Hopworks Urban Brewery has partnered with researchers to make a beer, Long Root Ale, with a new grain called Kernza. Kernza is perennial grain researchers are trying to develop for it's environmental benefits (no tilling, less fertilizers, very low runoff, and low carbon footprint) and it has some unique flavor characteristics for brewing, distilling, bread-making, and similar uses. Currently kernza crop yields are low and the grain itself is difficult to mill or malt, but researchers are working on those issues with selective breeding programs and hope to have a more marketable product in the near future. More details in this NPR story: http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt...climate-change-this-grain-is-ready-for-a-beer (If you have a gut level reaction to "climate change" in the title, please just read the rest of the article as there many other interesting details about the grain independent of any opinion on climate change.) ...and here's Hopworks write-up on Long Root Ale: http://hopworksbeer.com/2016/10/03/...ip-between-patagonia-provisions-and-hopworks/
Yes!!! This is what I want to see. I'm all for hop experimentation, but I'd love to see more done with grain.
I would try this beer if it were available in my area. The article was a good read (the one on the grain, Kernza). I was impressed by the root structure and that it's perennial. Always nice to read about some forward thinking people doing good things for the planet and beer at once...
