Good ingredients always come first in everything we do, and we try to use local when possible. Crafting our own beer was no exception. We started with a list, everything under the sun from basil to honey, coconut to mango. For more interesting seasonal brews, sure, but what about something basic that could form the backbone of the ale? And then Michael had a light bulb. Why not use rice? We had long known about Florida’s only locally-grown and milled brown rice – “Sem-Chi” or Seminole Chief out of Palm Beach County. Homestead farmer Margie Pikarsky first turned us on to it, a rotation crop sewn by Florida Crystals to replenish the depleted soil of its cane fields after harvest. Florida Crystals operates the only mill in the state. It was a perfect match, and Back Forty was up to the challenge of brewing with rice for the first time. A sem-chi rice patty in Belle Glade, Palm Beach County.
