Craft breweries are embracing the growing number of small, local craft malting companies in the United States, and many of them will attest to the improved quality of their beers when they brew with those malts. Here are six beers brewed with malt from craft maltsters.
Space Waves
Brewed by Jester King Brewery and Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales using wheat from Blacklands Malt
This year Jester King and Jolly Pumpkin created Space Waves, a farmhouse ale brewed with wheat grown and malted by Blacklands Malt in Leander, Texas, as well as lime salt. It was blended with Jester King’s Montmorency vs. Balafon, a barrel-aged sour beer re-fermented with Michigan cherries. Blacklands Malt was the first-ever micro-maltster in Texas, and Jester King is a regular customer of the small malthouse.
The Hollander
Brewed by New Holland Brewery using malt from Pilot Malt House
This past spring, New Holland Brewing released The Hollander in collaboration with Michigan’s Tulip Time Festival. In 2015 when this beer was first announced, the brewery revealed that by 2016, all specialty beers brewed at its Pub on 8th location would be brewed exclusively with Michigan-grown ingredients, including malted barley, wheat, hops, fruit, and yeast. The Hollander features a yeast strain from the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula in the U.P., all Michigan-grown hops, Michigan-grown malted barley from Pilot Malt House (Byron Center, Michigan), and pure Lake Michigan water.
Hoponious Union
Brewed by Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers using spelt from Valley Malt
Jack’s Abby in Framingham, Massachusetts, uses spelt malts from Valley Malt (Hadley, Massachusetts) in its Hoponious Union, an India Pale Lager. Valley Malt provides unique malts that come from local growers, some of which are gluten-free, heirloom, or smoked with native woods. Each batch is roasted fresh to the brewer’s order. This IPL is brewed with American hops that yield its tropical and citrus-forward notes.
Atma
Brewed by TRVE Brewing Company using malts from Troubadour Maltings
The popular Belgian Golden Strong Ale, Atma, by TRVE Brewing in Denver, is crafted with malted barley from Fort Collins’s Troubadour Maltings. So is Wanderlust, TRVE’s Belgo-American Pale Ale. “We’re also moving all of our clean beer toward using as close to 100 percent Troubadour malt as we can,” says TRVE’s Proprietor Nick Nunns about their non-soured beer offerings.
Arugula Rye Saison
Brewed by Scratch Brewing Company using 6-Row Pilsner malt from Riverbend Malt House
This unexpected beer from Ava, Illinois’s Scratch Brewing is peppery and fresh on the nose like arugula, and well balanced with the earthiness and spiciness of rye. It has a rustic grassy finish from the addition of 6-Row Pilsner malt sourced from Riverbed Malt House in Asheville, North Carolina. Much like the rest of Scratch’s beers, Arugula Rye Saison’s farm-fresh ingredients add subtle flavor without overpowering the beer.
Kristina’s Challenge
Brewed by Eckert Malting & Brewing using malted California rice from Eckert Malting & Brewing
This rice beer was created out of Jim Eckert’s desire to craft a beer that his wife could enjoy, despite her gluten allergy. The hops-forward “Kristina’s Challenge” includes rice malted at the facility in Chico, California. This beer, as well as six other gluten-free beers by Eckert, is available locally in 12-ounce bottles.