Nutrien and 9 Mile Legacy Brewing Co. brew up (what we believe is) the first-ever potash-flavored beer
Published: May 01, 2024
Imagine flavoring beer with potash. Sounds unusual, right? Yet, potash’s minerality compliments light, limey lagers perfectly, and attendees at the recent annual Saskatchewan Mining Association (SMA) Supply Chain Forum were able to taste (what we believe) is the first-ever potash-flavored beer.
Made in collaboration with 9 Mile Legacy Brewery based in Saskatoon, the inventive beer combined Saskatchewan barley grown and malted in the province with food-grade potash sourced from Nutrien’s Cory potash mine.
“Potash salt is used in beer quite a bit as a yeast nutrient or to modify water chemistry, but this might be the first time it’s used as a flavoring adjunct,” says Shawn Moen, and Co-Founder, 9 Mile Legacy Brewing Co. “We get excited about collaborations where both parties are contributing knowledge and where we can learn from one another, and it’s been fun to work with Nutrien to breathe life into what this concept should be.”
The launch of the beer was targeted specifically for the SMA Supply Chain Forum, to provide local suppliers – whose ingenuity, resourcefulness, and integrity are key to Nutrien’s business – the exclusive opportunity to try this innovative product first-hand.
Nutrien has been involved since the inception of both the SMA Supply Chain Forum and Indigenous Mining Supply Chain Gathering. These annual events are a great opportunity for Nutrien’s procurement, operations, maintenance and projects teams to connect with its suppliers, strengthen relationships and learn about what’s happening across the mining sector. With between 70 to 80 percent of Nutrien’s potash business unit spend being with local Saskatchewan suppliers, and a target of at least 25 percent of its local spend to have an impact within the Indigenous communities by 2025 (which has already been exceeded), Nutrien relies on its suppliers to partner and collaborate with its teams to safely produce the potash that feeds the world.
“We thought this beer could be a fun way to showcase a new way to use such an important crop nutrient besides a key component in fertilizer,” says Josh Dodd, Director, Procurement, Potash. “For 9 Mile Legacy to get creative and find a delicious way to bring potash into a beer and for us to be able to share it exclusively at the SMA Supply Chain Forum, with the suppliers and Nutrien teams who were integral in our ability to produce it was very exciting.”
"These are always great projects to be part of,” says Garrett Pedersen, COO and Head Brewer, 9 Mile Legacy Brewing Co. “When I’m brewing with new and interesting ingredients, I end up going down a rabbit hole determining whether something is safe to consume, the possibility of creating it from a brewing perspective, and if it will present well in the glass. Innovation has always been a massive part of 9 Mile Legacy Brewing and these types of projects make it feel like day one in the brewery all over again.”
From field to glass, the collaboration between 9 Mile Brewing Co and Nutrien proudly completes its journey within Saskatchewan, supporting the local economy, suppliers and community while celebrating the rich agricultural heritage in the province. Stay tuned for more updates.