Event Details
Monday, March 11, 2019
5:00–10:00 p.m.
McMenamins Mission Theater
1624 NW Glisan Street
Portland, Oregon
Meeting Summary
The 5th annual 2019 Pacific Northwest LABS meeting on Modest Malt: The Soul of Beer, proved to be more than a modest success! A huge thanks again to McMenamins for donating the beautiful Mission Theater (for the second year in a row!), and to Ninkasi Brewing Company and Great Western Malting for sponsoring the event.
This event would not have been possible without the speakers, (some of whom travelled across the country to volunteer their time and share their knowledge) the OSU ASBC Club volunteers who helped plan and run the meeting, and especially not without the attendees, who brought plenty of beer to share (25+ brands from 13 breweries)!
After a quick overview of the night, and upcoming ASBC events, Joe Casey (CBA) gave the first talk, entitled “Malt: Musings from CBA.” Beyond a peek at how CBA sources malt (from a quality perspective) and some hints and tips for working with unusual grains, Joe also provided the audience with some thoughts for discussion: can you mix “high dry” malt with caramel (is this like mixing Gin and Vodka)? Can raw barley be used to create (potentially) more sustainable beer? Pattie Aron (Rahr Malting) followed up with an in-depth look at how to interpret the Malt COA from a flavor perspective, touching on a range of topics from Strecker Degradation to trends in American barley breeding. Lastly, Dustin Herb (Nutrien ag) finished out the night with an update on the Malt Flavor Project, and explained how his doctoral work showed evidence that malt genotype, terroir, and modification may all contribute to beer flavor.
Hope you can make it to our next meeting in 2020!
