The Journey of Malt – Farming
The best malt starts with the best grain. Barley, wheat, rye and any other varieties are the building blocks of any beer. To turn a humble kernel into liquid gold is quite a process, but it all starts with the art of farming.
Since 2001 our malt house in Kloosterzande connects with local top growers in Zeelandic Flanders. The aim of this cooperation is the improvement of barley crop and creating an optimal chain structure. From this collaboration evolved Growing The Swaen, that focuses on sustainable agriculture.
High and consistent quality raw materials will provide the best beer. Currently 30 to 40 farmers are growing for The Swaen on 200 to 300 hectare per year with an average yield of 8 ton per hectare.
The partnership enables us to trace the quality in every production stage, and to store all barley separately: per variety, per region, per supplier. This guarantees the constant availability of high quality malting barley.
At the end of the growing cycle – after the crop is ripe – the barley is harvested. It will then be transported to The Swaen. Here it is stored in huge silos, waiting for its time to shine. The malting process is now ready to begin. But that is a story for another time…
