Patagonia just released a beer that’s different from any other brew you can buy
Patagonia’s latest product isn’t a winter coat or pair of boots, but its first-ever line of beer.
Unlike standard brews, the new beer is the first to be made with Kernza, a breed of wheat that’s perennial, meaning it grows back season after season.
Long Root Ale launched on Oct 3, and is produced by Patagonia Provisions, the sustainable food offshoot of Patagonia, in partnership with the Kansas-based nonprofit The Land Institute, which developed the Kernza grain.
Kernza is still relatively new — researchers at The Land Institute began breeding it from a species of perennial wheat grass in 2003. Farmers are still experimenting with it, but have thus far found that Kernza crops require only half as much water as wheat due to their long roots. The plant also thrives without tilling, which helps prevent soil erosion (the wearing away of topsoil by wind and water after farming). And since Kernza crops don’t die after harvest, they can grow — and capture carbon — year-round, eliminating the need to start over every season. …