By: Living a Stout Life

What do you need from your malts to survive trends, turmoil & changing circumstances?

 

You may relate this to our current situation of being in the midst of a pandemic, but that same question and the ones following hold true regardless of whether or not we are in a pandemic. These are questions you have to ask yourself from the very beginning when you first opened your brewery and then, throughout the life of your brewery. 

 

• How much malt do you need to make the beer you brew?
• What efficiency levels do you need from your malts?
• Are your malts giving you all the characteristics you need?
• Do you have access to the variety of malts needed in your brewery?
• Do you have a maltster that is more than just a vendor?

 

Not knowing is a constant in brewing.

 

A pandemic is a huge factor and nobody knew how to plan for it because nobody knew how it would hit us, until it did. Here’s the thing, though. You already never know what the future holds, so why let unknown circumstances take control now? You find yourself waiting for answers, but what are you really waiting for? Brewers have never been the type to sit around and wait for the answers before. You’ve created your own solutions.  You are the innovators and changemakers in this industry.  Pivot on your own terms. 

 

Not to downplay a pandemic, but not knowing is a constant factor in the brewing industry. Will the customers keep pouring in? What will be the next trendy beer you need to brew?  Your malts, however, should not have any role in the unknown. 

 

There are actions you can take now to continue being the innovators and changemakers: actions to make you, your malts and your beer better beyond turmoil and trends.

 

How do your malts keep up with trends?

 

Not that the pandemic is a trend, but it’s something that your malts have to keep up with, so in the future how are you going to keep doing that? Circumstances are constantly changing. Are your malts set to follow through with everything you need them to do? 

 

The first step in this process is to evaluate where your malts are coming from. Do you know if they, along with the malting company, can withstand the challenges you ask of them? 

 

What to look for in the best malt producers and malts

• Sources – Do you know where the barley is grown?
• Collaboration – Do the maltsters work with the farmers as partners?
• Control – Can the malting company track the quality of malts from seed to glass?
• Diversity – Can your maltster source grain from alternate growing areas in response to earth’s climate becoming more volatile?
• Innovative – Are you as the buyer a part of the entire process from farm to malt to beer?
• Customized – Does your maltster offer specialty grains for your unique needs?
• Performance – Will the malts achieve the goals you set for your beers: consistency, reliability, flavor, color, aroma and performance specifications?
• Commitment – Is your malting company committed to local farmers, ensuring the highest quality barley?
• Analysis – Is there a detailed analysis available for each malt you purchase?
• Experience and Knowledge – Do your malts come from farmers and maltsters that have extensive experience and knowledge to give you the best performing malts?
• Dedication – Are your maltsters dedicated to the craft and the highest levels of technical innovation, service, and professionalism?

 

When you can answer yes to all of these questions, then you know you have found a malting company that doesn’t simply provide you with malts, they provide you with a partnership. A partnership that is based off of trust, integrity, and the malts that can withstand anything the brewing industry throws at them. That’s efficiency.

 

Know What You Need from Your Malts: Efficiency or No Efficiency

 

Outside of the brewing world, efficiency means to be effective or productive in as a little time as possible. In brewing, yes, that definition still works, as you want to use your time efficiently in the brewhouse, taphouse, etc. Your malts and the malting company also need to be efficient, giving you an increased chance at surviving unexpected change.

 

When we speak of efficiency in specific reference to brewing and malts, it takes on an entirely new meaning. The foundational definition simply means how much fermentable sugar you get out of your grain when brewing, compared to how much is there in the first place. 

 

Malts can be used for efficiency levels in fermentation or more for mouthfeel, color or a specific flavor. Whatever they are used for, you want every malt you use to do exactly what it was billed to do. 

 

So how do you ensure that you are getting the best efficiency levels from your grains? It starts from the beginning, with the seeds planted to grow the barley. Wait. You as a brewer, may also be the owner, beertender, accountant, janitor, and more.  Now, we’re asking you to become the farmer, too?

 

That is where your maltster comes into play and why it is so important to find a malting company that can tell you exactly what your grains can do for your beer from seed to glass.

 

If you’ve got that going for you, then you’ve got a head start when it comes to your brewery surviving through trends and changes no matter what the world throws at you.

 

There are a few more things you can do to ensure your malt’s efficiency is doing exactly what it was bred to do.

• Consistently measure volumes and gravities in every step while brewing.
• Follow the recipe you set for yourself. If you planned for a specific volume, set your standards to meet that volume, so you do not need to top off with water, oftentimes resulting in decreased efficiency.
• Pay close attention to how you crush your grains. If not crushed properly, efficiency numbers will remain low, and you will not get your desired results. The grain interior needs to be similar to a fine powder, while the outer shell (the hull) needs to be uncut.
• Have patience when it comes to sparging. You want the sugars, not the tannins, from the grains. When you take your time with this process, the sugars are absorbed into the water more, while giving the grains a better water flow throughout.
• Efficiency levels can easily be diminished in unused spaces, such as in the mash tun, for example, so be sure to utilize all the space in your equipment. 
• Know your equipment well and how it works.

 

Your malts will keep their efficiency, but you’re better because of change.

 

Trends, turmoil and changing circumstances are consistent factors in any industry; but in the brewing industry, your malts need to remain consistent and efficient giving you the stability that the world doesn’t. 

 

Your beer is better because your malts consistently provide what you planned from them. You’re better because this consistency helps you to adapt to change, whether it be a global pandemic, a new trend in the brewing industry, or shifts in your volume of customers.

 

Are you up for the challenge? Or maybe the better question is: Is your malting company up for the challenge?

 

 

About Malteurop Malting Company

 

Long before the beer is brewed, hard-working farmers and uncompromising maltsters roll up their sleeves and get to work making the world’s best malt. They’ve been doing it for us, day in and day out, since 1961.  We’re known for our dedication and passion for malt. We believe in top-notch service, ambitious pricing, and a whole lot of love and precious time put towards our premium craft malt products. 

 

Those of you that already work with us realize how much value Malteurop Malting Company (MMC) puts on our brewing and distilling partners. You are at the core of what we do; the reason that we are passionate about creating the most amazing malts in the world. Malts that are bred, evaluated and analyzed with your specific needs in mind.

 

When you get malts from MMC, you know that you are brewing with the best North American grown malts available. You know you are brewing with a true partner. A partner that thrives off of challenge.