Stop #1

Getting the Grain Ready

Dandy starts every batch of beer with the highest quality Malted Barley.  Alberta grown and malted barley makes up anywhere from 75%-100% of every recipe we make. Yes. 75%-100%, that means most of what you're slurping down, is grown right here in our backyard. Brewers from all over the world bring in Alberta Malt for it’s perfect brewing quality.

What is Malted Barley though?

Malting is the process in which barley is soaked, allowed to begin germination, and immediately dried to stop it from sprouting. You see, the premium Alberta Grown Barley is malted to allow access to those important sugars locked inside the kernel. Malting is like the bouncer working the barley husk door to let at those sweet fermentable sugars inside the kernel.

Once the barley is malted, it can then be roasted to varying levels of darkness to provide depth of flavour, and colour to a beer. From blonde, to copper, to chocolate, to black - there are an infinitenumber of colours and flavour profiles to play with when roasting. 

In Step #1, the malt is weighed, crushed, and carried by auger across the brewery to the mash tun.