New Belgium Brewing Taps Riverbend Craft Malters for RyePA Revival

“As we open our east coast home in Asheville this spring, making a beer with roots in both homes led us right back to RyePA,” said New Belgium Brewer, Matty Gilliland. “Using malt from Riverbend and Colorado Malting allowed us to source hyper locally, brewing some essence of both places into the beer and growing our existing relationships with awesome craft partners.”

This beer is brimming with big hop flavors. Galaxy, Cascade, Simcoe and Mosaic hops round out the hop profile. Blackcurrant and tropical fruits compliment grassy herbs in the nose, while a sweet-bitter-sweet taste voyage and 6.6% ABV make this a very drinkable beer. Big, juicy, fruity hop flavors are complemented by a spicy rye finish. The bold, spicy RyePA sings with a bowl of jambalaya, a spicy meatball sandwich or a hot masala. Mexican brownie anyone? Hallelujah!

New Belgium brewers and Riverbend co-founders first developed a Rye Saison using Riverbend’s Carolina Rye Malt for Asheville Beer Week 2013. The brewers were so pleased with the beer, they decided to use the Carolina RyeTM in RyePA in 2014 and now again in the 30% rye malt profile in the RyePA revival.

Riverbend and Colorado Malting co-founders met at the Craft Brewers Conference in 2014 and then again at the Craft Malt Guild in Denver. The craft malters have admired each other’s work over the years and this is the first time they know of that their grain has been brewed into the same beer.

“Having been grown by farmers in North Carolina for more than 200 years and hand-crafted utilizing traditional floor malting techniques, the Carolina RyeTM malt embodies the terroir of the southeast,” said Riverbend co-founder Brian Simpson. “Riverbend Malt House is excited that New Belgium will bring this taste of the South to so many new palates.”

As pioneers in the malting industry, both Riverbend and Colorado Malting have unique processes and regionally specific grain varietals. Serving as the missing link between farmers and the brewing industry, Riverbend uses a traditional artisan floor malting technique dating back to the 1700s. Each batch of their heirloom rye is raked by hand to release heat and incorporate fresh air into the grain bed.

Operating from their fourth-generation family farm in Alamosa, CO, the Cody brothers designed and built their malting equipment and run their operation from what used to be their grandparent’s home. From the field to the glass, Colorado Malting is taking beer back to its roots so brewers can make the best beer in the world.

"We grow it and malt it, so we see it from the time it sprouts to the malt bed,” said Jason Cody, Colorado Malting Company. “The grains are like children to us,” said Joshua Cody.