The Colorado Grain Chain, or CGC, a nonprofit organization dedicated to nurturing a community-centric grain economy in Colorado, announced the debut of some alcoholic beverages resulting from its 2023 Brewers & Distillers Microgrant Program.
The debut includes a Czech-style pale lager, a German dunkelweizen beer, a sarvisberry sloe gin and a quinoa vodka — all meticulously crafted with locally sourced Colorado ingredients.
“We’re thrilled with the success of our inaugural Brewers & Distillers Microgrant Program in 2023 and the remarkable products brought to life by our local collaborators,” expressed Lisa Boldt, program manager with the CGC. “The program has not only showcased creativity and collaboration but has also stimulated various facets of the grain food chain.”
The initial plan of the CGC was to award four breweries and distilleries, each representing one of the major Colorado watersheds, with $4,000 each to produce a beverage exclusively from Colorado-grown grains. Selections were made from the Colorado River, Rio Grande River and South Platte River watersheds.
Three of the four products have already been released, with the fourth product expected to be available by February.
“Ideally, we aimed to support one project from each of the four major watersheds of Colorado. However, we had to adapt and select two from the Colorado River, one from the Rio Grande and one from the South Platte since there were no applicants from the Arkansas River,” Boldt said.
Geographic reach was a crucial factor in the selection process, ensuring water from each region was utilized in the production of the grains. Boldt highlighted the importance of picking projects that innovatively showcased Colorado grains, avoiding overwhelming flavors that might obscure the taste of the grain.
“It was cool to have breweries get to play with grains that maybe they wouldn’t have. Locally grown grains are sometimes at a higher price point than commodities from abroad,” Boldt said. “It’s nice for us to take away the financial risk factor, allowing producers to make something genuinely exciting.”
One notable collaboration was the creation of “Foamies,” a Czech-style pale lager, by Cohesion Brewing in Denver and Weldwerks Brewing in Greeley. The concoction, utilizing Troubadour Maltings of Fort Collins for grain preparation and Schwartz’s yeast, experienced rapid success, with the first 900-gallon batch selling out within two weeks in August. The second larger batch, canned in November, is now available around the state.
WildEdge Brewing Collective in Cortez utilized its CGC grant to produce “From The Fields,” a German dunkelweizen-style beer, showcasing a malt-forward taste with the infusion of Loveland-based Root Shoot Malting’s new Munich-style wheat malt and yeast sourced from Denver’s Inland Island yeast laboratory. Released in early October, this brew captures the essence of Oktoberfests and other non-hoppy beers.
Routt Distillery capitalized on the abundance of wild sarvisberries in Steamboat Springs to craft Emerald Mountain Sarvis Gin, a unique take on sloe gin, with a blend of vodka and gin, available at the distillery’s tasting room. Working with local environmental nonprofit Yampatika, they foraged and harvested 50 pounds of sarvisberries.
In Mosca, Colorado, Dune Valley Distillery, with its CGC grant, is set to create the nation’s first quinoa vodka. Inspired by a French quinoa vodka, they partnered with White Mountain Farms to distill Colorado Quinoa Vodka, with plans for future expansions in the coming months. They worked with the CGC to scale up to a 395-gallon quinoa mash for an 80-gallon spirits distillation in early summer 2024.
“I’ve been writing technical reports after each project, detailing grain test results, fermentation profiles, water usage and other factors. These reports are available on our website, serving as test cases for brewers and distillers interested in working with specific Colorado grains,” Boldt said.
With last year’s success and the recent USDA grant announcement, the CGC is gearing up for an expansion. The organization plans to channel the momentum into new initiatives expanding with a series of additional microgrants in 2024.
Reflecting on the growth of CGC, Boldt acknowledged the organization’s expansion beyond membership and event-based funding. The newly acquired grant provides dedicated resources for specific projects, offering a more sustainable approach.
“We don’t have to fight for every penny just to be able to do them. It’s a little more comfortable, which is nice,” Boldt concluded.
