WSU and LINC Malthouse present Home Grown Malts, a showcase of craft beers made with regionally grown and malted grains, Saturday September 15 in the Hollingbery Fieldhouse from 2-5 p.m.
Each participating brewer will be pouring beers made with Palouse-grown barley, several featuring Lyon barley. Lyon barley was specially bred for making beer, bringing more flavor depth to the brew.
“Lyon is demonstrating great promise for use in craft brewing,” said Brian Estes, sales and operations manager at LINC Malt. “This event is one of the first places where it will be featured. We’re really excited to let so many Coug fans try it out.”
Malt barley is a relatively minor crop in Washington, with approximately 10 to 15 thousand acres harvested each year, but the new variety gives growers an incentive to grow more, said Kevin Murphy, WSU barley breeder.
“Lyon performs at a high level for farmers on the Palouse and it targets the unique needs of the craft brewing industry by bringing novel, enticing flavors and a special Palouse place-based terroir to our regional craft malts and brews,” Murphy said. “It took about 10 years to develop, and now we have regionally bred, grown, malted and brewed beers for drinkers to enjoy.”
The Home Grown Malts event will be part of the regular festivities in the fieldhouse next to Martin Stadium before the football game between WSU and Eastern Washington University, which should bring in a good crowd to sample various beers using local grains.
“This event will show off the great partnership between WSU, our regional farmers, plus craft malthouses like LINC Malt and the brewing industry,” said dean André Wright. “I’m excited to be there and try one or two.”
Attendees can buy drink tickets to receive pours from all participating brewers.