A Shout Out to Our Employees

We couldn’t do what we do without the hard work of our dedicated team. And so, as we wrap up this calendar year, we asked them to reflect a bit on 2022 at Root Shoot Malting. Read their reflections (posted in no particular order!) to see what stood out to everyone - and pick up a few favorite beer and spirit tips in the process!

Team Member: Mike Myers

Position: Malthouse Manager aka The Barley Sherpa

Malthouse Tagline: “I came here to dominate!” “There’s Genie up in that, yo!”

What are you proud of in your position at Root Shoot this year? Establishing transparent sales sheets with published parameters. Also, our high success rate of malting batches this year. We continue to be a leader in the marketplace. Everything. I am proud of everything: where we came from to where we are now.

What was your personal Root Shoot Highlight of the Year? There are so many this year! Winning 4th craft malt cup award, certainly. We filled our first silo at Funkwerks which was awesome. Upslope’s Oatmeal Stout also counts as a highlight. It’s got that English Pale malt in it! One of the GABF pro-am award-winners used our malt. I got to visit Riverbend Malthouse in North Carolina and Grouse Malt House here in Colorado. And, of course, the Root Shoot whiskey project.

If you were a Root Shoot malt, which would you be and why? Light Munich. It’s genie pale dialed up to 11. Flavor, depth, and complexity without the color. It is the most overlooked malt we offer. Pilsners, pales, ipa, dark beers. Is there anything this would not be good in? No. It would rock them all.

What is the beer or spirit you just can’t get enough of this year? Family Jones Earl Grey Gin. Jessup Farms’ Train Delay Tequila Barrel. Stodgy English Porter. Avant Garde French Pilsner.

What would you like to say to Root Shoot’s breweries, distilleries, and the community at the end of this 2022 year? Keep making the products that inspire the team and me.

team Member: Alex Moss

Position: Packaging Specialist

Malthouse Tagline: I’m not sure what I say, but I’m definitely the only one in the malthouse with giant headphones with an antenna that makes me look like an alien communicating with my mothership

What are you proud of in your position at Root Shoot this year? Being able to keep up with 3 drums of malt each week and still find places to store it all.

What was your personal Root Shoot Highlight of the Year? Taking Mondays off and coming in on Saturdays to check malt

If you were a Root Shoot malt, which would you be and why? English Pale because it has a hint of darkness and sweetness.

What is the beer or spirit you just can’t get enough of this year? Leopold gin and lemonade

What would you like to say to Root Shoot’s breweries, distilleries, and the community at the end of this 2022 year? Keep the beer flowing!

team Member: Heyward Gualandi

Position: Accounts manager

Malthouse Tagline: “Cheers!” Also, I’m the one in the malthouse always loving on the malthouse cats.

What are you proud of in your position at Root Shoot this year? I’m proud of Root Shoot for continuing to push on regenerative ag and closing our consumption loops. For example, using solar power to offset energy use, sending our steeping water back to the farm fields, and feeding malting by-products to the cows.

What was your personal Root Shoot Highlight of the Year? I moved into a full-time role!

If you were a Root Shoot malt, which would you be and why? White wheat malt; plays well with others, comfortable in a lot of situations, rarely the star of the show but helps others shine.

What is the beer or spirit you just can’t get enough of this year? Oh, that’s a hard one! But probably Hello Brew’s Side Pour Pils

What would you like to say to Root Shoot’s breweries, distilleries, and the community at the end of this 2022 year? I am so humbled and honored to be working with such great producers. The science, art, and creativity that our partners consistently bring to the market is inspiring. To be able to engage professionally with such a talented group and have an inside look at their creative process is awesome!

team Member: Todd Olander

Position: Farmer, Founder, Occasional Maltster, Frequent Farm Mechanic, Bluetick Coonhound Dad

Malthouse Tagline: We’re not sure, because we can never hear him over Thompson’s bellowing

What are you proud of in your position at Root Shoot this year? I’m really proud of everyone involved in growing our company and what we've accomplished. It's pretty amazing to see how far we've come with such a small team.

What was your personal Root Shoot Highlight of the Year? Definitely the installation of our 3rd (and final!) drum! After so many years of building, it’s amazing to actually have run our 3rd drum at its full capacity for 8 months straight. Huge accomplishment!

If you were a Root Shoot malt, which would you be and why? Light Munich. It's underrated and flies under the radar. Or English Pale Malt - because it blows away Maris Otter.

What is the beer or spirit you just can’t get enough of this year? Leopold Three Chamber Rye Whiskey. And maybeeee I’ve been sneaking bottles of Root Shoot’s Single Malt Whiskey. Which is fantastic, by the way. (Or so I’ve heard.)

What would you like to say to Root Shoot’s breweries, distilleries, and community at the end of this 2022 year? It's pretty simple, but we can't thank our customers enough for choosing to partner with Root Shoot.

team Member: LeeAnne Sanders

Position: Communications

Malthouse Tagline: “Are you sure you don’t want to turn that into a TikTok?”

What are you proud of in your position at Root Shoot this year? The consistent work we’ve done to tell Root Shoot’s story in an accessible and engaging way. It always makes my day/month/year when folks come up and tell me what they’ve learned from Field Notes for Farm Nerds, or comment on our blog!

What was your personal Root Shoot Highlight of the Year? Attending the Root Shoot Rendezvous! Since I work remotely and only get to see the crew about once a month at the malthouse, getting to spend a whole weekend with them drinking beer and plotting Root Shoot’s future was a real blast. Also, filming the Michael Myers Halloween videos was one of the better days at work in my career. Seriously. Who pays me to do this?

If you were a Root Shoot malt, which would you be and why? Double Honey. It’s good at what it does, but isn’t the most well-known of our malts.

What is the beer or spirit you just can’t get enough of this year? NSFW from Jessup Farm Barrel House (Rye whiskey barrel-aged red ale with Ethiopian coffee) and pretty much any whiskey cocktail from Abbott and Wallace.

What would you like to say to Root Shoot’s breweries, distilleries, and the community at the end of this 2022 year? We love sharing the love, so please reach out anytime with ways we can help promote you!

team Member: Emily Olander

Position: Co-founder, Unofficial Operations Director, Chief Communicator, Cheerleader, Todd-Wrangler

Malthouse Tagline: “Heyo!” and “Awww, you guys!”

What are you proud of in your position at Root Shoot this year? I’m most proud of our entire team! There has been a ton of change at both the malthouse and the farm this year: tolerating construction projects, implementing regenerative agriculture, and adapting new farm practices. Everyone is open-minded, eager to learn, and works pretty independently as a whole.

What was your personal Root Shoot Highlight of the Year? Creating that amazingly adaptable team! We have lots of new roles and new team members at both Olander Farms and Root Shoot. It’s all really coming together and making for a high-functioning (and fun!) staff.

If you were a Root Shoot malt, which would you be and why? Honey malt! It just tastes good. Pro Tip: Throw it into cookies and yogurt :)

What is the beer or spirit you just can’t get enough of this year? Funkwerks Kriek (Barrel-Aged Belgian-Style Sour with Cherries)

What would you like to say to Root Shoot’s breweries, distilleries, and the community at the end of this 2022 year? I always like this saying: We believe the ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings. The people behind the malt, farm, beer, and spirits, are pretty incredible. We’re thankful to be working with like-minded business folks who believe in and are proud of what we’re doing.

team Member: Craig Miller

Position: Production/Account Manager

Malthouse Tagline: Oh gosh. I don’t know if I have one. Mikey’s full of them. I just do puns.

What are you proud of in your position at Root Shoot this year? I’m proud that I’ve taken on some of the sales responsibilities this year. I’ve enjoyed helping bring the malt house up to full production capacity this year. I’m also hoping to be elected to the Craft Malt Guild BOD. I am helping the Brewing Science program at Auburn University (my alma mater) as a content contributor/subject matter expert for the brewing supply chain. Super excited that I can share Root Shoot’s story with the future brewing professionals coming from Auburn as we write this new class.

What was your personal Root Shoot Highlight of the Year? Root Shoot Retreat was fun!

If you were a Root Shoot malt, which would you be and why? Pilsner malt! Ha. Not only because it’s my current favorite beer style, but it’s very versatile. Good on its own but also works well when combined with others!

What is the beer or spirit you just can’t get enough of this year? All the Pilsners. Specifically, I’d say Verboten’s, Over Yonder’s, Ursula’s.

What would you like to say to Root Shoot’s breweries, distilleries, and the community at the end of this 2022 year? Please keep supporting your local breweries and distilleries! It’s so important to the fabric of our communities. It goes beyond a place to grab a good beer or cocktail. And be nice to your bartenders.