo grew up in Maine and is proud to call New England his original home. Cascadia is now his home. He fell in love with great beer in Oregon, Washington, and Northern California. He has been a correspondent for the Portland Tribune's Guest on Tap column, LivePDX.com, and has been featured in publications such as Beer Northwest and PDX Magazine. Angelo also has a great interest in independent music, and has been a booker and organizer for shows around the Portland under the name Pop Tomorrow! Angelo garnered much knowledge regarding beer from his experiences homebrewing, working at Belmont Station, Pyramid Brewing, Upright Brewing, By the Bottle, Beer Revolution, Olde Depot Public House, Falling Sky Brewing, Cascade Brewing, and from many many knowledgeable, passionate, and loving people along the way. It is Angelo's mission to bring "infotainment" and "edumation" to the readers of this website. If you have any questions or comments, or would like to contribute, please contact me at angelo@brewpublic.com
I am researching a grain project in Olympia, WA. Our goal is to get grains on our local farms, providing them with an alternative income aside from their veggie crops. I myself as an up and coming brewer who is working on a Community Supported Brewery plan needs to find a way to get these grains malted as close to home as possible.
My question is will this be a strict Rogue only malting facility? If so, what are the costs of building our own facility? And lastly, will there be internships available for the malting facility?
Thank you,
James