E-Malt.com News article: USA, MD: Maryland farmers try beer production

Maryland's burgeoning agritourism industry is offering consumers yet another product to satisfy their hunger — or thirst, in this case — for locally grown goods. Recently enacted legislation has generated a flurry of hops growing, barley malting and beer brewing at several farms, The Baltimore Sun reported on August, 13.

Henry Ruhlman brewed beer for himself for about six years and now has opened a retail venture at his Creeping Creek Farms in northern Carroll County, using a key ingredient he grows right there. He started with 24 hops plants three years ago and has expanded the crop to more than 1,600 vines.

"It is more than enough to get me launched in the business," he said.

The law, which took effect July 1, allows Maryland farmers to produce up to 15,000 barrels of beer in a calendar year. Farm-based brewers must feature home-grown barley, hops or fruits in their beer. The brewers may sell their beer for consumption both on and off the farm, offering a boost not only to the farmers but to the state's burgeoning craft beer industry.

"If you build a brewery on your farm and use products grown there, the state will allow you to sell the beer at the farm," said Lou Berman, trade practice manager for the state comptroller's office. "It is another aspect of the growing agritourism trend."

Several other farm brewery operations are in the works, including at least five in Frederick County, said Berman, who oversees much of the state's farm brewery licensing.

At Creeping Creek, Ruhlman built a 1,120-square-foot, air-conditioned building to house his brewing equipment and converted a garage into a retail store. With his two sons and other family members, he began harvesting the hops in mid-July, then brewed and bottled the beer. The family mowed the hayfield near the road to make parking spaces for visitors.

Hops are a good start for the operation, said Greg Clabaugh, a Frederick County dairy and grain farmer, who built Amber Fields Malting and Brewing Co. at his Keymar farm. But, he said, a real Maryland beer must be made from locally grown and malted grain — "the meat of any beer."

"Amber Fields is the only operating malthouse in the state," said Clabaugh, whose farm has been in his family for 175 years. "Our malt is the only malt that can produce a true Maryland beer."

His wife, Loree, said their goal was to bring goods from the "field to the table" — and to educate consumers.

The brewery has allowed the couple to expand farming operations and provides a sustainable income, Greg Clabaugh said.

"Hopefully, by diversifying our operation, we can stay competitive for generations to come," he said.

"This is the fastest-growing portion of the brewing industry," Bob Kratochvil, an agronomist at the University of Maryland, said of craft beer production. "They won't be putting Budweiser or Coors out of business any time soon, but this locally grown product will appeal to a lot of people. Beer aficionados will try these new brews."

The Maryland Department of Agriculture, which each year measures the public's preference for local products, found in its most recent poll that 74 percent of state residents want to buy locally — and that includes beer, said Mark Powell, a spokesman for the department.

"The demand is here," he said. "If you can develop a quality local beer, produced from Maryland crops … it will work."



15 August, 2012