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Field Notes

Kernza: the climate-friendly grain enticing craft brewers and distillers in Colorado

NPR for Northern Colorado’s KUNC radio met with Chris Anderson-Tarver of Denver Distillery to discuss their use of Kernza in a pilot trial of whiskey that is part of a United States Department of Agriculture study on Kernza, with a particular focus on the distinct flavor that the perennial grain brings to distilled products. The station also spoke with The Land Institute’s Hana Fancher, farmer and maltster Todd Olander of Root Shoot Malting, Head Brewer Marni Wahlquist of Odell Brewing Sloan’s Lake, and Peter Kleinman and Grace Miller from the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in Colorado to learn more about the Kernza market and the plant’s climate-conscious characteristics.