USA, VA: Virginia state grant makes possible launch of malting facility and craft distillery in Petersburg

With help from a state grant, a malting facility and craft distillery will open in Petersburg and use large quantities of Virginia-grown feedstock in making alcohol, officials announced on March 4.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Petersburg Mayor W. Howard Myers joined the owners of Big Trouble Malting and Spirits at an event in Petersburg to make the announcement.

“The demand for malted barley is huge, and the market is vastly underdeveloped,” said Tony Kvasnicka, co-owner of Big Trouble. “Our goal is to support Virginia craft brewers and create an operation where growers can confidently raise barley and other alternative crops for the craft beer industry.”

McAuliffe approved a $50,000 grant from the Governor’s Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development Fund to assist the City of Petersburg with the project. Big Trouble has agreed to buy more than 40,000 bushels of barley, wheat, rye and fruit from local producers.

“Big Trouble brings together multiple aspects of economic development – agriculture, entrepreneurship, manufacturing, tourism, and community revitalization – in one operation and is another excellent example of leveraging some of the commonwealth’s greatest assets to build a new Virginia economy,” McAuliffe said in a press release.

State Sen. Rosalyn Dance, D-Petersburg also spoke at the event. She said that agriculture is Virginia’s largest private industry and that the state should support it.

“I am also pleased with the company’s commitment to our region’s farm families,” Dance said. “Thanks to this announcement, we have another business utilizing Virginia-grown products and providing more opportunities for our farmers for years to come.”

Barley farmers could use the help. Casey Engle, chief information officer of Engle Family Farms in Henrico, said his operation has decreased production of barley over the past few years because of low prices.

“It sells for about half the price of production,” Engle said.

He said he would welcome the opportunity to sell barley to brewing or malting operations – something his farm has not done before. Engle said he has been talking with a malting facility in North Carolina that was offering significantly more for barley than previous buyers.

Elaine Lidholm, the director of communications for the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, said the barley used in alcohol production is different from barley used for feed or other uses. She said grain purchases by Big Trouble would benefit the state’s farmers.

“We’re interested in helping farmers diversify, and that’s what a project like this does,” Lidholm said.

When the craft brewery scene emerged a few years ago, Lidholm said, many brewers had to import most of their grain from out of state. Now, more of those resources are being grown in Virginia, she said.

At the announcement in Petersburg, Todd Haymore, Virginia’s secretary of agriculture and forestry, said the growing production of alcoholic beverages in the commonwealth has been a focal point for the McAuliffe administration.

“With more than 260 wineries and cideries, 100 craft breweries and 20 craft distilleries, Virginia is quickly emerging as a significant craft beverage player on the East Coast,” Haymore said. “In addition to jobs created, investments made and tourism generated by craft beverage makers, they are providing new production and revenue streams for local producers.”

Big Trouble plans to invest about $1 million and create nine jobs as part of its operation in downtown Petersburg.

06 March, 2015