“Community engagement is really important, and it’s given me the opportunity to meet some great people. I don’t think that there’s an industry more welcoming and more joyful than beer.” – Jen Zimmerman, Midwest Craft Sales Manager

 

By: Living a Stout Life

 

About Malteurop Malting Company (MMC)

We are a collective of craftsmen devoted to making exceptional malt. We are innovators, designers, scientists, farmers, brewers, distillers, and artists. We are your link from farm to beer, and we want you to know us as a vital part of the craft beer and distilling community. 

Meet Jen Zimmerman

Growing up in Indiana, now calling Minnesota home, Jen Zimmerman, Malteurop’s Midwest Craft Sales Manager, is a Midwest girl through and through. 

 

Her love of travel and beer are a perfect match for the eight midwest states she covers: Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio.

 

Beginning her career at Malteurop in March of 2024, Jen is here for all of it.

 

“I’m Jen. I’m whatever you need me to be. I’m here for it. My strengths all lie in building relationships. So I’m here for all of it.”

 

Jen, we’re happy you’re here!

 

What is your educational background? 

But where did Jen get this all-in attitude? And her relationship building strength?

 

You might say it came from beer. 

 

“I fell in love with beer really early on. And the fact that I get to do it for a living is still fun after 18 years.”

 

The story goes something like this: Girl meets boy. Boy works at a liquor store. Girl has a car. Boy does not. Girl drives boy to work. Boy brings home cool new beer to try. Girl tastes cool new beer. Girl meets beer and dumps boy.

 

Okay, maybe the ending didn’t quite happen like that, but Jen’s love for beer began.

 

“Samuel Smith’s Oatmeal Stout is the beer that changed my life. I found Chimay and Newcastle and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. I’d be the girl at the party with the six pack that everyone was curious about.”

 

Jen started paying attention to all things beer. With friends working at Bloomington Brewing Company and Upland Brewing in her hometown of Bloomington, Indiana, she latched on to learning everything she could about beer.

 

But she never saw herself working in the industry. 

 

Instead, she graduated college with a major in geology and a minor in bioanthropology. Her response as to how that has anything to do with beer is classic.

“There are three things that geologists and brewers have in common: beards, flannels, and beer.”

 

And Jen!

 

How did you decide to be a sales representative for a malting company?

While Jen’s career as a geologist was short-lived, and her bubbling personality matched sales better than brewing, her love of beer has never waivered.

 

Working in the restaurant business since she was 14, transitioning into liquor sales as she got older, Jen came to understand that she loved creating relationships.

 

“I worked at a liquor store, so I could do all the sampling, but also so I could talk to people. I would talk to all the reps. And so I realized that is the job I want.”

 

And that is the job she got. Jen moved to Chicago and started selling restaurant equipment as an inside salesperson. Happy building relationships with her clients, the position had nothing to do with her first love, beer. So she moved on and became the first woman to work at Cavalier Distributing out of Indiana.

 

“They called me Chicky. And I had the entire southern third of the state of Indiana as my territory.”

 

And she thrived! 

 

Jen focused on building relationships, which in turn, sold beer. Transitioning from a three-year stretch as a regional salesperson to a sales manager for the next three years, Jen worked hard to get women into the industry and into Indiana’s craft beer scene.

 

Jen’s initial love of beer bloomed quickly into a career. From Cavalier, Jen moved on to work for Founders Brewing Company, covering Indiana and Illinois for four and a half years. 

 

And then…Girl meets boy. Boy meets girl. And the two get married.

 

Meeting her husband was no coincidence. He is a brewer, after all, so they both ran in the same circles. And that circle at the time was calling them to Seattle.

 

While her husband brewed, Jen continued her career as a sales director for a brewery in Tacoma, but the Midwest soon called them back home. Now in Minnesota since 2018, Jen has worked for several breweries across the country and throughout the Midwest along with a boutique malting company. So when a friend mentioned a position was opening up for a Craft Sales Manager at Malteurop, it was a given that Jen would apply.

 

“I was pretty confident that it would be a good fit.”

What are some of your career accomplishments?

And a good fit it was.

 

“I’ve been able to re-sign almost every single customer for 2025 and bring on new customers.”

 

But that’s just the beginning of Jen’s accomplishments.

 

Being a part of MMC, Jen wants her clients to know that she is involved in beer as much as they are. So much so, that she has joined all eight craft brewers guilds in the Midwest states she covers. 

 

She is also a member of the Artisan Grains Collaboration Group and helps to ensure that breweries are craft malt certified. She’s passionate about agriculture, as well, and holds memberships to several agricultural groups. Not only does this ensure that Jen has the most up-to-date knowledge on beer and malts, but her customers do, too.

 

“I think [agriculture] is really important for the growth of the business and for the growth of our country.”

 

For Jen, though, her biggest accomplishment is her work in getting women more involved in the industry. Not only that, but also playing a role in helping women feel more comfortable and ensuring that they belong in the industry as much as men do.

 

“I’ve been a woman in the industry for 18 years, and I’ve been able to do a lot of uplifting of women in this industry during that time. I always want to be sure that everyone feels comfortable, whomever you may be. People in the LGBTQ+ community are also starting to feel more comfortable in this community, and I want to keep it moving that way. I want to make sure that all people feel loved and welcomed and accepted.”

 

Why does a brewer need a malting sales representative and how do you work with the brewers to give them what they need? 

And that acceptance goes for Jen’s customers, as well. After all, a sales representative is more of a relationship builder than anything. Or as Jen said previously, “I’m whatever you need me to be.”

 

Jen is also not afraid of asking a lot of questions to get to the heart of what brewers need from her and MMC. She pays attention to the answers and is well aware of what’s happening in the Midwest and the ever-fluctuating trends in the brewing industry.

 

She is not one to shy away from conversations surrounding the agricultural portion of the brewing industry, either. Jen will tell you how it is when it comes to crop health, environmental concerns, crop yields, and anything else you, as a brewer, need to know. Malts are what craft your recipes, and Jen will make sure you have both the malts and the information you need to brew your best beers.

 

Jen also recognizes that it takes a team of experts to make quality malts for brewing quality beers.

 

“We have such a cool group of people [at MMC] because everybody’s so diverse. Some people come from a brewing background. Some people come from a science background. Some people come from a sales background. But everybody’s bringing their perspectives to the table. We have so much intelligence and so much experience on our team. This job is logistics. This job is agriculture. This job is quality assurance. It’s a collaborative effort.”

 

Where do you see the future of malting heading?

That collaboration is what’s going to keep malting heading strong into the future.

 

“I think what we’re doing is going to stand the test of time. I don’t think people are going to stop crafting, and I don’t think people are going to stop being in love with the craft itself. But it’s definitely moving in an interesting direction right now.”

 

Brewers are paying more attention to agriculture and to the impact it has on their ingredients. MMC has been focused on that for decades and continues to do so with new facilities like the Mexico malt plant and increased malt and barley trials working in conjunction with Montana University.

 

“We have to become more focused on agriculture because brewers are focusing more on really specific pieces of the practice. They are paying far more attention to ingredients and where they’re coming from. I think brewers are going to continue to refine styles and force the market to create better beer.”

 

What’s your favorite style of beer and why?

Speaking of better beer, we had to find out what beer Jen prefers. Her answer was no surprise.

 

“Usually, my default answer is the one in my hand because everything is situational.”

 

We understand, but we had to know more.

 

Jen goes on to explain, “At the end of the day, I still tend towards hops. A West Coast IPA or if there’s a pale ale on the menu at any brewery, I order it because I think that it’s the most telling style of beer. I like beer flavored beer.”

 

But she doesn’t stop there. Jen’s love of travel isn’t complete without beer. “I love drinking beer in other countries. I find it to be so revealing.”

 

What beer is in your fridge currently?

Let’s also reveal what beer is in Jen’s refrigerator currently, shall we?

 

“We were just in Green Bay, and we went up to Door County, so there’s some Door County beers in there. But always Hamm’s. Hamm’s is my yellow of choice. I usually have customer’s beers. There’s usually some Sierra Nevada in there. Celebration is my favorite season. I love fresh hop season. My husband’s beer is usually in there because he brings home beer. Oh, yeah.”

 

Not too shabby, Jen!

 

There are people behind the product, not just the product, so what three words or phrases define you, Jen, outside of work?

Jen was quick to answer about her styles of beer, but she was even quicker with her response to what helps define her outside of work.

 

“Travel. Explore. My dog.” Her laughter and joy were what made this answer even more genuine.

 

“My husband and I, we don’t have kids. We have a very spoiled-rotten German wire-haired pointer. His name is Bulleit, spelled like the bourbon. He is the shining star. We do a lot of hiking and traveling and exploring. We love to go to a new place and try a new beer or go hike a new trail or go to a new city and walk around, eat on a patio somewhere.” 

 

Her love of travel and adventure came from her mom, who often loaded up the car with Jen and her two siblings and took off for a camping adventure, exploring new places and creating joy in the simplicity of a road trip.

 

Combine those adventures with a trip to Mexico when Jen was 15, and the bug bit hard!

 

Jen now travels for a living and for enjoyment. Drinking beer, meeting people, and exploring all along the way.

 

Nice job, Jen, in finding the right career!

 

Jen agrees. “Community engagement is really important, and it’s given me the opportunity to meet some great people. I don’t think that there’s an industry more welcoming and more joyful than beer.”

 

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.