You love your hops, but whether you’re a brewer or craft beer aficionado, ask yourself this: When was the last time you thought about the malt in your beer?
Probably never, but it’s time to give malt the respect it deserves. With the number of craft maltsters increasing in this country – there are currently 67 members in the North American Craft Maltsters Guild – malt may finally be getting its day.
That’s something Phil Neumann, CEO and co-founder of Mainstem Malt (with his wife Alyssa Martinez Neumann) in Walla Walla, Wash., has been predicting since 2016. “The focus remains on hops, and breweries aren’t paying enough attention to malt,” he says. “But I believe that’s changing rapidly, and 2021 is the year for craft malt.”
Whether his prediction is accurate remains to be seen, but what is clear is that there are numerous advantages for breweries to choose craft maltsters over what’s often referred to as big malt. Chief among them? Sustainability.
Read the full story here.
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