Some of our awesome experimental Gemcraft barley coming along nicely!

Another Bighorn Barley Tour is in the books after touring our fields with some of our growers, seeing our grain elevator and lab, as well as taking a thorough tour of the irrigation in this section of Wyoming. This Bighorn Basin near Cody, Wyoming, has some of the most pristine growing areas in North America and we are proud to work with over 250 growers out there and in southern Montana.

Our merry band of barley fans after dinner at WYold West Brewing Company
The Buffalo Bill Dam. At 325 feet it was the largest dam in the US until the Hoover Dam was constructed
The author next to the concrete filled wooden ball plug used to stop water flow out of the dam — just like the drain plug you use in a bathtub!
Top side of the Buffalo Bill Dam. It was as full as I’ve ever seen and you can see all the drift wood stacked up.
3rd generation grower Dennis Reed showing our attendees some of his Merit 57 barley.
Setting flood irrigation siphon tubes with grower Josh Christoferson.
On the lab tour we were able to look at different barley varieties, different grading, and some typical flaws.

Our tours started out with visiting a few of our growers’ fields to get up close and personal with some Merit-57 and Synergy barley. The > 250 barley growers that Briess works with are super passionate about what they do and the WY and Southern Montana area is very unique for growing barley. Being a high desert region at 4,000 to over 5,000 feet gives very warm days and cool nights — something barley truly thrives in. This was a great learning experience for all of our attendees and looking forward to another tour out there next July pre-harvest!