About Malteurop Malting Company (MMC)

We are a collective of craftsmen devoted to making exceptional malt. We are innovators, designers, scientists, farmers, brewers 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 community.

 

Our business is craft. Our craft is malt. Our malt is your business.

 

Meet Christopher Seitz

Like most of the sales team at Malteurop, Christopher never envisioned himself in a sales role. He still doesn’t see himself that way. As Senior Key Accounts Manager, working with breweries producing 100,000 barrels of beer per year or more, he more readily describes what he does as “customer fire putter outer.”

 

He worked on the operations side of brewing for 20 years before leaving the industry altogether for a brief stint. After trying his hand as a social entrepreneur, and having driven a Zamboni, watered flowers, and bartended to make ends meet, he took a leap into the dark arts to sell malt.

 

That stoked his longtime passion for the brewing and distilling industries. He landed at Malteurop (MMC) in early 2017 and he’s never looked back.

 

Before shifting to his current role as Senior Key Accounts Manager, Christopher was responsible for assembling much of the current team of Craft Sales Managers at MMC. The idea that they, like him, largely don’t see themselves as sales reps has his fingerprints all over it.

 

“My first requirement was that you have to have a passion for craft. Period. I wanted to hire people who were enthusiastic; who loved at the end of the day to have a pint or never turned down a brewery tour,” he recalled.

 

“Then if they have a technical background, awesome, we can leverage that. We can work up the sales skills. Or if they were a sales person, but weren’t really gifted technically, we have a team of technicians and technical support… we can hone that skill set. But you always have to have a passion for craft.”

 

What led you to your current role at Malteurop?

Personal relationships are still what drives success, even when a brewery grows so large that it is producing more than 100,000 barrels per year. To put that number into perspective, according to the Brewer’s Association, there were 15 STATES in the U.S. that did not produce a total of 100,000 barrels of craft beer in 2020.

 

When a brewery grows to this size, there are a new set of challenges that someone with Christopher’s unique background helps to navigate.

 

“When you get to the bigger customers, it’s maintaining inventory off-site at a transload, managing the trucking. They get bigger, they’re direct rail. Some of the biggest craft customers have their own rail sidings; so managing that, optimizing that for the customer. A lot of logistics. A lot of supply chain.”

 

These are some of the areas where Christopher excels. Areas that he has long been drawn to.

 

His educational background, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Management from the University of Minnesota and a Master of Business Administration from the University of St. Thomas, led him to a job in brewery operations. His passion, his education, and his experience in operations, in addition to his keen understanding of the MMC supply chain, makes him the ideal person to help larger customers grow into and navigate this complex world.

 

And like he required of the Craft Sales Managers that he hired, Christopher is passionate. So much so that he has also earned certificates in brewing and distilling.

 

What drove your passion for beer?

Another thread that weaves through the MMC team is a history in the industry. Not necessarily malting, but in brewing and/or distilling. This is also true of Christopher.

 

Even though he hardly knew his grandfather, who passed away when Christopher was 2 or 3, there was something about his grandfather having worked for Schlitz for over 30 years in Milwaukee that embedded itself in him.

 

“I always had an interest in beer,” he said. “In college, I worked for the Miller distributorship in Milwaukee County.”

 

While seeking his business degree, Christopher had to interview someone in the business world. Of course, he chose Mark Stutrud, the founder of Summit Brewing Company. Over time, and after a good bit of persistence, that interview led to Christopher’s 20-year stint in brewery operations and eventually to his current role at MMC.

 

What are some of your accomplishments?

With a job that he loves, but one that can quickly become all-consuming, Christopher’s most cherished accomplishments come on a more personal level.

 

He’s happy to have been married for 31 years with four grown, adult children that still like to hang out with their parents once in a while.

 

Several of his children or their partners have been involved in the beer industry at one time or another. His daughter, Riley Seitz, still is. She is the Senior Project Manager at BevSource.

 

“I can’t tell you what a cool experience that is to sit in at CBC (Craft Brewers Conference) and listen to your daughter on a panel speak with industry professionals. That’s kind of life altering. I can’t even describe the amount of pride that I felt,” Christopher said, his face beaming.

 

He and Riley get to nerd out over beer together, sometimes to the bane of the rest of the family, but even that isn’t Christopher’s greatest achievement.

 

“To have what I think is a healthy work-life balance, being in an industry I love, married for 30 plus years, four kids that still like to come home and hang with mom and dad, have a beer or a bourbon with them… that’s pretty cool.”

 

Where do you see the future of malting heading?

While there is something to be said for innovation, which MMC is quite adept at, it’s important to not get lost by staring only at the latest shiny new object. There is always a place for something new and different, but at the heart of any successful business is consistency.

 

That’s something that Christopher sees as pivotal not only for his and MMC’s success, but also for the success of the brewery and distillery partners they work with.

 

“There will remain a need for consistent quality, operational reliability, and commitment flexibility to meet the ever changing needs of brewers chasing the fickle desires of the consumer,” he stated.

 

“(The industry) has certainly gotten more competitive. Not only for merchants or maltsters, but in retail. A consistent supply chain, consistent quality; that’s not going away.”

 

What’s your favorite style of beer and why?

“Pilsners or lagers” are Christopher’s favorites… and that even includes some rather surprising not-so-craft selections like Miller High Life.

 

Many brewers will instantly get the reference to Miller High Life. After a day of brewing, it’s an easy, don’t-think-about, just-drink-it beer that refreshes the palate. But for Christopher, the association transports him.

 

“If I drink a PBR or a High Life, there are times in my life, and it doesn’t happen frequently, when that taste hits me. It takes me all the way back to my childhood. That’s the visceral connection I make to beer and the beer business and my life. It’s that memory of taste and place… why wouldn’t you want to geek out about it?”

 

What beer is currently in your fridge?

“Lots of Surly because my daughter used to work there. Some Bell’s Two Hearted, Founders All Day IPA and always some Miller High Life.”

 

If you were a beer, what beer would you be and why?

“A well-made pilsner. Honor, tradition, and integrity. No BS and you can’t hide your mistakes.”

 

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

As you can tell, Christopher doesn’t mince words, even when it comes down to defining himself with three simple words. He knows what’s important to him.

 

“Family, loyalty, and integrity. As a sales person or a friend, loyalty and integrity is all we have. That’s what makes this industry so much fun. At the end of the day we get to enjoy a bourbon or beer with colleagues, customers, or competitors and call each other friend.”

 

 

Cheers. To the farmers. The maltsters. The brewers. The Innovators.