A Taste of Sustainability: Hardywood Kernza Lager

Hardywood Park Craft Brewery has partnered with Patagonia Provisions in brewing a beer made with a perennial wheat that is better for the planet than common annual wheat crops. Hardywood Kernza Lager is brewed with organic Pilsner malt, Munich malts, certified organic Kernza, and Tettnang and Perle hops. It’s a malt-forward lager with a touch of a nutty flavor from the Kernza.

Kernza is a brand name for an intermediate wheatgrass that’s native to Eurasia. It’s being developed by The Land Institute, a Kansas-based research nonprofit. As a perennial plant, farmers don’t need to replant it with every new season. This means they don’t need to till the soil, an action that releases carbon into the atmosphere. It can be harvested multiple times a year.

The grasses’ long tap roots – up to 10 feet – increases soil carbon and pulls nutrients and water from deep in the soil, Clair Keene, NDSU Extension agronomist in small grains and corn, told a group of farmers. Stubble left after a fall harvest protects the soil, catches snow, and feeds the soil. Its growth patterns discourage weeds, too, minimizing or eliminating the need for herbicides, and it can grow efficiently without synthetic fertilizer. It can be used as a food crop or for livestock.

While Kernza isn’t widespread enough to make a significant impact immediately, it offers a positive step toward climate-friendly crops alongside a way to promote eco-consciousness.

Hardywood has touted other environmentally friendly practices since it opened in 2012. “Hardywood was the first brewery in Virginia powered entirely by renewable energy, including solar, biomass, and wind through the Dominion Virginia Green Power Program,” the brewery claims. “We work with local farms to reuse our spent grain as compost and feed, and a number of our beers are brewed in support of organizations dedicated to environmental awareness and protection. For these efforts and more, we were honored to be named Virginia Green Brewery of the Year in 2015.”

The Kernza beer is part of a program with Patagonia Provisions, the food and beverage arm of Patagonia, the outdoor outfitters brand long associated with environmentalism. Other breweries participating in the program include Atlas Brew Works in D.C., Troegs in Pennsylvania, Half Acre in Chicago, and Anderson Valley Brewing in California.

Hardywood plans to continue brewing the Kernza Lager in batches over the course of the year. It’s available at both Hardywood taprooms.

Hardywood Richmond: 2410 Ownby Lane

Hardywood West Creek: 820 Sanctuary Trail Drive

FEATURE IMAGE, TOP: Kernza fields in Salina, Kansas. Image by Amy Kumler.