Micro breweries in this area usually get their malt from out west. One family hopes to change that

While Western Canada might be best known for its malting industry, Terry Byrne hopes some local brewers will turn to him as their go-to malt supplier.

Byrne runs a grain farm with his sons, Shaun and Ben Byrne, in the southwestern Ontario community of Gesto in the town of Essex. After many years of growing corn, soybeans and wheat, the family decided to start malting barley in 2016. Despite years of work, it took until this year to produce their first real crop.

"I had some health issues. I've had cancer twice," Byrne said.

Once he was healthy again, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, which shut down any hope of production for a few years.

"A lot of the parts [were] hard to get. And then you can't get out in public and whatever else. So that's why it took us so long considering we started December of 2016."

Now, there are four members in the family who are educated on how to malt.

Malt house barley is a specialized type of barley, cultivated and processed specifically for brewing-industry purposes.

From field to final bagged product, the malting process is labour intensive, according to Byrne. It's a multi-day process that involves immersing the barley in water, germinating it and drying it in a kiln.

But, Byrne said, "If I didn't enjoy it, I wouldn't be doing it."

How rare is an operation like this in Ontario?

"There's only one floor malter and his name is Barn Owl. He's in Belleville. That's the closest one that I know of," Byrne said.

Getting brewers on board

Byrne had his first brewer sign on just this month. Aaron and Jennifer Saby own Fat Lou Brew Company, a craft brewery in LaSalle.

The pair, who are just starting their craft brewing business, found out about Byrne's malting setup by word of mouth. After touring the farm, they could see that the family put a lot of care into their product.

"It was amazing to see the process they go through. I was like, "Wow, this is a lot of work" — especially the shovelling done by hand," said Jennifer Saby.

The pair were quick to support local and source their malted barley from Byrne after that.

"We're all on board," said Aaron Saby. "We know how hard it is to have someone support you as a little guy, we're in the same boat."

The two know a number of other local brewers and have mentioned Byrne's name, though the ultimate choice to switch rests with those brewers. Those with established connections to brewers out west might have good relationships with their current suppliers, according to Aaron. Where the barley is grown and how its produced can also affect the taste of the beer, too.

"I could see them being hesitant to make the switch," said Aaron.

Fat Lou Brew Company is currently fermenting their first batch of beer made with the Byrne Craft Malt House barley.

"We're excited to try it," said Aaron — and to send some test cans to the Byrne family.