b'Bloody Butcher corn is an open-pollinated heirloom variety. Ironroot Republic fell in love with the flavor of the variety after using it in their whisky.that the Likarish brothers use in theirand aroma of the land. This idea is com- beer making from distilling spirits is the mash which makes a considerable differ- monly discussed on the wine and brandyintermediate grain malting. This is the ence in how the whiskey tastes.side where distillers say that the grapesgrain steeping, germination and drying "The consensus in the whiskey com- from each region have a different taste, aprocess, whether it be barley, rye or munity has been that corn does not haveunique terroir. Traditionally, whiskey waswheat, that determines beer\'s flavor and much effect on flavor. It is no surprise tonot thought to have terroir, which maycolor. us that every time we let people sample ahave been true because yellow corn is a"It is in the malting process where mash that we have swapped out one cornbland, homogenous blend of corn fromwe develop the vast majority of a beer\'s varietal for another, they are amazed thatmany sources that it all comes out tastingcolor and flavor that come through to they can definitely taste a difference.the same.the consumer," says Bells Brewery Master Corn hybrids that have been bred to"We are looking for new corn varie- Brewer, John Mallett. "As a brewer, when yield a lot of carbohydrates, for ethanolties all the time," Jonathan says. "We haveI am thinking about what grains I want to fuel production, for example, usually dotried Glass Gem flint corn, a different blueuse to make a beer, I need the right malt. not have a complex flavor. GM corn couldvariety, a black Aztec variety and a greenI need to have the right attributes in the make spirit alcohol, but it usually has aOaxacan variety which has an entirelygrain to successfully craft my beer. My flat, one-note flavor, says Jonathan. Thedifferent flavor. We have even tried aideas for my beer have to line up with the yellow dent corn used to fuel Ironrootpurple barley variety from Montana andbarley attributes. Those attributes will Republic\'s whiskey alcohol content is aa soft wheat variety, which I really like. Itthen line up with the plant\'s genetics and non-GM grain selected explicitly becausemay show up next season in a wheatedthe growing conditions. How we look at it does have flavor.bourbon."grains as brewers is different than what is Another big topic in the whiskeymost important to distillers." industry lately is the concept of terroir,Coloring and Flavoring Craft Beer That being said, to set up malting, the French notion of possessing the flavorOne of the primary things differentiatingthe grains must contain the right fea-OCTOBER 2020SEEDWORLD.COM /5'