Craft malt became a bigger deal this year—and not just in the U.S. Supporting Brazil’s burgeoning beer scene is the country’s first craft malt producer, Malteria Blumenau, which owner Rodolfo Rebelo originally launched in 2015. After a difficult but ultimately successful 2020, Rebelo embarked on a three-step expansion plan in early 2021, investing in new equipment that brought Malteria Blumenau’s monthly production from 13.2 tons to just under 40 tons of malt per month by August. Last month he started working on the second stage of the plan that will ultimately raise production to 110 tons of malt each month by the end of 2022.
That’s maybe not a lot compared to the country’s biggest producers, like Agrária Malte, which makes over 400,000 tons annually, or the Brazilian branch of the global conglomerate Soufflet, which turns out around 120,000 tons each year. But even at 1,320 tons, Brazil’s third-largest malthouse has already had a significant impact on the local brewing scene, creating Brazil’s first Pale Ale malt and wheat malt, as well as the Pilsner, caramel, and dark malts that are now used by more than 170 breweries; in addition, some 30 homebrew shops stock Malteria Blumenau’s products. For Rebelo, great grain is important no matter how big you are. “Our focus is special malts,” he says. “Some clients buy 50 kilograms. Some buy five tons.”
Words,Evan Rail