Paul Hammel reported last week at the Omaha World-Herald Online that, “Like the pioneers of old, Zach Davy and his business partner, Bill Hall, are stepping into virgin territory in Nebraska.
“And they are discovering that in plowing new ground, you hit a few stumps.
“In an out-of-the-way warehouse off Interstate 80 in Omaha, the partners are establishing a malthouse, a place where grains of barley are transformed into the toasted crop that gives beer its, well, fine malty taste.”
The article noted that, “From an initial 6 acres of barley grown on Davy’s family farm near Lynch, Nebraska, they now have nine farmers who are tilling 140 acres of both winter and spring barley for them.”
Mr. Hammel added, “A handful of craft breweries in Omaha and Lincoln are ready to use their malt, and two guys who met at an Omaha church gathering think their malting startup might just turn into something.”
“They aren’t the only ones trying to establish a barley malting beachhead in Nebraska. Blue Blood Brewing in Lincoln has an offshoot called Nebraska Malt, which has 10 growers tilling varieties like two-row, pale and pils barley,” the World-Herad article said.
