Blue Ox Malthouse: A Conduit Between Communities

For Joel Alex, a maltster is a conduit between communities, a craft to its source, a farmer to a creator, a producer to a customer. As a homebrewing enthusiast with a background in environmental education and community development, Alex, founder of Blue Ox Malthouse in Lisbon Falls, Maine, became a change agent for agriculture in the Pine Tree State after a conversation at a farm potluck.

“A craft brewer and I discussed the lack of local ingredients available in the industry due to lack of malting capacity. The light bulb went off! Somebody had to do this!” he told Beverage Master Magazine. “I had friends growing grains and other friends getting into milling grains and brewing beer. The idea just kept coming back, and finally, a dangerous thought came into my head—’Why can’t I do this?'”

“This” was following a passion and focus for developing Maine’s rural agricultural economy. “Here in Maine, we tend to export our raw materials to other places for the value-added processes,” Alex said. “I became interested in how we could do more value-add here and increase access to local markets. I had the desire and tenacity to research, learn and execute.” He left his job, vacated his apartment, dropped plans to attend graduate school and spent 18 months in his car to establish what would become Blue Ox Malthouse.

A Craft to Its Source

Malted grains are synonymous with human evolution. First as a diet staple and later as the basis for intoxicating beverages, ancient malting first occurred when farmers settled barley in water troughs or streams to prompt germination, then kiln-dried the grain.

Floor malting, the ancient method used by Blue Ox, first became popular in Europe in the 17^th century as a way to expand production to meet rising demand. Steeped barley is piled on tiles or concrete five–to–six inches deep to build heat. The malt is raked and turned manually to aerate the grain and develop enzymes for the conversion of starches to sugars. Maltsters then dry or roast the grain to extract different flavor profiles. This labor-intensive practice advanced as the primary application worldwide, with brewers and distillers choosing malt from local houses. Malting on a small scale made sense during this time, as the source was readily available.

In the late 19^th century, industrialized brewing companies switched to aerated boxes, turning to machines and other streamlined methods of production. Over time, corporations such as MaltEurope and Cargill mass-produced malt more cheaply even if, as some producers believe, taste was compromised. These practices, as well as Prohibition in the United States, dissolved many community-based malt producers. For decades, local malthouses were all but extinct.

In 2012, when Alex pursued the idea for a small-scale malthouse to support Maine growers, there was only one micro-maltster in the Northeast—Andrea and Christian Stanley’s Valley Malt in Hadley, Massachusetts. The Stanleys grew barley and were eager to produce locally-sourced beer. However, they discovered they’d have to ship their grain to the Northwest or Canada for malting. Shipping heavy grain is cost-prohibitive to small producers, so the Stanleys revived the malthouse tradition in New England in 2010. To the south, Riverbend Malthouse in Asheville, North Carolina sprouted up in 2011. Alex established Blue Ox Malthouse in 2014.

“Malting has been consolidated for so long that what craft malthouses are doing—creating unique malts out of locally-sourced grains—is new and different,” Alex said. “There are no models to look at that tell us how to do it. It just hasn’t been done for years—especially in our case with choosing to floor malt. We built our floor-malting rake based on pictures that were over a 100-years-old!”

Alex compared the reestablishment of specialty malt markets to what craft brewers did in the 1980s.

“When the first wave of us started, we all had to design and fabricate custom malting equipment because it simply didn’t exist at our scale,” he said. “We’re using the same old dairy tanks that craft brewers used in the early days!”

Alex stressed regional malthouses go beyond the concept of singular businesses, and are emerging as a viable industry. “This is why several craft malthouses—under tremendous leadership from some of the earliest adopters such as Valley Malt, Riverbend Malthouse, and Grouse Malt House in Colorado—formed the North American Craft Maltsters Guild (CMG) in 2014,” said Alex, a current CMG board director at press time. “Often we’re not directly competing. Rather than each reinventing the wheel, the benefit in sharing knowledge and setting high-quality standards for our industry is a must.” Moreover, the industry is strong—in 2018, there are nearly 70 established or prospective regional malthouses in North America that are members of CMG.

A Farmer to Creator

New England spring grains aren’t as large or as mass-yielding as those grown in the Midwest, the Northwest or Canada. However, like all regions, they have unique terroir—a characteristic flavor representative of the climate, soil and growing conditions in which they thrive. Regional sourcing, Alex believes, allows for an exploration of North American malt profiles like never before.

“The real potential of craft malting is the ability to develop unique takes on styles to innovate and create wholly new products that no one has ever seen,” Alex told Beverage Master Magazine. “Large malthouses just aren’t set up to do this. Innovation in malt styles is going to come from the small craft maltsters—just as it did with craft brewers and distillers. At Blue Ox, we create North American floor malts on one of the largest floor malting systems in the country. Just like brewing, the malthouse brings its own character to the finished product.”

In 2017, even though overall beer sales were down by 1.2 percent, craft brews were up 5 percent, garnering nearly 13 percent of market overall. Spirits sales were up in 2017 as well—American whiskey rose 8.1 percent, and rye whiskey jumped 16.2 percent. Craft beverage producers trying to distinguish their brands may be interested to know how Alex and his team strive for malt distinction.

“We try to find a good balance at Blue Ox—offering core products that feel familiar to what’s out there while still being uniquely ours, and offering specialty products from time-to-time that push some boundary,” he said. “A great example is our Legend Pils. It’s not bred to be a malting variety, but our farmer had it, and we took the time—twice as long on our floor as our malting varieties—to coax it to brewing spec, and created a product that is distinctly unique to others out there and still creates great beers. I know—I’ve had them!”

Blue Ox processes nearly one million pounds of locally-sourced grain at its facility in Lisbon Falls. Products include a dozen craft malts ranging from pilsner and pale to Munich and smoked malts, and the line is expanding. “At our size, we can custom malt to help reach certain objectives of customers. We’ve done this before with one distilling customer on a rye malt,” Alex said. Blue Ox uses a range of equipment, too, including specific kilns roasters and smokers.

Alex and his team also incorporate a new malt sensory process called the Hot Steep Method, recently approved by the American Society for Brewing Chemists. Initially developed by scientists Cassie Liscomb at Briess Malt & Ingredients and Lindsay Barr at New Belgium Brewing, the Hot Steep Method allows malt producers to meet the demand for more diverse flavors in specialty and base malt flavor.

“It’s been a critical tool. If you’re not familiar with this method, look it up immediately,” Alex said. “It’s easy and accessible. Most importantly, it lets you reliably and consistently assess flavor in malt. It’s what allows us to make true-to-brand assessments of our flavors.” To watch a video of the process, visit the Blue Ox website.

In 2017, the North American barley market was strong—almost making it difficult in some areas for small farmers to finish clear due to excess supply. However, in May 2018, the American Malting Barley Association issued a statement warning the overall effects of climate change pose a risk to cool season barley, including insignificant rainfall and higher temperatures in key growing areas. Warmer temperatures also present another significant threat to the delicate plant—the rise of disease. To address these concerns, breeding programs are doubling-down on research that may reduce maturity time for spring-sown varieties, and expand options for winter malting cultivars.

Since 70 percent of all barley production is used in brewing and distilling, shortening the line of ingredient deliverables makes a difference in what producers can maintain for quality in their brands. In Maine, Alex said, grains and potatoes are often grown in rotation, and crop rotation provides essential environmental and plant management benefits. It also creates local economic stability.

“While potato farmers are struggling to make ends meet, we’re developing an accessible premium market for rotation crops that often go to secondary and commodity markets,” Alex said. “Commodity prices almost never reflect the cost of growing grain in our region. Depending on the situation, we’re paying a 50–to–100 percent premium to increasing the revenue-generating potential of our suppliers’ farms and in turn, their overall viability.”

A Producer to a Customer

A 2017 report from Statista indicates Maine has 9.6 craft breweries per 100,000 people aged 21 and over. It ranks third in this assessment: other states in the top five include Vermont, Montana, Oregon, and Colorado.

Blue Ox partners with more than 50 craft brewers and a handful of distillers. “Right from the beginning, our goal was to make local craft malt available to anyone who wants to use it. We intend to help our customers realize the best possible outcomes for their products,” said Alex.

“Of course, our large customers like Allagash and Maine Beer Company are really paving the way for the industry by making big commitments to local suppliers like us, and showing that truly great products can be made consistently with local craft malts,” he continued. “Try an Allagash Sixteen Counties or a Maine Beer Company Woods and Waters next time you have the opportunity, and you’ll know what I mean.”

Alex quickly pointed out that smaller producers, which make up more than 60 percent of Blue Ox sales, also contribute to the synergy of the industry. “These customers brewing on one–to–seven barrel systems are often making the biggest commitments, relative to their size, to local craft malts and pushing innovation, trying styles that larger breweries can’t or won’t do,” he said. “Try a kombucha-soured, seaweed-infused Gose Gruit at Urban Farm Fermentory next time you’re in Portland, Maine as just one of many examples.”

The volume might be in brewing and distilling, Alex noted, but other types of producers are using malt in creative ways. “We’ve worked with a couple of local grist mills that incorporate our malts into various products. I’ve had ice-cream, vinegar, grain salads, and breads.”

Joel Alex, forever a coalition builder, considers his work with Blue Ox Malthouse to be the catalyst for his purpose.

“I wake up every morning and learn something, create something and help our customers achieve something. There’s nothing like being on the forefront of emerging industry and seeing the long-term potential for how your work can bring something new and different into the world. How exciting is that?”

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(Sources)

Joel Alex interview

Industry Analysis: Malting/Montana Department of Commerce

http://marketmt.com/Portals/129/shared/IDP/docs/MaltingIndustryAnalysis.pdf

Great Western Malting
http://www.greatwesternmalting.com/gwm/malting-process/history/

Beer Advocate
https://www.beeradvocate.com/articles/6252/valley-malt-new-englands-first-micro-maltster/

Modern Farmer
https://modernfarmer.com/2013/04/meet-the-micro-malts/

The Spirits Business
https://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2018/02/banner-year-for-us-spirits-sales-in-2017/

Brewers Association
https://www.brewersassociation.org/statistics/national-beer-sales-production-data/

and

https://www.brewersassociation.org/industry-updates/no-barley-no-beer/