{"id":7692,"date":"2025-05-29T14:42:36","date_gmt":"2025-05-29T18:42:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/riverbendmalt.com\/?p=7692"},"modified":"2025-05-29T14:42:36","modified_gmt":"2025-05-29T18:42:36","slug":"craft-malt-converts-bear-chase-brewing-company","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/riverbendmalt.com\/craft-malt-converts-bear-chase-brewing-company\/","title":{"rendered":"Craft Malt Converts: Bear Chase Brewing Company"},"content":{"rendered":"

We’re back, with another iteration of our Craft Malt Converts series. This one zooms in on our friends at Bear Chase Brewing in Virginia. Meet them and their beers made with Riverbend<\/a> malt below.<\/p>\n

From Farm to Foam in the Heart of Virginia<\/span><\/h2>\n

For Bear Chase Brewing Company, nestled in the rolling, wooded hills west of Loudoun, Virginia, the path to craft brewing started out as just a crazy idea hatched by five close friends in the middle of 2017. Initially, the intention was to turn their historic homestead property into a premier bed and breakfast lodge. That part of the equation came together quickly, but they knew the property had more potential.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, the Bear Chase farm brewery and luxury bed and breakfast sit on 35 gorgeous acres. The brewery has a newly remodeled \u201cBrew Barn\u201d and a hops farm, and plans are underway to plant an orchard of fruit trees soon.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Why the switch to craft malt?<\/span><\/h2>\n

It all started with a chef\u2019s love for local ingredients. We caught up with Bear Chase\u2019s head brewer, Ken Wilson, to talk about sourcing, why Riverbend Malt rose to the top, and how this brewery is creating beers that are unmistakably tied to place.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, it\u2019s always been about location,\u201d says Wilson. \u201cI\u2019ve spent most of my life in Virginia, and long before I brewed beer, I was a chef who believed in sourcing as close to home as possible. That mindset stuck.\u201d While it was easy to find Virginia-grown tomatoes, corn, or Chesapeake seafood for his dishes, sourcing local beer ingredients proved much more challenging. Still, Ken was determined. First came yeast from Sterling-based <\/span>Jasper Yeast Labs<\/span><\/a>. Then, hops from <\/span>Saint Moor Hop Yards<\/span><\/a> in Monroe, who now grow exclusively for Bear Chase. Finally, he met Brent at a brewing convention. \u201cIt took some trial and error,\u201d Wilson says, \u201cbut we landed on something that really works \u2014 both in terms of flavor and quality.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Beer With Terroir<\/span><\/h2>\n

Bear Chase currently brews three flagship beers using Riverbend malt, each with its own story and its own standout grain bill. First is the Appalachian Trail Hefeweizen \u2013 featuring Riverbend wheat and barley, next is the Honey Badger Amber Lager \u2013 brewed with Riverbend\u2019s <\/span>Chesapeake Pilsner malt<\/span><\/a>, and lastly the Meet Virginia Rye Pale Ale \u2013 built on a blend of <\/span>Riverbend rye<\/span><\/a>, barley, and caramel malts. \u201cThese malts don\u2019t just give us flavor \u2014 they give us identity,\u201d Wilson explains. \u201cEach one helps us tell a story of place, of local farming, and of who we are as a brewery.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Bear<\/p>\n

Partnering for the Long Haul<\/span><\/h2>\n

For Bear Chase, Riverbend Malt House is so much more than just a name on the sack\u2014 we\u2019re a partner they’re proud to work with, and vice versa. \u201cBrent is super responsive. Deliveries are quick and seamless. And most importantly, the quality is consistent,\u201d says Wilson.<\/span><\/p>\n

As Wilson and his team continue to expand their lineup of beers made with craft malt, and deepen its roots in Virginia soil, Riverbend is proud to be along for the ride. \u201cWe\u2019ve come a long way from test batches. I\u2019m excited to see where we go next.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Learn more about Bear Chase Brewery and their Virginia pride at <\/span>Bear Chase Brew<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We’re back, with another iteration of our Craft Malt Converts series. This one zooms in on our friends at Bear Chase Brewing in Virginia. Meet them and their beers made with Riverbend<\/a> malt below.<\/p>\n

From Farm to Foam in the Heart of Virginia<\/p>\n

For Bear Chase Brewing Company, nestled in the rolling, wooded hills west of Loudoun, Virginia, the path to craft brewing started out as just a crazy idea hatched by five close friends in the middle of 2017.<\/p>\n

 » Read more about: Craft Malt Converts: Bear Chase Brewing Company  »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7693,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/riverbendmalt.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7692","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/riverbendmalt.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/riverbendmalt.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riverbendmalt.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riverbendmalt.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7692"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/riverbendmalt.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7692\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riverbendmalt.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/riverbendmalt.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riverbendmalt.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riverbendmalt.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}