Sixth-generation Peninsula farmer Kyle Michell brews his beers from barely off of his own land. In 2015, he and his wife Jennifer bought the original horse farm. Michell’s great-grandfather farmed there in the 60’s.
Kyle Michell (left) and Mike Doehnel, grow and malt grains for breweries across Greater Victoria.
“We met Mike and he led us down the rabbit hole,” Kyle said, seated in the former horse barn, renovated into a tasting room. The building on Hovey Road features a tap designated to brew from Moon Under Water, one of the many award-winning Greater Victoria breweries and distilleries that uses their product. Others include Whistle Buoy, Beacon Brewing, Sooke Brewing Company and Devine Distillery.
The malting room was very spacious as it sat next door–a machine of their own design does the heavy lifting. It’s the same process Doehnel did on his shed floor a decade ago, but on a significantly larger scale, and fully automated.
Kyle began experimenting with grains back in 2018. The machine is custom-made by the Field Five team and Jennifer’s family at another long standing Peninsula business, Titan Boats. Kyle calls the creation one of a kind in Canada. The large drum incorporates the malting process from steeping and germinating to kiln drying with a panel providing digital access to control all elements of the process.
The unique malting drum at Field Five Farm which grows and malt grains for several south island breweries. (captured by: Christine van Reeuwyk)
By 2020 when they received their approval, they’ve now malted more than 100 tonnes of grain, equivalent to 4,000 litres of beer. There’s room right beside their invention for a second machine as the company grows.
Thousands of acres of oats were grown in the past on the Saanich Peninsula but has since moved on to Alberta grains as it was cheaper. .
The machine makes Field Five unique, but Phillips Brewing and Malting has also upped its intake of Vancouver Island barley. The company launched its malting plant in 2015 allowing for more work with local farmers, better control and a little creativity in recipes. That creativity allows Kyle to grow outside the barns and in fields across the community.