Water, barley, hops and yeast. That’s the magical elixir of beer brewed down to its simplest form. But like many brews in the craft beer industry, brewers aren’t content with… Read More

Great beer comes from precise and pure brewing techniques. When it comes to the sanitation solutions that allow that pure craft beer product, Birko provides industrial strength formulations to the… Read More

Climate change could start drastically affecting global barley production, which obviously, drastically affects the beer industry. Droughts have already started to wipe out barley crops across the globe, and all… Read More

Some may say that malt is the backbone of a good beer. While the hops, spices, fruits and anything else thrown into the mash might give a brew it’s personality,… Read More

Shelf life determines how long a beer remains clear and stable under average conditions. In contrast to expiration dates for food, drinking a beer past its best-by date isn’t potentially… Read More

While much virtual ink has been spilled on how the craft industry has impacted the hops market (and spawned a culture of entrepreneurial hops growers), another brewing bedrock — malts… Read More

Idaho has more than 5,000 barley producers, and the USDA projects Idaho’s 2013 barley crop will lead the nation at 57 million bushels. Idaho barley producers have a long history… Read More

Ah, the first days of fall. To most it means football games and cool, crisp early evenings, but to brewers it means hops harvest season. Yakima, Wash., produces approximately 75… Read More

With hop harvesting season passing in late August and early September, we’d thought we’d take this Friday to reflect on the growing and reaping of the plant we sometimes call… Read More

Aspiring farmers are starting to grow hops more and more these days, mirroring the growth and entrepreneurial spirit of the craft beer industry itself, and hoping to offer home-grown alternatives… Read More