NEW BARLEY VARIETIES DEVELOPMENT

Our approach to whiskey making has always been to highlight the flavors of our raw ingredients. But when we began in 2010, the commodity system was the only option available to us for sourcing barley. Within that system, flavor wasn’t at all considered and environmental impact was barely considered. Commodity grain breeding programs are pressured to select for varieties that can adapt to a broad geographic range and produce high yields. This put pressure on farmers both financially and environmentally.  

In partnership with WSU’s Bread Lab, Cascadia Malts, Linc Malting, Mainstem Malts, and a collection of growers across Washington, Westland is helping to bring new varieties that are designed to thrive in the Pacific Northwest ecosystem and also improve it. In 2023, we continued to blaze the trail ahead in the realm of our commitments to sustainable agriculture. Nearly 70% of the grain that we purchased was sourced land that was certified either Salmon-Safe or Organic. Our procurement of Salmon-Safe certified grain increased by over 23% over the previous year, while our use of barley from Organic certified farms remained largely unchanged.  

In addition to our commitments to certified sustainable agriculture, our varietal exploration trials are another facet of our environmental stewardship. We continue to seek out new varieties of barley that create delicious whiskies and provide high yields for everyone throughout our supply chains. Identifying barley varieties that work well in low-input sustainable agricultural systems is a key part of our program, and this year we distilled three new varieties that were grown using Salmon-Safe certified no-till, dry-land farming techniques.  

We also continued our exploration into the concept of mashing and distilling a non-homogenous mixture of barley varieties. This project explores using “misfit” barley varieties and styles that may not necessarily have an obvious home in the malthouse sales portfolio. It’s an opportunity to explore new flavors in whiskey while reducing waste in the local grain supply chain.  

2023 also marks the year of our first distillation of whiskey derived entirely from an estate barley mash. With the help of our partners and a keen eye on the regenerative agriculture system we can build, we were able to distill a batch of whiskey grown entirely on the Westland farm in the Skagit Valley.

Westland Barley Fellowship

In 2021, Westland continued fully-funding a full-time PhD student at WSU’s Bread Lab in Skagit Valley to develop new varieties of barley specifically for the whiskey industry. The charter of the Westland Barley Fellowship is to research and breed barleys that fall outside the commodity system and achieve three primary objectives: 

First, the barley must work for the farmer. For too long, growers in this country have been left behind, squeezed by the cruel machinations of industrialization and commodification. We don’t view ourselves as simply end users for barley. We see Westland as an integral part of a community and an agricultural system that betters the land and its people. Our role in that community is not to drive people down, as is the capitalistic norm, but to help build everyone up. We must create value for each and every person in the system, starting with the farmer. This means that the varieties we develop must be grown in an economically viable way that provides meaningful income for the grower. That means both yield and value (read: novelty and flavor). Equally as important, the varieties must be suitable to a role in farming, not just whiskey. Each new variety must help sustain complete crop rotations so growers can improve their soil and perpetuate a healthy agricultural system. 

Second, the barley must work for the changing environment. In just the past decade the rate of change in our climate and ecosystems has accelerated to the point of outright unpredictability. We are not spared from these forces, even in the relatively isolated and idyllic Pacific Northwest. The preservation of healthy farmland requires both economic and ecological alacrity. In addition to aiding in rotational farming, the varieties we develop in the fellowship program must be suited to certified organic, regenerative-organic, Salmon-safe, or other low-impact cultivation methods. But beyond stewardship of the land as it exists, we must also be prepared for what it might become. We breed with the unknown in mind, bringing back genetic diversity to barley, and judging the success of a variety partly on its ability to withstand (or tolerate) changes wrought by global climate change.  

Finally, the barley must work for the end consumer. This should be obvious. Even if it checks each and every other box, if it isn’t good, it’s not worth pursuing. In fact, we take it one step further. It isn’t good and isn’t unique, it’s not worth pursuing. Uniqueness and novelty are not things to be feared, but rather embraced. We breed varieties for these qualities because, in the end, if it tastes like everything else, what’s the point? 

Energy Star Certification

Westland has been certified as an official Energy Star certified organization, and were among one of the first distilleries to receive this recognition. The new Energy Star Distillery certification awards distilleries who are verified to perform in the top 25% percent of distilleries nationwide for energy efficiency. 

Current Energy Metrics: