The Rye Resurgence Project will make its debut this week at the annual Great American Beer Festival in Denver.

It’s a project spearheaded in part by Heather Dutton of the SLV Water Conservancy District, and its focus is to bring attention and market the rye grown in the San Luis Valley as both a smart, less water-intensive crop to rotate into agricultural fields as well as a perfect grain for malting and the making of rye beers.

It’s something that Alamosa’s Jason Cody and his family’s Colorado Malting Company and The Colorado Farm Brewery (TCFB) know a little something about. The Rye Resurgence Project will show off rye beers and make the case for the Valley’s high-alpine rye at this weekend’s Great American Beer Festival in Denver.

“By purchasing San Luis Valley ‘Resurgence Rye’ and our partners’ rye products, you’re giving our agricultural producers better options in this changing climate,” said Dutton, a founder of the project and manager of the San Luis Valley Water Conservancy District.

“It’s up to us as consumers, as local businesses, and as a state to help farmers keep farming all while saving the San Luis Valley aquifers, our community, and our Colorado way of life.”

A naturally resilient and hearty winter cover crop, rye improves soil health and holds topsoil, reducing erosion and the intensity of annual dust storms that have plagued the San Luis Valley in recent years, according to The Rye Resurgence Project. 

Farmers who grow rye also point out the crop only uses about half of the water required for other grains and crops, giving farmers an option for major water savings in an area where local aquifers have plummeted to their lowest level in history.

This is why Rye Resurgence partners like the Cody family ‒ owners of the Colorado Malting Company and The Colorado Farm Brewery in Alamosa ‒ see such great potential for the project’s long-term impact for their community. They  chose to brew three specialty rye beers for this year’s Great American Beer Festival.

“We’re all in on the Rye Resurgence Project,” Jason Cody said. “The beers we made with this rye showcase the terroir from our region and represent a much-needed change in the vision for water and agricultural markets.”

The rye beers entered at GABF include a Chocolate Rye Farm Porter, brewed with an original malt known as “Chocolate Rye” from the Colorado Malting Company; a Resurgence RyePA; and a crushable, low-carb, low-calorie light ale called RyeSky. The Colorado Farm Brewery also brewed a special collab Chocolate Rye Farm Porter with the Denver brewery Our Mutual Friend, which will be on tap and featured at OMF during the festival next week.

“We’re really excited to be part of the Rye Resurgence Project along with our long time friends and partners in brewing at the Colorado Malting Company,” said Jan Chodkowski, head brewer at OMF. “Our rye beer was brewed with 100 percent Colorado Malting Company malt, hops from the Colorado Hop Company, and coffee from Erich’s Coffee roasted in Fort Collins. Our Mutual Friend puts huge value in using local and sustainable ingredients and we can’t wait for everyone to try this collaboration beer.”

“We hope you enjoy the beers,” Cody added, “and as you sip them, realize you’re making a difference for the lifeblood and backbone of our state, our nation, and family farms.”More information about the Rye Resurgence Project, the rye beers featured at GABF, and Our Mutual Friend Brewing can be found at ryeresurgenceproject.com.