Entrepreneurs support sustainable beer in Asheville: Riverbend Malt House

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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Triple Pundit (“people, planet, profit”) and Local Beer Blog share the story behind Asheville’s Riverbend Malt House, an artisan malt producer started by two former consultants who saw a niche that needed filling, and became beer entrepreneurs:

Riverbend Malt House is well-situated in Asheville, with 15 breweries and brewpubs in the area and more on the way.  Add to that the fact that Asheville has either shared or won outright the title of Beer City USA for the past four years.  It’s the city with the most breweries in the U.S. per capita and the future home of three big-time operations from the West Coast.  (Asheville also happens to be the place that first inspired me to get into homebrewing a good three years ago.)  Being a craft beer locavore, I was interested to see how Brent and Brian had come into this line of work and learn a little about a day in the life of a maltster.

Native North Carolinians Brian Simpson and Brent Manning are the brains behind the operation.  They were consultants in their former lives, and saw a niche that needed filling.  With most breweries around the world getting their malt from just a handful of producers, these guys took a leap of faith and seized the opportunity. Two years later, demand for locally-produced ingredients has skyrocketed, leaving these two entrepreneurs well-positioned to cash in on the pending boom in Asheville.

Writer David Ackley is the founder of the Local Beer Blog.

Read the full article here.