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A New Perennial Favorite: Making Whiskey with Kernza

There are costs and challenges—and it’s not all that easy to find—but a growing handful of distillers are excited about the potential of Kernza, a perennial grain domesticated for its environmental benefits.

Courtney Iseman Jan 2, 2024 - 14 min read

A New Perennial Favorite: Making Whiskey with Kernza Primary Image

Courtesy Sustain-A-Grain

Whiskey isn’t whiskey without grain, but what does the future of grain agriculture—and, therefore, whiskey production—look like in the face of climate change? Are there paths forward to make growing grains for spirits more sustainable, responsible, and efficient?

Those are the kinds of questions that The Land Institute, a nonprofit research group based in Salina, Kansas, is answering with a perennial grain called Kernza. Already, a handful of North American distillers are seizing the opportunity to see what Kernza can bring to their whiskeys and to their own sustainability measures.

What Is Kernza?

Founded by Wes and Dana Jackson in 1976, The Land Institute’s mission is to develop more natural, sustainable agriculture by domesticating perennial crops. While most grains can grow for only one season until harvest, perennials can be productive for years. That’s the case with Kernza, an intermediate wheatgrass that The Land Institute developed to have higher yields than other perennials.

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Courtney Iseman is a freelancer writer focused on the craft-beverage space, based in Brooklyn, New York.

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