For the past couple years, brewers and drinkers have received increased exposure to American beer’s agriculture side. That’s thanks in part to craft maltsters, who are working to connect the dots between barley growers and craft brewers across the country. Chris Schooley of Troubadour Maltings in Fort Collins, Colorado has helped lead the SOWN Beer Project, which has seen the independent maltster partner with local breweries. Mecca Grade Estate Malt has reinvented floor malting for its own estate-grown barley. Nile Zacherele of Mad Fritz Brewing Co., as well as other industry figures, have partnered with farmers to floor malt their own grain—and to help their beer express an elusive, unique terroir. Many of these recent developments have roots in traditional brewing at places like Brasserie Dupont; now, folks like Wheatland Spring Farm + Brewery, Scratch Brewing, and Black Narrows Brewing Company are leading their own experiments.
In short: the agriculture of beer, far beyond hops, is driving the imaginations of so many people in the value chain right now.
But to be successful, these moves have to capture the imaginations and palates of drinkers as well. So this week, we asked The Fervent Few: where do they find inspiration and differentiation when it comes to the grist of a beer? Is it flavor? Process? Branding? When talking about differences in malt, what moves people to pay a little extra and enjoy something a little more deeply? Our unique community of professionals and fans wasn't short on perspective.
Malt wasn’t always the hot topic it is today. Although it’s an essential ingredient, it can be the forgotten stepchild of a beer recipe. For Dave McLean of Admiral Maltings (and formerly of Magnolia Brewing Co.), malt came into the picture when he started thinking about the local origins of his ingredients. “It was the happy accident of deciding to make Magnolia as much about its food as its beer that tied it all together for me. By focusing on local sourcing and sustainability in the kitchen, it became slightly maddening as a brewer-turned-restaurant-operator to not have access to similar sourcing choices in the brewery.”
For Rob Steuart, caring about malt should be obvious—especially if drinking local is important to you. “We go on so much about being hyper-local in brewing, but then a producer might be using hops from Australia, malt from Germany, and yeast cultured in the U.S. If producers can source more and more of their ingredients locally, it really enforces the ‘drink local’ ethos.”
For others like David Purgason of Fruition Brewing, malts are a form of differentiation, which is especially important as more and more breweries open. “Why even brew in the first place if we’re all ordering from the same catalogue of commodity grain, and using the same five trademarked hops, and two or three strains of yeast? I want to make truly unique beer, as long as it is delicious, with local ingredients that don’t compound my carbon footprint. For us at Fruition, in a community largely surrounded by agriculture, it just makes sense to use local grains, especially when they’re quality like Admiral Maltings. Before Admiral, we could source California-grown barley, but it was malted out of state and then shipped back, which is a head-scratcher for sustainability.”
There’s a balance between modern technique and tradition that most members were keen to point out. “I feel there’s a lot of romance with techniques like floor malting, but ultimately they are counterproductive, and don’t invest in modern technologies for better results and more consistent conversion within the grain,” Matthew Curtis says. He does note there are exceptions. “Admiral was different though, as they have this crazy, high-tech glycol temperature-controlled floor, for supreme consistency.”
It’s fun to talk about the future of malt, and there are plenty of experts keeping a close eye on how the industry develops. Eric Larkin has been following along with Colorado State University’s research efforts intently. “One specific grain called Antero is a white wheat that was developed at Colorado State University to be grown in Colorado for bread production, but the protein content was not right for bread and it turned into a great malted product for beer. I believe this grain does have a unique flavor, and I can smell/taste a difference from the mash through the final product.”
In research communities, he says, the future of malt is bright. “I attended a malt symposium put on by the ASBC [American Society of Brewing Chemists] last summer that had a lot of folks who had either done post-grad research specifically on barley and malting, as well as some prominent sensory science industry participants. There was definitely a feeling that malt can become the new hops in the sense of being the ingredient that brewers look to for creating varied and distinct flavors. A number of presentations were geared towards deciding which factor created the strongest level of variance. A number of the presentations definitely tried to draw a line specifically to barley varietal, or where that barley was grown.”
A conversation about malt is incomplete without the folks who grow our grain. Siege drops some facts: “Farmers are ... approaching an average age of 60. Our farmers are going to cease to exist, through both a mixture of hardship, low return, and low future generational interest. There is a hope that growing brewing barley, and getting farmers back in connection with a product they can see tangible results from, will spark new interest, and that brewing is sexier than traditional logistical feed farming. If we can put more money in their pockets and keep them operating in the black, it's worth it.”
Josh Chapman also reminds us that to really drink local, you have to consider every member of the supply chain. “Craft beer has been so focused on supporting local for so long that at this point I often find myself sickened that it's the farmers that are so often forgotten.”
Local malts are clearly important—and the future of malt is directly tied to the future of agriculture—but the burning question is: do they matter when it comes to taste? Not everyone agrees. “I’m not entirely sure that the beer is obviously different,” says Tiffany Waldron, who is admittedly not a brewer. But the worth of artisanal malts might go beyond flavor. “I believe that the innovation and creative thinking coming out of craft and micro maltsters is going to change the way beer and brewing move forward. Looking at products like Teri Fahrendorf’s acidulated malt from Great Western Malting … have you tasted it? It even makes me want to play around with brewing just to see what it can do.”
For Tim Decker, it all depends on which style of beer you’re trying to brew. “Brewers focusing on grain-forward styles where yeast and hop character play secondary and tertiary roles are obviously the best option for tasting differences in malt. English Ales and German Lagers come to mind.”
For others like Matt Paonessa, malt is the opportunity craft beer can utilize to differentiate itself. “I think that popular beer styles are definitely moving away from having expressive malts, but there's still plenty of room for boutique maltsters in craft beer. Especially if craft Lager's popularity continues to grow. For me, that bready, grainy, cereal backbone provided by high-quality malt is an absolute necessity in Lagers, Wheat Beers, and sour styles.”
Although we might care about why malt is important, none of it matters if the final product doesn’t taste good, according to Brad Redick. “I love the idea of a local malster or micro malster trying to spread the notion of a forgotten grain … and while I'd like to think I'd go out to support that beer, if it's a place that’s still trying to find their footing while delivering flawed beer to their customers, I'm probably gonna pass.”
What really makes a difference? Education. Which is a hurdle that Lana Svitankova articulates: “A lot of people just grab a beer and drink it, without noticing subtle nuances. I'd say the best way to deliver the most is to brew beer in pairs. One with special malt and another without it, in order to make the difference clear.”
John Branding of Wheatland Spring Farm + Brewery spoke of his own experiences opening a brewhouse with land to grow grain. “Can we taste a difference in the beer because of our farm and regional grain inputs? We think so. For beers with familiar grist, domesticated yeast, and typical hop use these days, the difference is most pronounced in the freshness and clear grain expression … Do people care? In our experience, yes. But making that connection with folks takes some effort.”
Have you had any groundbreaking malt experiences? Join The Fervent Few and lend your voice to the conversation, and support the content you love from Good Beer Hunting.
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