Briess is a fifth-generation family-owned company. Members of the Briess family started malting barley in Czechoslovakia in 1876. In the 1930s, third-generation family member Eric Briess moved to the United States and brought along his malting and business experience. That expertise included the process for roasting grains and the knowledge that various roasting times produced a variety of flavors and colors. In the 1950s Eric Briess established a relationship with Chilton Malting Co. in Chilton, Wisconsin, and installed roasters. Several decades later Briess acquired Chilton Malting Co. and added brewhouses, malthouses and storage facilities. In 2013 it added the Ralston grain facility, formerly owned by Anheuser-Busch. 

Today Briess customers include craft breweries, craft distillers, and homebrewers.

“Well over half of the craft brewers in the U.S. use our malt; we also have a number of customers overseas,” said Rick Redd, regional manager of barley operations for Briess.

Malting barley converts the starch stored in the grain kernel to sugar. The grain is harvested, cleaned, and saturated with water to stimulate the germination process. Enzymes produced during germination, in conjunction with changes in the structure of the grain, make it better for brewing usage. It is then kiln dried and mashed, after which the malt is extracted. From there it can be turned into finished malt that is available as a powder, flaked or as syrup.

Malt isn’t just for making beer and spirits, either. Redd pointed out that Briess also provides malt to food customers. Malt adds sweetness and better color to a variety of food products, such as bread, bagels, granola bars, pretzels and pizza dough, without adding sugar, Redd noted. It’s also used to produce malted milk, which goes into the delicious malted milk balls the company is famous for.

What makes the Big Horn Basin such a perfect region for growing barley?

“It’s an ideal growing environment. We have lots of water, plenty of sunshine (growing degree days) and good crop rotation to reduce the incidence of diseases,” Redd said. Barley likes daytime temperatures between 70 and 80 degrees, and basin producers use a barley-beans-beet rotation to help keep plant disease at bay. 

The water, of course, comes from the irrigation canals that crisscross the basin, channeling high mountain snowmelt to thirsty crops. There are few severe storms in the region, although some bring hail, which can damage the crop.

Briess contracts with about 320 producers in the Big Horn Basin, who grow the varieties preferred by the customers from seed provided by the company. That seed is cleaned and treated at the Briess seed plant in Powell. Barley fields in the region usually produce between 100-140 bushels per acre. 

While farming can be a high-risk business, most of the farmers who contract with Briess in the basin are multi-generational operations.

“There are several second- and third-generation farmers we work with,” Redd said. “That is very rewarding to see.”

There is a lot of pressure on those family operations today.

The large influx of people moving into the area can make selling land very lucrative. There is significant pressure to sell small acreages that get converted into subdivisions.

“It’s not the bad ground that developers want, it’s the good farm ground,” Redd noted. “My biggest competitors are not the other companies — it’s subdivisions.”

Farm families who have held onto their way of life for generations are likely to stay in farming going forward.

What can they look forward to this year on the production side of the business? Redd is expecting a good-to-average crop this year with plenty of water, although areas around Greybull and Burlington are looking a little dry. He anticipates a marginally cooler year, but with plenty of sunshine days.

The barley has to come in at 13.5% protein or less.

“Our reject rate due to quality factors is very low,” he said. “We have a great growing environment and experienced barley growers. That’s what makes it work.”