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  • Micro Malt Houses

    As transportation costs continue to increase and the number of microbreweries and brewpubs increase in small distant towns-- I wonder why there is not an increase in malt houses. Micro- malt houses close to the producers of barley and close to the consumers of malt.
    Little Malt House on the Prairie.

    I understand economy of scale but aren't rocketing transport costs to and from centralized malthouses a trump card for small, local, and artisan malt?
    Of course I wonder because I want a lil' malt house that smells of roasting barley and a lil brewery up front for the testing and the drinking.
    Thanks for explaining this mystery.

  • #2
    AlexisScarlett:
    It depends on your location!
    I am currently getting 50% of my malt from a small maltster in Nevada and the rest from Cargill. Both are complementing my beers just fine. With the shift in transportaion costs I doubt this will have any affect on the current supplier choice. That is if any other small malting co's fire up the kilns. Like you said "economy of scale" just like our breweries, except that malting needs alot of tonnage to keep pace with the larger operations. The best part about the Nevada malting co is they can malt and kiln some different grains, or custom make your roast. I just did a batch using Sorguhm, Different, but still in conditioning. will let you know

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    • #3
      Hey AlexisScarlett:
      Did Optic and Barke Variety take your place?
      Solve the mystery for us!

      lance@Jergensen Brewing

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      • #4
        Optic and Barke varieties

        Nope-- not out here! Moravian reigns supreme here. I am not in Montrose Scotland but Montrose Colorado.
        There is no way I would ever post with the suffix of like Moravian 69. I grow Metcalfe and have tried Steptoe, but you must admit that is not a very enticing alias.
        How does one get in touch with Nevada Malting. Not on the web.
        Thanks.

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        • #5
          AlexisScarlett:
          The # for the Nevada malting house is 951-741-1201. Their batch size currently is 3 metric tonnes/per batch, all grains welcomed.
          good luck
          lance

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          • #6
            Micro-Malthouses

            It is an interesting question that you pose. The scale that you are speaking of really wouldn't even be considered a small maltings, but a microscopic one by today's standards. While it is true that transportation costs have been on the rise, we're only talking about an increase of perhaps 30% since gasoline started the climb from less than 2 bucks to over 3 per gallon. Fuel is only one portion of the cost of transportation.

            Even with the increase in costs of transportation, the economies of scale you have mentioned are far more significant and continue to be the driver. It is very difficult to compete on a small scale in the malting industry. In Europe there are many more small maltings than there are in the US, but that is changing rather quickly due to consolidation of brewers and maltsters. Much of this consolidation is being driven by economic factors.

            Another challenge with very small maltings is consistency. It is much more difficult to produce a consistent product throughout the year when making 15 or 20 tons at a time vs. producing 100 or more tons at a time. Blending of barley and malt is much more practical to hit target specifications in a large facility. Less batch to batch variation is also a significant factor. Capital improvements can also be justified much more easily with greater sales volume as well.

            But that's not to say that small maltings can't make nice malt. We bring malt in from a floor maltings in the UK called Warminster. They make very nice malt on a relatively small scale.

            Transportation, energy costs and barley agronomic factors are having some significant effect on the industry however. Rather than seeing small malthouses popping up you are actually seeing bigger, more efficient ones being built closer to the barley. And of course the older, less efficient ones are being closed. Malthouses are also following the barley west which is why you see malthouses in North Dakota, Montana, and even further west.

            I hope that answers the question. And I do wish the best for Nevada Maltings. Just like in the beer industry, small producers that promote the artisinal side of the process and product are good for everybody in the industry. And if they are able to carve out a niche at their scale in their location then I say welcome to the business of serving the best industry that I know of.

            Cargill

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            • #7
              Micro Malthouses are still fascinating

              Have I misread history or isn't this like the discussion on size, efficiency, and consistency comparing macrobreweries with those upstart microbreweries two or more decades ago? Not everyone competes globally and needs to grow to something that covers fields and rises stories into the sky. Maybe the new efficiency is really small and fits a niche and is made with the beauty of the place you live in-- for the people who live down the lane and in your town. Once small breweries lived close to malt houses and malt houses lived close to the fields.
              So many folks fell in love with small, idiosynchratic, changing microbreweries and the artisan quality of a little brewery with 5 bbl tanks and a brewer you could talk to, who gave you a sandwich and a beer for lunch if you took the grist away for feeding the next creature.
              Almost poetry there!

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              • #8
                The now defunct German engineering company Ohlmann, made a wonderful mini malting plant, I think it was for one or two tones per batch.

                I tried to contact them to buy one a year ago, but it seems that the new owners are no more interested.

                The company was bought by another German company that also went bust and now a Japanese company owns it.

                A few small German breweries bought the UNI-malt but I lost the contact addresses.

                It would be interesting if anyone knew where can be found a similar system.
                Boris de Mesones
                www.cerveceria.info
                Madrid - Spain

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                • #9
                  micro-malting

                  I know that John Cressman at Heavy Duty Products built a very small consistently performing, with excellent control systems, micromalting plant for the Grain Board here in Canada (I believe it's installed in Winnipeg). http://www.hdpcanada.com/.

                  If I recall, it processes a few hundred kg's at once but could be sized according to need. .

                  I think it would be fantastic to malt your own grains. It is an energy and effluent intensive process however.

                  John would be more than happy to talk with you about it. It wasn't cheap but it was in the same ballpark as a small brewery.

                  Tell him I sent you,

                  Pax.

                  Liam McKenna
                  Liam McKenna
                  www.yellowbellybrewery.com

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                  • #10
                    Thanks a lot.
                    I think they are the ones who built a pilot malting plant for Weyermann in Germany four years ago.

                    Salud

                    Boris de Mesones
                    Boris de Mesones
                    www.cerveceria.info
                    Madrid - Spain

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                    • #11
                      Thanks! Gracias! Danke!

                      I read the press release for the Canadian micro malting plant twice and they never credited the manufactorer.

                      <A>

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