New Jersey Monthly: Malt - The Missing Link
“Jersey hops and yeast have been available for awhile, and water is no problem. But barley is negligible here. Brewers can buy malted barley elsewhere, but like grapes in wine, malt in beer is thought to exhibit terroir, often defined as “the taste of place” imparted by the soil.
Enter Hillary Bakker Barile of Rabbit Hill Farm. In 2015, she and her family decided to devote a small part of their potato and sod farm to growing barley for malt. They chose the age-old, laborious method of floor malting. A mass of seeds is soaked and drained, laid out on a barn floor, and repeatedly raked to evenly distribute the heat as the seeds begin to sprout. The barley is then kiln dried. The process turns starches into sugars that yeast will later convert to alcohol.”