Flint, Dent, Flour, and Pop

November is typically when we finish up harvest here at Olander Farms.

By this time of year, we’ve spent nine months planting, cultivating, watering, and growing. From barley planting in March to corn harvest in November, we’ve been busily working away, growing your future beer and soon-to-be spirits.

Now, as we fire up the combines for one last harvest before winter, we’ve got corn on our minds…and in our bellies, our bourbon barrels, and on the menu for all the upcoming holiday feasts! Corn is a key element of what we do here on the farm, so this fall season, as we settle in with a bourbon in hand (it’s whiskey made from corn!) and a taco or two (corn tortillas!) we want to give a little crash course in this great grain: what we grow, what others grow, and why your popcorn at the movies isn’t the same as the sweet corn at your summer barbecues.

Corn!

We owe the existence of corn as well as its role as a flexible staple crop to the Native Americans who have been growing it for thousands of years. Developed from the seeds of a variety of grass called teosinte, corn was created by selective breeding over many, (many!) generations. The oldest signs of corn in Mexico showed over 10,000 years ago.

Think about that for a minute.

Imagine, if you will, the size of grass seed. Then, imagine the work and patience it would take to turn grass seeds into corn-size kernels without modern technology.

Generations of work. Lifetimes of patience. Incredible foresight on the part of those first humans who decided to try it. Growing, selecting, and planting, again and again over the centuries.

As corn has evolved, so have its kernels, its characteristics, and its uses, until arriving at its current state: Five primary types, three of which we grow here at Olander Farms.

Kickin’ it with some (tasty!) kernels

Flint Corn:

For us here on the farm, the flint corn we grow is our Abenaki heritage variety. Colloquially known as ornamental corn or Indian corn (we prefer to refer to it as a native variety) flint corn is multi-colored, with long, narrow cobs, and extremely hard kernels. “Hard as flint.” While most modern Americans use it only for decoration, and some mistakenly believe it isn’t edible or palatable, flint corn is actually the old-school variety of edible corn. It can be used as hominy, ground for flour, or - as in the case of our Abenaki - turned into a mighty fine polenta.

We’re also betting that it’s going to make a damn fine bourbon, as well.

We’ll just have to wait about four years (it’s gotta age in those barrels!) to find out.

Dent Corn:

Dent corn is the bulk of the corn that we grow and the bulk of corn grown in the US. Both our silage corn and our distillers’ corn are dent. Dent corn has a softer outer layer than flint as well as a higher water content, which means that when the kernels dry, they form a distinctive dent in the middle. Dent is starchy rather than sweet - you wouldn’t want to throw these ears on your grill in the summer. It’s typically grown for grain and fodder.

And bourbon, of course! Are you seeing a common theme in our corn-growing here? Bourbon, by law, must be 51% corn, so we are more than happy to oblige in providing it! And when providing corn in large quantities, dent is a no-nonsense workhorse. It’s a get ‘ er-done variety. It grows true, grows well, and serves as a worldwide food staple, especially for livestock.

Sweet Corn:

The golden child. The one that everyone loves. The corn that summer was made for and farmers market customers pine for. When you talk about corn on the cob for dinner, you’re talking about sweet corn. These varieties of corn are, not surprisingly, high in sugar, the result of a fantastically tasty recessive mutation that affects the conversion of sugar to starch in the kernel. We’ve been growing small plots of sweet corn for our family, friends, and malthouse visitors for years. Unfortunately, this means that we’ve also been growing sweet corn for marauding elk, thieving raccoons, and the occasional passing bear as well. But these critters come by because they know the #1 user tip for sweet corn: it stores terribly. As soon as you pick it, that delicious sugar in the kernels begins turning to starch. Leave it in the refrigerator too long, and it loses its flavor. For maximum taste, sweet corn should be eaten within 24 hours of harvest.

If you’re an elk snapping an ear in half straight off the stalk…well…

…at least you’ve got your timing right.

Popcorn:

Yes, it’s its own category. You can’t just pop the kernels of any old corn (at least not well, anyway.) Popcorn has a unique hull (hard and waterproof,) a unique starch content (mostly hard starch,) and a specific moisture content (14-20%) that give it its ability to essentially…blow itself up. It turns itself inside out to make that fluffy deliciousness we all love.

Fun fact: It takes a pressure of 135 psi and a temp of almost 400 degrees Fahrenheit to pop a kernel of popcorn. As a reference point, the average pressure in a car tire is 32-35 psi.

Yowza.

While we love to eat it, we don’t grow it because…well, you can’t turn it into spirits very well. (We’re a little bourbon-focused, if you have noticed!) Plus, we have friends who do the job much better! Looking for locally-grown popcorn? Check out Larson Family Farms, our friends on the eastern plains who grow hundreds of acres of the stuff!

Flour corn:

Most frequently a type of flint corn, flour corn consists of super soft starches (unlike popcorn’s hard starches) that can easily be ground into a soft, fine flour - much softer and finer than other corn varieties could produce. Flour corn is the stuff of cornbread and tortillas, the belly-filling, taste-bud pleasing, ingredient that makes Taco Tuesdays possible. Without flour corn, we’d be living in a world without tacos. And a world without tacos…

That’s a nightmare we can’t fathom.

And finally, but most importantly…Dad Jokes:

Really, now…did you think we could actually get through a post on corn without a reference to corn-y jokes? Especially ones related to agriculture?

No way. No how. No ma’am.

Q: What did the corn say when he received a compliment? A: Aw, shucks.

Did you know that if you want to buy pirate corn, it’s going to cost you a buccaneer?

Q. What happens if you swallow a whole corn cob? A: You get corn-stipated!

Did you hear about the mama corn who wasn’t worried about her chubby son. “He’s not fat,” she said, “he’s just a little husky.”

Should we keep going? No? Yes? We’ll let you decide! A plethora of really bad (by which we mean GREAT) corn jokes can be found here.

Use ‘em at the Thanksgiving table to make your family groan and your kids blush with embarrassment.

Because what else are family meals about? Good food, good drink, bad jokes.

And hopefully, some locally sourced grain.

From ours to yours,

A happy month of gratitude and Thanksgiving.

—Olander Farms

Brewery of the Month: Bruz

When you land on Bruz Beers website, you know immediately what you’ve gotten yourself into.

Right there, in gold-colored text set against a black background, front-and-center on the homepage, Bruz lays it all on the line.

Badass Belgian Beers.

Bruz doesn’t mince words about what they do, and when it comes to what they do, Bruz goes all-out. No cutting corners, no ambiguity, no wishy-washy styles.

Bruz does beer. Belgian beer, specifically. And they do it with total and utter badassery.

At Root Shoot, we serve quite a number of breweries and distilleries, but few of these specialize quite so thoroughly, and perhaps none as deeply as Bruz does with its Belgian focus. But we’ll get to that in a minute. First…

Let’s meet the team! Just look at these guys! Who wouldn’t want to sit down and sip a Badass Belgian with this crew?? (Or, as the case may be - leap off a beer tour bus with these guys and then sit down and sip a badass Belgian.)

The Bruz Crew is among our favorite group of humans in the beer scene and it all began with…school.

Beer school, to be precise.

The Root Shoot family is chock full of stories of married partners who decide to open a brewery together. We also know a lot of buddies, friend groups, and brewing club partners who made the same leap. We even have single brewer/owner businesses (though that sounds overwhelming!) but Bruz might be the only brewery in our community that began with an instructor/student pairing.

Bruz co-founders Ryan Evans and Charlie Gottenkieny met at a class on Belgian beers that Charlie was teaching at Colorado Free University. Lessons were instructed, beers were sipped, and next thing you know a business plan was developed, and a partnership was born.

By all appearances, these two business partners seem to complement each other wonderfully. Charlie has a long and storied career in the Belgian beer world. He’s been brewing Belgian beers for over 27 years, won over 100 medals, including two AHA Homebrewer of the year awards. He’s brewed commercially, he’s brewed at home, he’s taught classes on brewing, he’s spoken at conferences on brewing, he’s a nationally recognized beer judge….

You get the idea.

Ryan, with a passion for both beer and business (and, quite conveniently, an MBA and extensive business experience) knows the ins and outs of what it takes to run a successful company, from business plan development to execution and growth.

The result?

Two gorgeous tasting rooms in two of Denver’s most happenin’ neighborhoods, killer beers, and really good people.

With the addition of Dave Olson to the team (he previously brewed for Ursula Brewing) the Bruz Crew has really hit their groove, and they are kicking out some amazing beer. But good beer doesn’t happen by accident, and Bruz has one of the most dedicated teams to producing high-quality, authentic Belgian beers. So dedicated, in fact, that every year the Bruz team travels to Belgium to do some “continuing education” there.

Doesn’t everyone wish that all continuing ed classes involved beer trips to Europe?

Bruz teaches about Belgian beer, too. Ever the instructor, Charlie maintains a blog on the Bruz website that will school even the most well-informed beer nerd on all things Belgian. (It also serves as a great planning resource if you happen to be planning a trip to Belgium anytime soon!)

They also host pairings and classes on Belgians at the brewery, including regular beer courses on the first Saturday of most months. Keep an eye on their event calendar to join one! Or head over to one of their two locations and let the beer speak for itself. Try a flight! There are usually 18 beers on tap and more in bottles, so it’s almost guaranteed that you’ll find something you love.

Including, most definitely, the company.

Thunder and Lightning

Photo by Brewtography Project

In order to run a malthouse, one has to bet pretty big on barley.

It’s an understatement to say that barley is our cash crop. Sure, we grow some wheat and rye and corn. We dabble in heritage grains. But barley, as most craft enthusiasts know, is the backbone of beer (and it’s often used in spirits, too!) so running a malthouse means bringing in the barley - and lots of it. In order to keep our malthouse running at full capacity, we need to harvest about 900 successful acres of barley which translates to about 3 million pounds of grain that goes into our malting drums annually.

Like we said: we’re big on barley.

It makes sense then, that at Olander Farms, we want to be constantly honing our barley-growing craft. Yes, we’ve been doing this for five generations. But no, we don’t know everything.

Shocking, right? Mother nature is so complicated.

And things change.

Like climate change.

Here’s a little beef on barley: (Ohhh, speaking of which, if you haven’t tried beef and barley soup, you should. Look it up! We also have beef for sale, so shoot us a line!)

Photo by Emily Sierra Photography

Traditionally, in the US, barley has been a spring-planted crop. That means precisely what it sounds like: it is planted in early spring, and harvested by mid-summer. This is different from warm-season crops, like corn, which are planted in late spring after soil temps have had a chance to warm up, or fall-planted crops which go in in early fall and overwinter in the ground.

Barley is a chill crop: not only does it make beer, which you can sip with your friends as you grill and chill, or Netflix and chill,…but barley also likes chilly weather. Or cool weather, at least. Heat stresses barley out, and stressed barley produces unusable grain. It makes the protein content too high. Unusable grain is bad business for a malthouse.

That’s why barley has traditionally liked spring. It gets the cool, early-season weather, and comes out of the ground just as things are getting brutally hot, leaving the scorching days for heat-loving crops like corn.

But now, our springs are getting warmer. And drier. The barley is getting a little stressed, a little beat up. This year, we lost 200 acres of our harvest to barley with high protein content, largely due to heat and drought. As much as we would love to see this trend turn around, that’s not something we’re about to bet the farm on (in quite literal terms) so what’s a malthouse to do? We can’t just go out and order some cooler weather, or just do a rain dance…can we?

Well, maybe. Sort of. We did order some Thunder and Lightning, but there was no dancing involved.

Thunder and Lightning are two new barley varieties developed by Oregon State University, and they are cool. Like, way cool. Like winter cool, with lots of snow.

Thunder and Lightning were developed to be fall-planted varieties of barley. These seeds go in the ground in late summer/early fall, get established, then go dormant when the really cold weather hits, chilling in the cold ground until spring when they pop up and start growing again.

Fall-planted barley is - in laymen’s terms - completely nuts. Typically, barley is one of the cereal crops most susceptible to winterkill - meaning (again, precisely as it sounds) that cold winter temps kill it. But OSU has developed these two varieties that are more resistant to the cold, and when dealing with warming springs, fall-planted barley has some real advantages: namely, they get all the winter moisture in addition to spring rains, and they spend less time in the heat of summer.

They have some real risks, too. Colorado winters can be pretty stinking cold. They’re bred to be cold-resistant, can they really handle a Colorado winter?

There’s only one way to find out.

We’ve got 16 acres of each planted and we’re keeping our fingers crossed. We’ll see how they grow. Then, we’ll see how they malt. Because growing a new variety of barley is one thing. Figuring out how it malts is entirely another. In fact, to date, we don’t know of any other folks malting these new barleys, yet. They may be out there, but if they are, we’re part of a very small crew of experimental maltsters, indeed.

But we like beer. And we know you like beer (and whiskey and bourbon). And we want to keep bringing you the best barley to make the best beer to keep you grillin’ and chillin’ for years to come.

So we’re trying to stay on the cutting edge of things, trying to beat the heat.

Fall-planted barley it is then.

Wish us luck.

Brewery of the Month: Wild Edge Brewing Collective: Cortez, CO

You’re probably overdue for a road trip.

We know…summer just ended, families are trying to get back into the school/work routine, and life feels busy.

But it’s fall y’all. The air is crisp, the evenings are cool, and pumpkins and aspen leaves are in season. Fall is for sipping on some fine beers on fine patios with spectacular weather, and if you haven’t experienced fall in Southwest Colorado, well…

You are, indeed, overdue for a road trip.

Southwest Colorado is one of our state’s lesser-trafficked gems. From Durango to Cortez, Mancos to Dove Creek, and through many small towns in between, fantastic scenery meets perfect weather, and stellar mountain biking is made all the better when followed with small-town craft beer.

Admittedly, most of the breweries and distilleries we serve here at Root Shoot are in the Front Range corridor, but we’re always honored and excited when other Colorado (and beyond!) businesses seek us out and choose our malt. And the prize for the brewery in the furthest reaches of our glorious state has to go to Wild Edge Brewing Collective in Cortez, Colorado.

Owned by Tucker Robinson and partners, Wild Edge sits in a remodeled warehouse in downtown Cortez and specializes in craft beers with an emphasis on sours - both kettle and barrel-aged. They also serve up some mean IPAs, Saisons, and Belgians.

An anthropologist by schooling and an archeologist by trade, Tucker spent 10 years working in the archeology field in the history-rich Southwest Colorado area before making the leap to professional brewing. From studying ancient communities to building new ones, people remain Tucker’s focus. Although he’s proud of the beer Wild Edge produces, he’s even more proud of the community space the brewery provides.

“On any given night, it never ceases to amaze me the diversity of people that are in the brewery,” he says. “People of all ages, political leanings, genders, beliefs, and economic standing, all enjoying the same space over a pint of beer. The power of beer to build a better and more inclusive community always impresses me.”

Cheers to that.

Despite the geographic distance separating our two businesses (NoCo meets…SoCo? SoWeCo?) companies that beer together, conserve together. Isn’t that how the saying goes?

We had the pleasure of working with Wild Edge on the Colorado Strong Ale of 2020, the proceeds of which went to the victims of the Cameron Peak/Troublesome Fire twin disasters, and we bonded over a common interest in land conservation and doing good with beer.

Three of the founding partners of Wild Edge met through their work on the board of directors of the Montezuma Land Conservancy, and if you all don’t know how we feel about Land Conservation yet, well…you should do a little digging through our social media feeds. All of which is to say that once Tucker, Emily, and Todd got in the same room and enjoyed some barrel aged sour beers together, a wonderful land-conservation-inspired, beer-infused partnership was born.

Case in point? The recently-released Juniperus, a beer that even Tucker admits to be one of his favorites (and brewers so rarely claim to have favorites!) It’s a Root Shoot beer made with local juniper, one of the primary native plants of Southwest Colorado, and the proceeds from  it go to support the Montezuma Land Conservancy.

Juniper not your thing? We can’t understand that, but there are some other fantastic beers coming on tap this fall and winter, like a rye whiskey barrel aged stout with berries and vanilla bean (in collaboration with Telluride Distilling Company,) and a barrel aged sour beer with quince grown by Wild Edge’s friends at Sutcliffe Vineyard

Quince! How many quince beers have you ever had? Do you even know what quince is? No? Here’s a little help.

Have we convinced you, yet? To live on the Wild side? To live on the Edge? To at least take a road trip south (or north, depending on where you may be!) and go check out this badass little brewery in an absolutely gorgeous part of the state?

And while you’re down there - if we might ask - could you bring us back a barrel-aged sour or two? We promise we’ll share.

No, we don’t. We’ll probably drink it all immediately and realize we’re overdue for a road trip, then head south and buy more. But that wouldn’t be all bad.

It would actually be pretty great.

Open roads, small towns, artisan breweries, good people.

You’re killing it in Cortez, Wild Edge! We’re proud to have you as part of our family.

Your Root Shoot "Cheat Sheet"

Need a drink?

Wanna support Root Shoot?

Into saving family farms?

We made a graphic for you! Save this pic in your phone, mark it as one of your faves, and use it to pick your next brewery or distillery adventure!

These businesses are our Craft Malt Certified (or equivalent) breweries. But there’s more!

Coming soon… a list of Root Shoot’s 2022 brewery and distiller partners. Stay tuned!

Brewery of the Month: Barquentine Brewing

Photo courtesy of Barquentine Brewing

Here in Colorado, we have water issues.

Living in a land-locked state with a semi-arid climate that also happens to be in the throes of a mega-drought, water is not just a precious commodity - it’s a bit of an obsession. Coloradans are super-psyched when our reservoirs are full and we can pretend we live near a “lake.” When they’re not full, as has unfortunately been the case as of late, we shrug and camp out on the muddy edges pretending we live near the beach. We proudly fish in rivers that, anywhere east of the 100th meridian would simply be referred to as creeks. On a warm summer day, you’ll seek trucks and trailers with speedboats and jet skis headed out to find some navigable puddle to splash in, even if that means sailing around in small, tight circles for hours on end.

We love water! We need water! We’re sea-faring, ship-building mariners at heart! We’re…

Okay… we’re not. But we do find water a bit exotic around here, so it only makes sense that if you’re a landlubbing Colorado native with a penchant for beer (sailors love beer!) you’d open up a ship-themed brewery, right by a lake.

Photo courtesy of Barquentine Brewing

Such was the case for Kyle Knudson, owner of Barquentine Brewing located in the Edgewater Marketplace right near the banks of Sloan’s Lake.

Kyle, who owns Barquentine in conjunction with his father, Ed, was born and raised in Colorado as were his parents (a Colorado native born of a Colorado natives? Unheard of!) and his land-locked, semi-arid desert childhood naturally led to an infatuation with 19th century sea-faring history. Barquentines were old-world sailing vessels that, among other things, ferried beer making supplies among the brewers of Europe. Outside of the sea and his ship, there’s nothing a sailor loves more than his (or her) drink and Barquetine Brewing is here to ensure that all of us wanna-be sea dogs have a place to indulge in our waterlogged dreams.

Photo courtesy of Barquentine Brewing

Specializing in authentic Belgian beers, Barquentine draws its recipes from tradition, but their beer - and location - are definitely up to par for the modern-day Colorado beer nerd. Located in the trendy Edgewater Public Market, a beer-drinker can find plenty to explore for an afternoon, or even well into the evening. Cruise the adorable shops, grab a bite to eat, get a massage, take a yoga class, or attend one of the regular Edgewater Public market events: Monday night movies, monthly knitting groups, Bingo, necklace making, and more. There’s always a lot going on and with Barquetine around, there’s a brew for every activity and every mood.

Photo courtesy of Barquentine Brewing

Are you feeling fancy? Try the Sloan’s Lake Yacht Club Ale. You’ll feel high-class because you now belong to a yacht club, and you’ll know that you’re a discerning beer aficionado since that beer won them a sliver medal in the World Beer Cup this year. Had a rough work week and looking for a pre-noon beverage to kick off your weekend? Late to Brunch, a blood-orange ale will do the trick. Feeling feisty and want to pick an argument with your fellow beer buddies over something silly? The Opinionator Golden Strong Ale will help you, coming in at an argument-inducing 9.3% ABV!

Spunky beer names aside, however, Barquentine takes their brewing business very seriously. They had to, in order to survive. Barquentine is one of a number of Root Shoot supporting businesses that opened up right before the world closed down for COVID. They welcomed their first patrons on Leap Day of 2020 and two weeks later, the whole country shut down. As they navigated the craziness of those COVID times, they discovered the value of local supply chains.

“ We had committed to brewing with high-quality ingredients from the beginning,” says Kyle, “but when the international supply chains fell apart, it was Root Shoot that stayed true to customer service and quality, locally grown malt.” 

Turns out that having your farmers (and maltsters) just up the road can smooth out some bumps in uncertain times. And here at Root Shoot, we are benefitting from the relationship as well. Not only do we get to work with a World Beer Cup-winning brewery, we see the potential for training up future farmers…well, one future farmer at least. Namely, Kyle’s four-year-old son who - upon seeing his first combine at our Field Day promptly climbed up into the driver’s seat and cried tears of joy. You go, little buddy! In 17 years or so, we’ll train you to drive that thing!

While we wait, we’ll hang out on Barquetine’s big summer patio, drink some Sea Bear Saison, and dream of the ocean. Maybe take a quick paddle around Sloan’s Lake. Savor these last days of summer on what water we can find, and enjoy some crisp Belgian brews.

We may not live on the beach, but with places like Barquentine around, Colorado in the summer is the only place that we want to be.