lystn

The guys get blessed with a rare "in-studio" guest this week, with Jacob Buck making the 2.5 hour trek south to Milo, all the way from Mapleton, ME. Jake runs Maine Malt House with his three brothers and their father on their multi-generational family farm. BBB will buy about 200 tons of grain produced by the Buck family in 2020, so their is no shortage of Noah playing fanboy as Jake explains how their farm - which for decades had grown only potatoes - diversified itself by beginning to produce brewer's malt. He paints a succinctly informative picture of the malting process itself, one that Jake and his brother Josh effectively taught themselves how to do at a very high level, despite not knowing beer was brewed with barley for the majority of his life. He also sheds light on the numerous and often surprising challenges farmers face in chasing consistency, as well as discussing the the pros and cons of working with your family and, importantly, the value in treating some breakfast cereals as a rotating crop instead of a base malt. A great conversation with an awesome person doing awesome things.
Music: "Mountain Climb" by Jake Hill