Colorado company provides local, eco-friendly ingredients for craft drinks
By Melissa Voss
What’s better than a brew made with ingredients grown in your own backyard? For over 100 years, Olander Farms has been bringing locally sourced grains to its local communities. Root Shoot Malting extends the Olander family mission by providing malt to local brewers and distillers, curating a cycle of communal prosperity. As Root Shoot looks to the future, they want to make sure they take care of the land for the generations of farmers that come after.
Local libations, local malts
In addition to farming Colorado’s soils in responsible ways, Root Shoot is helping keep the local craft scene local. Here are a few of the state’s producers that have worked with Root Shoot to produce libations.
Comrade Brewing Co. in Denver
High Hops Brewery in Windsor
Bruz Beers in Denver
Conflagration Distilling in Wheat Ridge
Talnua Distillery in Arvada
State 38 Distilling in Golden
Breckenridge Distillery
Root Shoot evolved from the efforts of Olander Farms in Loveland. However, not everything was smooth sailing for the Olander family. Olander Farms persevered through a century of highs and lows by overcoming the uncontrollable: weather events, market fluctuations, economical impacts on seed and fuel, and so much more. Olander Farms formed Root Shoot with sustainable farming practices in mind to serve the community that has supported their family for generations.
“If we could create an outlet for our own product we would be less dependent on the commodity market for our income, giving us more control over the farm as a business. If we could curate an outlet locally, we could also keep the food coming out of our fields in the community that supports it,” says Todd Olander, founder and farmer at Root Shoot Malting.
As the Front Range picks up speed on industrial and community development, access to water is deemed essential for the longevity of Colorado farms. In late 2022, Olander Farms and Root Shoot Malting partnered with Colorado Open Lands to curate a conservation easement, protecting 112 acres of their land by limiting its use and protecting it from development. Olander says that farms need to do their best to stay ahead of the curve by implementing sustainable and regenerative farming practices.
“In a ‘normal’ year, we get 16 inches of rain,” Olander says, noting that the semi-arid climate doesn’t result in much water. “The Colorado River can no longer sustain the populations that use it. We began diving into sustainable and regenerative farming practices for our fields because healthy soil grows healthier plants. We’re creating healthier soil teeming with microbiology. By doing that we’re reducing the use of water, a precious commodity, as well as reducing the use of chemical inputs. That means less expense for us and more resilient fields that are more likely to produce good crops for our farm. Win-win-win.”
Root Shoot currently works with more than 125 breweries across the nation. He points out that the Colorado brewing community has been supportive of their efforts by sourcing local ingredients from small, hometown businesses like Root Shoot.
“The breweries we work with are keenly aware of their carbon footprints, the agricultural processes behind the products they use, and the impact their businesses have on the local economy,” he says. “Our brewers and distillers are so invested in Colorado that we knew if we offered them a high-quality product grown using highly ethical standards, they would likely support it.”
Lady Justice Brewing in Aurora has partnered with Root Shoot for eight years. Co-founder and owner Betsy Lay says that Root Shoot’s sustainability efforts are leading the way for other malt distributors.
“We’re big fans of Root Shoot and are grateful for all the hard work they are doing to save family farms,” Lay says. “Between an ever-changing climate and living in a state that is constantly developing and building, I’m sure they face many challenges to their mission. They have a high-quality product that I’ve been using since 2016 and Colorado breweries are very lucky to have a local option that’s doing good in the world.”
To ensure trust amongst their brewing partners, Root Shoot believes complete transparency is key. They strive to ensure that their customers are educated on the process of growing and harvesting the malt.
“We show them what we do, how we do it, and we explain why,” Olander says. “We even invite them to come harvest sweet corn from our fields during the summer growing season. We believe that this sort of connection with the grain they are using and the land it comes from is what “grain to glass” really should look like.”
Experiencing the fruit of Root Shoot’s labor became more accessible to everyone with last year’s release of its Bottled-in-Bond American Single Malt Whiskey. Completely grown from their family-led farm team, Root Shoot’s whiskey is malted and distilled within 30 miles of where the grain was grown.
This story is in our January-February print issue. Click here to read the full magazine.
Melissa Voss is a South Dakota native who recently moved to Colorado. She is currently a student at the University of Colorado Denver, following her passion for literature and writing in hopes of going into higher education.