WA brewers and distillers combat inflation, fluctuating grain market by attracting local growers

WA brewers and distillers are offsetting rising inflation and fluctuating grain prices by offering premiums to attract local producers, although some have slowed production this year in response to higher costs. The recent opening of a malthouse in Esperance means two local producers in the region will be able to cut down on their freight costs as they look to begin sourcing their grain from growers closer to home. Whipper Snapper Distillery, based in East Perth, sources grain from across the Wheatbelt for their wheat, barley, rye, and quinoa whiskeys, as well as corn from the top end of WA in the Kimberley. The distiller has continuously sourced its grain and corn from local WA farming families since it was founded about 14 years ago by Jimmy McKeown, buying direct from the farm gate. “It was all about supporting locals. A lot of the distilleries and breweries . . . the majority of them import in all of their ingredients, particularly with whisky,” brand ambassador Jack Creswick said. “Jimmy, being from the Wheatbelt, was aware that you’re sat on all this wonderful agriculture and no one was utilising it. “So that was the whole emphasis; was to find a way to get good-quality Australian grains into different types of whisky and make a fully Australian product.” Mr Creswick said the distillery paid a premium to growers in the effort to support local farmers, but had slowed production this year in order to “ride out” the spike in inflation. “We have enough reserves because we’ve been very productive the last five or so years, putting stuff away and getting it ready . . . so we haven’t relied so much on buying this year as we had in previous years,” he said. Lucky Bay Brewing, based in Esperance, sources its grain even closer to home, buying barley from two nearby crop farms and now producing their own malt locally following the opening in late August of a malting factory adjacent to the brewery. “That was kind of like the selling point . . . to use raw materials in the beer rather than transporting it, getting it malted and then transporting it back to Esperance,” marketing officer and trainee brewer Katie Laux said. “We’re still going to source our grain locally and then malt it, and use that malt in our beer too.” Ms Laux said the brewery had received local support from the Esperance community because of the locally sourced grain behind the beer. “We stand for everything local — really we have such great, really good-quality grain,” she said. Ms Laux said grain pricing had not affected the brewery, as they source directly from nearby grain farms. Father-son-run Esperance Distillery Co, started making whisky made from 100 per cent WA barley in 2020, and distil in-house in Esperance. “(It) is quite unique because a lot of breweries will outsource the brewing side of the grain and we double pot distil like a traditional process,” co-founder and managing director James McCarthy-Price said. Grain prices have had little effect on the Esperance distiller, which has instead been hit hard by the fuel shock triggered at the start of the year, forcing it to swallow higher freight costs after running out of grain around the same time. Mr McCarthy-Price said the distillery was, like Lucky Bay Brewing, also excited for the opening of the new malt house in Esperance which will allow the company to reduce its carbon footprint and grain sourcing to nearby farms. “Esperance is the highest barley-growing region in Australia, and so to have that ability to capture the essence of Australia’s best barley-growing region in a bottle of whisky is something we’re truly excited about,” he said. “We’re also really excited about the opportunity to work with local farmers and create micro-releases from Cascades, Munglinup, Condingup, and abroad, and try and capture the slight variations in the crops through our whisky releases in the future.” Mr McCarthy-Price said he found the Esperance community was taking a level of pride in the creation of whisky using locally-sourced grain, while jointly marketing the Esperance region.

WA brewers and distillers combat inflation, fluctuating grain market by attracting local growers

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