Root Shoot Malting Reports Community Impact of East Troublesome Pale Ale & Homebrew Competition for Grand County Wildfire Relief

LOVELAND, CO—  Root Shoot Malting has announced the results of the East Troublesome Pale Ale initiative that united the Grand County brewing community and raised nearly $34,000 for those impacted by Colorado's second-largest wildfire.

Six professional breweries and 27 homebrewers brewed the East Troublesome Pale Ale over the last few months, and earned tremendous support from the Grand County community of beer lovers and homebrew competition entrants who helped to raise $34,000 for The Grand Foundation: a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting residents who were evacuated, displaced or lost their homes during the Grand County Wildfires. 

Root Shoot Malting, alongside Colorado Hop Company and Propagate Labs, donated ingredients to six breweries in Grand County to help create the East Troublesome Pale Ale. The recipe and ingredients were then available to homebrewers who were encouraged to brew their own version of the benefit beer. 

"I am blown away by the amount we raised and how many people rallied to support this cause," said Emily Olander, Co-Founder of Root Shoot Malting. “A huge thank you to everyone; brewers, suppliers, homebrewers, and residents of Grand County for donating your time, energy, and resources to make this a success." 

Root Shoot brought this effort home with a homebrew competition that 27 homebrewers entered earlier this year. The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners were announced during a virtual awards ceremony, and the entries raised more than $550 for this effort that Root Shoot Malting matched. The whole team at Root Shoot extends congratulations to all of the winners and gratitude to everyone who participated. 

1ST PLACE 

Mackenzie Springett: “East Troublesome Fire Pale Ale” 

“When I drink the East Troublesome Fire Pale Ale, I immediately feel as if I’m sitting in the mountains and enjoying stunning views and the smell of the pine trees. I enjoy all of Root Shoot’s malts and use close to 100% of their malts in every recipe,” Springett says. “I also want to give a big shout out to firefighters. They saved us and helped preserve those smells and views.” 

2ND PLACE

Ben Gaylord: “Hearts and Minds”  

3RD PLACE

Nelson Crowle: “Grungeist SMaSH”

HONORABLE MENTION 

Charles Epperson: “Fire and Smoke” 

Fraser River Beer Co. is planning on serving a batch brewed with first place homebrewer Mackenzie Springett for the community to enjoy this Spring, and 100% of proceeds will be donated to the Grand Foundation. 

 For more information about Root Shoot Malting or the East Troublesome Pale Ale, contact Emily Hutto at coop@radcraftbeer.com. 

SPONSORS

The East Troublesome Pale Ale Competition was possible due to the support from all of our sponsors. We’d like to thank the following organizations for their contributions. 

• Fraser River Beer Co., Hideaway Park Brewing, Camber Brewing, Grand Adventure Brewing, Big Trout Brewing Co., and The Peak Bistro and Brewery donated 100 percent of their beer proceeds to this cause.

• Colorado Hop Company, Troubadour Maltings, Propagate Lab, Reggiebeer.com, and Turn It Up Media, contributed products and services. 

• Left Hand Brewing, Spike Brewing, Sticker Giant, American Homebrewers Association, Fermentis, Yakima Chief Hops, and Five Star Chemicals donated generous prizes that were awarded to the competition winners.

• Michael Bischoff, Head Brewer at The Peak Bistro and Brewery developed the East Troublesome Pale Ale homebrew recipe. 

ABOUT ROOT SHOOT MALTING 

Root Shoot Malting is a 5th generation family farm and craft malthouse that supplies the Rocky Mountain region with craft malt and grains. Founded by the Olander family in 2016, Root Shoot harvests barley, wheat, rye and corn to give craft brewers and distillers high-quality taste in every glass. Located on the Olander Farms’ 112-acre farm in Loveland, Colorado, and approximately 1500 leased acres, Root Shoot is working to ensure that farmland remains available to grow grains for the beers and spirits of tomorrow. Find this craft maltster online at rootshootmalting.com.

Craft Breweries in Grand County, Colorado Rally For Fire Relief

Photo courtesy Camber Brewing

GRAND COUNTY, CO— Six craft breweries in Colorado’s Grand County have crafted the East Troublesome Pale Ale in response to the East Troublesome Fire that burned 193,812 acres. All proceeds for this beer will be donated to The Grand Foundation to support those that have been affected by the East Troublesome Fire. 

Fraser River Beer Co., Hideaway Park Brewing, Camber Brewing, Grand Adventure Brewing, Big Trout Brewing Co., and The Peak Bistro and Brewery have all committed to brewing the East Troublesome Pale. Colorado ingredient producers Root Shoot Malting, Colorado Hop Company, and Propagate Lab are donating 100 percent of the ingredients. 

“We are honored to have been given the opportunity to be a part of this awesome community in Grand County. There has been so much devastation and we feel fortunate that we are able to help out and give back the best we can,” says Andy Brumenschenkel, the Owner and Brewer at Hideaway Park Brewery. “Without the gracious donations of the numerous suppliers this would not at all be possible– it’s amazing to be a part of such a rad industry where we have these industry partners that care about our community as much as we do.” 

#EastTroublesomePaleAle has a grain bill comprised of Root Shoot Malting English Pale Ale, Vienna, and Cara Ruby malts. The recipe calls for Colorado-grown CTZ and Cashmere hops.

The East Troublesome Pale Ale will tap at these six breweries in coming weeks. The beer will also be available to-go in limited quantities around Grand County. 

Additionally, Grand County distilleries Fraser Valley Distilling, Idlewild Spirits, Blue Valley Spirits, and Steamboat Whiskey will allocate bottle sales to the Grand Foundation as part of this effort.

For more information about their participation in this community effort or Root Shoot Malting’s involvement, contact Emily Hutto at hutto@radcraftbeer.com. For more information about The Grand Foundation and donate directly at grandfoundation.com. 

ABOUT ROOT SHOOT MALTING

Root Shoot Malting’s family of farmers grow, harvest and malt the finest grains to give brewers and distillers high-quality taste in every glass. Opened in 2016 on 1,500 acres of Olander Farms’ irrigated land in Loveland, Colorado, Root Shoot harvests alfalfa, wheat, corn, rye, oats, and barley. Root Shoot gives breweries and distilleries the ability to procure local, consistent and high quality craft products. Find this craft maltster online at rootshootmalting.com.