Riverbend Malt

One of the great things about being in a homebrew club is learning about new things from other members of the club and being introduced to these great finds. A couple in the club were gracious enough to put together a group grain buy from Riverbend Malt House in Ashville, NC. Riverbend provides artisan malts to local breweries in the Ashville area and also contracts with local farmers who grow their barley, wheat and rye.

Riverbend uses 6-row Thoroughbred barley for their base malts which provides a higher protein content than 2-row varieties.  6-row is also not as "plump" as the comparable 2-row varieties but this also varies due to farmer conditions (rainfall amounts, soil nutrients, etc..).

I grabbed a bag of Pilsner and a bag of Heritage malt. Riverbend on their Heritage variety:

This 6-row malt is produced from Thoroughbred barley grown in near Salisbury, NC. It makes the perfect base malt for a variety of darker styles, such as a Vienna Lager, German Alt or California Common. It has a more pronounced flavor and aroma profile than our Pale Malt, which contributes a slight nutty flavor, but allows the specialty grains to take center stage.

Lovibond: 6-7
DP: 65

Suggested Usage: 5-95%

I'm looking forward to brewing with the Heritage malt and will try to come up with a beer recipe that really showcases this base malt.