So What is Blacklands Malt Anyway?

If you have visited Blackstar anytime recently you will have seen numerous beers on the menu proudly stating that they are brewed using local Blacklands Malt from Leander, Tx. Ok, it sounds good to be drinking something local but what makes Blacklands so special? I went on a mission to find out…
The first thing I found was that prior to 2012, no barley, wheat, or rye was grown and malted in Texas for use in beer and spirits…..ever! This it seemed crazy to me, it’s not like we are short of space! Now some farmers grow it for animal feed, but all the craft brewers were importing from hundreds or even thousands of miles away! It also seemed crazy to Brandon Ade who back in 2012 commissioned public research with Texas A&M into cultivating barley for the Texas climate. Named after the “Blackland Prairies” a grassland stretching from Dallas to San Antonio, Brandon and the team finally realized their dream of 100% Texas grown barley malt in 2016!
Their mission is to promote sustainable food production and bring agricultural back to a local level, reconnecting consumers with their natural ties and local agriculture. BlackStar has had a long relationship with Blacklands for many years but we can’t take credit for a Texas business that has been groing from strength to strength, from Balcones to Jester King, ABW to Oskar Blues, Blacklands is become the malt of choice for many Texas industries. The word has got out too, their “Brown Field 10 Texas Munich” Malt won the 2020 gold medal from the craft masters guild.

Now if you are still reading, I assume that you are really into your beer, and want a little more detail. What makes a good malt? Like brewing the process of converting barley to malt is simple enough. You take some barley, you germinate it to get the enzymes just starting out and then you dry it in a kiln halt the process at the optimum time for brewing. But like brewing, while the process may be established, perfecting it can take a lifetime of finesse. For example. That gold medal winner we mentioned earlier had to be perfected for over 6 months using a proprietary steaming method in their kiln to produce a high-dried, melanoidin-rich, Munich-style malt from their Texas grown, high-nitrogen two-rowed barley, to give a rich malt, and light toast character, well suited for rich, aromatic full-bodied beers. And if you said that whole sentence in one breath you deserve a gold medal yourself! If you are looking to taste some Blacklands malt, stop by Black-Star Coop for a house beer, and see how that local Leander sunshine, community focus and small scale attentive agriculture makes the difference.
Got further questions? Feel free to ask the bar staff for more info on our beers or reach quiz me about what I learned at our next members extravaganza… March 5th!
Many thanks