Malt Spotlight: Malta Mexico 2-Row Base Malt
October 29, 2025
Malta Mexico 2-Row is a 100% Mexican base malt grown in Mexico and produced at the Malteurop Malthouse in Meoqui, Chihuahua, Mexico. Its malty aromas and subtly sweet flavor make it perfectly suited to a true Mexican Lager, but perfectly balanced for nearly any style.
“If you’re making Mexican-style lagers, Malta definitely helps tell the story, especially since it’s grown and malted in Mexico… We definitely like to tell that story.”
– Bradley Zimmerman, Badger Hill Brewing
Malta Mexico 2-Row General Description
Malta Mexico is a unique 2-Row base malt, grown and malted at the Malteurop Malthouse in Meoqui, Chihuahua, Mexico. It is highly modified with an enzyme package that allows it to deliver a high amount of extract suitable for any beer style.
Malta Mexico is produced using the finest two-row barley varieties in Mexico. It is a well-balanced base malt with subtle flavor and color characteristics that allow it to be used in up to 100-percent of your grist.
Just as standard 2-Row delivers on quality and consistency, so does Malta Mexico 2-Row, albeit with nuanced differences in flavor and color.
Flavor and Aroma Contributions
Malta Mexico 2-Row isn’t meant to provide style-defining flavors and aromas. It lends itself to brewing an authentic Mexican Lager, but it is also a versatile base malt that allows you to make whatever beer style you’d like.
It imparts malty aromas and a subtly sweet flavor with hints of a toasty nuttiness.
With its subtle flavor and aroma character, Malta Mexico can be used as the sole malt in lighter beer styles, which allows yeast and hops to shape the direction your beer takes. It can also be used to create a strong base upon which to use specialty malts to shape a more complex malt driven style.
“Malta is a standard 2-row, but it also has a little bit more depth. It has that kind of Grape Nut, a little bit of toasty malt to a little honey kind of sweetness to it.”
– Kevin Beachem, Taproot Brewing Co.
Color and Appearance Considerations
The primary function of Malta Mexico is to give your beers the enzymatic package necessary to create the extract for whatever beer style you desire. Its effect on color is negligible.
Malt Mexico clocks in between 1.8 and 2.5 Lovibond. The resulting color added to the beer is between 2 and 2.4 SRM. At 100-percent of the grist, this would result in a straw to very light golden hue perfect for lighter beer styles or as a building block to take color in any direction.
Primary Usage for Malta Mexico 2-Row
Malta Mexico 2-Row provides the diastatic power needed to break down starches into simpler fermentable sugars. It is a highly modified malt made from the best barley in Mexico.
Delivering on quality and consistency, Malteurop Malta Mexico 2-Row provides the necessary enzymes, protein levels, and FAN levels for a healthy fermentation.
For brewers across North America, Malta’s Mexican origins adds an authentiqueness to any Mexican-style beers. That said, it can be used in any number of beer styles.
Brewers are using Mexico Malta in several lighter beer styles, at or near 100-percent of the grist. There is not so much malt character that it overpowers a lighter beer. It is also subtle enough for other malts, such as Vienna or Kilned C60 to enhance a beer’s malt backbone.
With a minimum diastatic power around 130, Malta has the ability to work with any other base or specialty malts to create whatever beer style you choose. It provides a strong foundation for nearly any style of beer, from pale ales and blondes to the darkest of stouts.
What brewers are saying about Malta Mexico 2-Row Base Malt
With its unique origins, Malta Mexico can take center stage for any brewer wanting to present an authentic Mexican Lager, with all the quality and consistency you require in your brewhouse.
“If you’re making Mexican-style lagers, Malta definitely helps tell the story, especially since it’s grown and malted in Mexico. No one’s ever done that to this date, so it’s fun to get people excited about that process and where things are going,” says Bradley Zimmerman, Head Brewer at Badger Hill Brewing in Shakopee, Minnesota.
“We definitely like to tell that story.”
Brewers also realize that the nuance Malta Mexico 2-Row provides makes it unique from other standard 2-Row base malts. It’s not simply grown and malted in Mexico, Malta’s origins help shape the malt’s characteristics, subtly differentiating it in flavor, aroma, color, and appearance.
Kevin Beachem, head brewer at Taproot Brewing Co. in Middletown, Rhode Island, has used Malta Mexico 2-Row in Taproot’s dark Mexican-style lager, as well as in its American light lager.
“The flavor came out really nice. It was clean, but had a little bit of a kind of toasty nuttiness to it,” Kevin says. “Not so much like an English malt, but it had a nice flavor profile. I think it fits really well with those styles of beer. I think it would be really good in a saison too, actually.”
Whether you are searching for authenticity in Mexican-style brews or something subtly different from a standard 2-Row base malt, Malta Mexico 2-Row adds some unique qualities while providing the efficiency you need to get the extract you want for a wide variety of recipes.
Mexico Malta 2-Row Base Malt Typical Analysis
Premium grains from field to flavor.
About Malteurop Malting Company (MMC)
Malteurop Malting Company (MMC) is based in North America—specializing in growing and producing quality malts for the beer, whiskey, and food processing industries. With local farms and Malthouses spread across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, Malteurop’s commitment to excellence is fully ingrained into every batch it produces, ensuring businesses of any size can create the finest beverages and food products on the planet.
Visit www.malteuropmaltingco.com to learn how we can support your malting needs.
Contact us at customersuccess@malteurop.com or (844) 546-MALT (6258) for questions or to place your order.
Malting is our passion. Quality is our promise.