AN IDEA to provide the growing craft beer sector with small batch, locally sourced malt and the desire to move homegrown barley from a faceless commodity to something that reflected where it was produced was the catalyst for the Voyager Craft Malt team to take their first fledgling steps in the industry in late 2012.
Now, the business, based in Whitton in the northern Riverina, has established a niche as an alternative to the major maltsters for craft brewers.
Speaking at the recent Innovation Generation conference in Wagga Wagga, co-founder of the business Stuart Whytcross said the market was growing for those looking for something different on the malt front.
“We produce around 20 different malts and people are looking at things other than barley, such as wheat, rye, sorghum and millet, along with Kebari, which CSIRO developed as an ultra-low gluten barley.”
Mr Whytcross said an ever more discerning craft brewing sector was thinking differently about beer and its provenance.
“The concepts of things such as traceability, being able to tell exactly where the barley came from, are getting bigger in the brewing world,” he said.
“There is also interest in single origin malts, where not only is the barley all the same variety but it is sourced from a specific site, similar to idea of terroir in wine, and that is something that is very exciting.”
Mr Whytcross said there was a massive array of difference across the malt lines, with different varieties suited to different styles of beer.
“Some will really suit a malt for a lighter lager or pilsner type while others will be better in a longer roast for a darker style beer, there is so much variety there.”
He said there had been several challenge in establishing the malthouse.
“We’ve had to contend with uneven germination of the barley due to hot pockets and matting of the germinating seed and have had to try and work through that.
“Traditionally that was broken up with shovels, but having spent enough of my younger days on the farm on the shovel I came up with an idea for automatic stirrers that prevents those type of problems.”
More seriously, Mr Whytcross said malting, which requires the heating and drying of grain, taking it from 45 per cent moisture to 3pc, is a very energy intensive business.
To this end, he said it was critical the company came up with a way to minimise energy costs.
He said a decision had been made to install a biochar energy system, which converts biomass into heat.
The location of Voyager, on the edge of the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area, has helped in terms of access to biomass.
“We initially used walnut shells but you could use almond hulls or cotton gin trash,” Mr Whytcross said.
“The guys producing the waste were bringing it to us to get rid of for free, so it was a good way of doing things.”
Mr Whytcross said the biochar system also was a sound move environmentally.
“It is emission free, which is good for the environment and underlines our values of sustainability.”
Gregor Heard
Gregor Heard is ACM's national grains industry reporter, based in Horsham, Victoria. He has a wealth of knowledge surrounding the cropping sector through his 15 years in the role. Prior to that he was with the Fairfax network as a reporter with Stock & Land. Some of the major issues he has reported on during his time with the company include the deregulation of the export wheat market, the introduction of genetically modified crops and the fight to protect growers better from grain trader insolvencies. Still involved with the family farm he is passionate about rural Australia and its people and hopes to use his role to act as an advocate for those involved in the grain sector.
Gregor Heard is ACM's national grains industry reporter, based in Horsham, Victoria. He has a wealth of knowledge surrounding the cropping sector through his 15 years in the role. Prior to that he was with the Fairfax network as a reporter with Stock & Land. Some of the major issues he has reported on during his time with the company include the deregulation of the export wheat market, the introduction of genetically modified crops and the fight to protect growers better from grain trader insolvencies. Still involved with the family farm he is passionate about rural Australia and its people and hopes to use his role to act as an advocate for those involved in the grain sector.
