Choose Your Terroir

These craft maltsters from across the country work with online retailers, making it possible for homebrewers to have a wide variety of unique malts sent straight to their doorsteps.

ONE OF THE MOST exciting trends in recent years has been the rise of small craft maltsters who can take advantage of local and heirloom grain varieties to produce characterful malts generally unavailable from larger producers. However, these smaller maltsters are not found everywhere, and their products won’t necessarily appear in your local homebrew shop.

With that in mind, we’ve identified several whose malt ships nationwide or even internationally, often through locally based online retailers. This is surely not an exhaustive list; there are currently 61 members of the Craft Maltsters Guild in North America, and others may ship directly or in cooperation with local retailers. Check craftmalting.com to see whether there is a craft maltster near you—many are happy to sell directly to local homebrewers—or ask your favorite homebrew shop.

Blacklands Malts

Leander, Texas

Austin-area maltster whose range includes a “Texas Brisket” mesquite-smoked malt. Sells several varieties to homebrewers via the webshops of Austin Homebrew Supply or Soco Homebrew. austinhomebrew.com socohomebrew.com

Double Eagle Malt

Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania Philadelphia-area maltster sourcing grains from local farmers for a variety of malts. Sold to homebrewers by the ounce or pound via the Philly Homebrew Outlet, which has a webshop. phillyhomebrew.com

Epiphany Craft Malt

Durham, North Carolina

Successful craft maltster with a wide range of base and specialty malts,

including alternatives such as triticale. Wide variety by the pound or 55-pound sack available from Bull City Homebrew. bullcityhomebrew.com

Great Lakes Malting

Traverse City, Michigan

Founded in 2014 and now one of the better-established craft maltsters in the Midwest. Produces a range of base and crystal malts as well as white wheat and alternative grains such as emmer. Available to homebrewers via the Hop Craft Supply Company in Saginaw, Michigan. hopcraftsupply.com

Mainstem Malt

Walla Walla, Washington

This is one of four Western craft maltsters (also see Mecca Grade, Skagit Valley, and Troubadour, below) whose products are available via Portland, Oregon’s F.H. Steinbart. fhsteinbart.com