Episode 157: Troy Robinson of Quirk Brewing & Phil Neumann of Mainstem Malt

Host Ben Rice travels (digitally) to Walla Walla, Washington, simply for an excuse to say Walla Walla, Washington over and over again. While there, he also manages to interview Troy Robinson of Quirk Brewing and Phil Neumann of Mainstem Malt about locally-sourced, salmon-safe ingredients in Quirk-y craft beers (and more streamlined ones as well, stream/salmon pun intentional), as well as the challenges of being deemed "organic", and getting local farmers to buy in on craft beer. Plus! Mainstem's fundraising campaign through WeFunder (ends November 18th! Buy in for as little as $100!), malt-chewing ASMR, spineless beers, and Ben's attempt to solve the out-of-state distribution law issues using this one clever trick! All this and so much more, on episode 157 of Barley & Me. Enjoy!Find out more about the beers and activities at Quirk Brewing by going to www.quirkbrewing.com or following them across social media @quirkbrewingVisit www.mainstemmalt.com to learn more about the craft malt movement or www.wefunder.com/mainstemmalt to buy shares.And of course, if you're interested, go to www.craftmalting.com to find out more about their upcoming annual conference in Portland, Maine, in February 2022.Barley & Me can be found across social media @barleyandmepod. Email questions/comments/concerns/guest ideas/brewery ideas to [email protected] or [email protected] be sure to learn more about the Black Is Beautiful Initiative, as featured in Episode 129 with Marcus Baskerville of Weathered Souls Brewing, at www.blackisbeautiful.beerGet your merch or make donations at www.customink.com/fundraising/black-is-beautiful-initiativeAlso, during this crisis, 100% of profits from sales of Barley & Me shirts via Zen-Threads.com will go to Another Round, Another Rally, a charity that supports front- and back-of-house members of the service industry whose wages and benefits may be affected. So grab a shirt and help a good cause and people you love! https://zen-threads.com/collections/beer-wine/products/barley-and-me-podcast-mens-crew-tee?fbclid=IwAR1G_5HJ3NCoWTRgmG6Q2PVALEiJsb1KtHClCaDli0NhsjZsc4KPmWCp_osBen is also posting #Chugs4Charity videos semi-daily on Instagram (@barleyandmepod), to help raise funds for those affected by this shutdown. You can Venmo Ben ($comedianbenrice) or hit his PayPal (@barleyandmepod) and all money will go to support the NAACP, ACLU, Black Lives Matter, and other civil rights helpers. Charities will change with the times and as emergencies arise. But the point is: all donations will go to help those who need it.Do you have a story about racism, sexism, homophobia, or transphobia in the beer industry? You can submit your story anonymously, to be read on a future episode of Barley & Me at https://forms.gle/SmDuBT3zGKxNCVZ757Intro Music: “Functional Alcoholism” by Be Brave Bold Robot (@bebraveboldrobot)Interstitial Music: "JamRoc" by Breez (@breeztheartist)Logo by Jessica DiMesio (@alchemistqueen)