Buckwheat

MOORMAN Farms

Buckwheat, while not a cereal grain, is a pseudocereal that offers unique flavors and functional properties that can be valuable in both brewing and distilling. Buckwheat is naturally gluten-free, making it a popular grain alternative for brewing beers suitable for people with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity. Buckwheat adds earthy, nutty, and slightly spicy notes and can enhance the complexity in saisons, farmhouse ales, and experimental brews while contributing body and mouthfeel similar to oats or rye. Used in small amounts (5–20%) or as an adjunct it can add flavor without overwhelming the malt profile.

For distilling, it lends an earthy and floral flavor profile with hints of spice and nuttiness and is often lighter and more delicate than rye or corn whiskey. It is known to bring a soft mouthfeel and subtle nutty undertones, especially in less heavily filtered spirits.

Processing Considerations:
- Buckwheat must be carefully milled due to its hard outer hull.
- Buckwheat gelatinization temperature is lower than some cereal grains which can allow for easier mash preparation.
-  Buckwheat lacks its own enzymes for starch conversion and needs to be mashed with malted barley or other enzymatic sources.

Conventional (Non-GMO)

Triple K Farming 

The fermentation process of Black Barley lends itself well to beer making processes and is rising in popularity amongst brewers. It has a deeply satisfying nutty flavor when cooked and can be added to soups, salads, stuffing, pilafs and more. This crop is available for 2025 harvest.

Black Barley

Wilson Organic Farms

Hard Red Winter Wheat is a versatile wheat that has great milling and baking attributes for bread, rolls and croissants and flat breads. It can also be used for some types of noodles, general purpose flour and as an improver for blending.

Hard Red Winter Wheat

Organic

Soft Red Winter Wheat has low protein and weak gluten and is often used in confectionary applications such as cakes, cookies and crackers.

Soft Red Winter Wheat

Middle J Farms

Organic Hard White Wheat has a high protein content and a hard texture, making it well-suited for bread making and other baking purposes. It is often milled into flour, which can then be used to make a variety of baked goods, including bread, rolls, bagels, pastries, and more. Its high protein content and strong gluten formation make it particularly well-suited for producing bread with good structure, volume and texture.

Additionally, organic hard white wheat is used to make other wheat-based products such as pasta, malt, and breakfast cereals. Its versatility and nutritional benefits make it a popular choice among brewers, artisan bakeries, and food manufacturers seeking high-quality, organic ingredients.

Hard White Winter Wheat

Organic Proso Millet, also known as broomcorn millet or white millet, is one of the oldest cultivated grains in the world, with origins dating back thousands of years to regions of Asia and Africa. Proso millet is valued for its nutritional content, adaptability to various climates and soil types and versatility in culinary applications.

Proso millet grains are small, round, and typically creamy-white or pale yellow in color. They have a mild, slightly nutty flavor and a soft texture when cooked. Proso millet is gluten-free, making it suitable for individuals with gluten sensitivities or celiac disease.

Because it is gluten-free, it is often used by breweries and distilleries to produce gluten-free alcohol. Proso millet grains can be cooked and used as a whole grain in dishes such as porridge, pilafs and salads. They can also be ground into flour and used to make flatbreads, pancakes and baked goods.

Proso Millet

Byrd Farms LLC

CEAD Farms 

Organic Hard Red Winter Wheat comes from a dedicated farm in Colorado and is free of chemicals and boasts a higher nutritional yield per wheat berry.

Carter Farms Inc

This Koto Buckwheat was cultivated for malting purposes.

Koto Buckwheat

We are a family farm that is diverse in production, specializing in non-GMO soybean, organic corn and organic edible beans.  We are a 2nd generation farm in eastern North Dakota.  In the last few years we have noticed a strong disconnect between consumer and producer, using this marketplace we hope to close the gap between us.  Join us in our journey of transitioning into a more sustainable farm and bringing our product right to the gardens and fields of our customers! 

Yellow Corn

Cunningham Ranch

Our certified Organic Elbon Rye was cultivated for distilling and malting.

Elbon Rye

Meyer Farms

AC Hazlet Rye has a rich vanilla note, with less of the pepper and spice notes commonly found in rye whiskey or flour.

AC Hazlet Rye

Our Two-Rowed ACC Synergy Malting Barley was cultivated for malting, brewing, milling and distilling.

Synergy Malting Barley

Hieger Farms

Indiana-grown Two-Rowed Puffin Malting Barley using Identity Preserved practices. Released in 1987, Puffin Malting Barley is derived from Maris Otter—a popular two-row winter malting variety grown in the UK and used by brewers worldwide.

Puffin Malting Barley

Identity Preserved

Ruffing Farms

Pines

We plant wheat in the fall with seeds about one inch apart when the air is chilly and the soil is still warm. That induces the plants to grow as nature intends.  After 30 days, the plants grows only one inch of leaf,  but the roots are a foot deep in rich glacial soil.

Dockins Farms

There are 600 acres of Yellow Dent Corn available for forward contracting for the upcoming harvest.

Yellow Dent Corn

Nicholson Farms

Hard Red Winter Wheat is a versatile wheat that has great milling and baking attributes for bread, rolls and croissants and flat breads. It can also be used for some types of noodles, general purpose flour and as an improver for blending. This is a great opportunity to purchase wheat grown organically before certification!

Hard Red Spring Wheat

Transitional

Perennial Promise Growers Cooperative

Kernza® is the first commercially available perennial grain and is a substitute for traditional wheat in foods such as flour, bread, tortillas, crackers, pasta and beer or can be used as a whole grain ingredient.

It’s extensive root system prevents erosion, cleans water, mitigates nitrate leaching, improves soil health, and sequesters more atmospheric carbon than traditional wheat.

Kernza® grain is harvested from intermediate wheatgrass (Thinopyrum intermedium). It’s closely related to annual wheat and has been historically grown as fodder for livestock. The Land Institute, a non-profit research, education and policy organization based in Salina, Kansas, began breeding Kernza for human consumption in 2003.

Kernza’s commercial launch is the result of an unprecedented coalition of land grant universities, farmers, research partners, processors, and CPG companies from 15 states and 10 countries, including leadership from the University of Minnesota’s Forever Green Initiative.

Today the emerging crop is grown on nearly 4,000 acres across the U.S. & Canada and is being sold to sustainability focused brands and consumers.

Characteristics of Kernza

Environmental

• Improves soil’s ability to retain water, prevents runoff, and reduces soil erosion
• May reduces nitrate leaching into groundwater by 95%
• Provides diverse wildlife habitat
• Kernza production reduces greenhouse gas emissions due to reduced tillage and inputs
• Perennial grasslands, like Kernza, sequester 300 - 1,000 pounds of atmospheric carbon per acre per year

Formulation & Flavor

• Flavor: Kernza has a unique sweet & nutty flavor profile.
• High in protein, fiber, potassium, carotenoids, calcium, and antioxidants - especially when compared to wheat
• It performs more like rye in baking applications
• Kernza is most often used as a blended ingredient with Common inclusions rates between 10-50%

Kernza Wheat

68 Farms LLC

Whole oat groats grown on a diversified family farm operation in South Dakota. 

Oats

Davis Farms

Buckwheat for Brewers:

1. Gluten-Free Brewing
Buckwheat is a key ingredient in gluten-free beers, often used in place of barley or wheat.

It can be malted (though more difficult than barley) or used unmalted with enzymatic support.

Applications:

Pale ales, IPAs, stouts, and lagers

Often blended with rice, millet, quinoa, or sorghum

Technical Notes:

Requires added enzymes (amylase) to convert starches into fermentable sugars, since buckwheat lacks sufficient native enzymes.

Mash schedule may need adjustments due to different gelatinization temperatures (buckwheat gelatinizes around 60–70°C / 140–158°F).

2. Flavor Contribution
Adds a nutty, earthy, and sometimes floral flavor to beer

Enhances body and mouthfeel when used as a portion of the grain bill

Roasted buckwheat can contribute toasty, chocolatey, or coffee-like notes (great for porters and stouts)



Buckwheat for Distillers:

1. Buckwheat Whiskey
Similar in process to traditional grain whiskey

Can be 100% buckwheat or blended with other grains

Distilled and aged in barrels like traditional whiskey

Known for a smoother, softer profile with nutty and spicy notes

Examples:

Distillerie des Menhirs (France) produces Eddu, a 100% buckwheat whiskey

2. Buckwheat Shochu (Soba Shochu)
Traditional Japanese distilled spirit made primarily from buckwheat

Typically lower ABV than whisky (~25%)

Smooth and lightly sweet, served hot or cold

3. Neutral Spirits
Buckwheat can be used to produce vodka or other neutral grain spirits

Requires mashing, fermentation, and distillation like other cereal-based vodkas

Maine, United States

Buckwheat

Fieldcraft Direct