One of the Pacific Northwest’s most innovative breweries sits not in the craft beer hubs of Seattle and Bellingham, but in the fertile farmlands of Skagit Valley.
Farmstrong Brewing Company’s story begins with the cover crop — the practice of planting soil-enriching plants after a more profitable crop’s harvest. In Skagit Valley, grains are the most prominent cover crop of all.
Farms have cultivated grains for decades as a way to reintroduce nitrogen into soil depleted by apple production, among other harvests. Historically, the “nitrogen-fixer” grains were simply ground up and added back into the soil as compost. But in 2013, Skagit Valley Malting began buying up the grains, roasting and curing them, and selling them to local breweries like Farmstrong. The result is a match made in craft-beer heaven.
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