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Craft Maltsters Finally Have a Voice!

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For the love of peat (malt), craft maltsters finally have a voice! Much like the Brewers Association’s goal of protecting and promoting American craft brewers, The North American Craft-Maltsters Guild (NACMG) has recently been established to do the same for craft malt producers.

NACMG’s official mission is to promote and sustain the tradition of craft malting in North America, provide services and resources to the Association’s members and uphold the highest quality and safety standards for craft malt.

The following members have collaborated to advocate for all North American craft-maltsters:

  • Brent Manning and Brian Simpson | Riverbend Malt | Asheville, NC
  • Zach Christensen | Christensen Farms Malting Co. | McMinnville, OR
  • Bruno Vachon | Malterie Frontenac | Thetford Mines, QC
  • Wendell Banks | Michigan Malt | Shepard, MI
  • Lance Jergensen | Rebel Malting Co. | Reno, NV
  • Andrea and Christian Stanley | Valley Malt | Hadley, MA
  • Jason Cody | Colorado Malt | Alamosa, CO
  • Twila Henley | Grouse Malting and Roasting Co. | Nunn, CO

The geographically diverse members created a list of bylaws and orders with the help of The Law Offices of John. P. Connel in Boston. Here are a few highlights of these bylaws:

Membership shall be open and available to any individual, partnership, or corporation who pays membership dues as may be established from time to time by the Board of Directors, and is actively engaged in the production of Craft Malt. There are two types of members: Regular Members and Associate Members. NACMG anticipates that regular members will pay $350 in annual dues and associate members will pay $150, while regular members will hold voting authority.

“Craft Malt” is hereby defined as finished malt product, produced from a variety of grains including but not limited to barley, wheat, rye, millet, oats, corn, spelt and triticale. Craft malt is in particular made using a majority (greater than 50% by weight) of locally grown grains as inputs, meaning grains grown within the region of the craft malthouse, are used to produce craft malt therewith.

Check out these other CraftBeer.com posts about the beauty and popularity of malt:

The Romance Behind Malt

The Return of the Micro-Maltsters: A Locavore’s Craft Beer Dream Come True


Thomas AppelThomas Appel’s love for craft beer began after visiting a micro brewery at the end of the world in the Chilean Patagonia. He currently lives in the center of the beer world in Boulder, Colorado, where he is the intern for the craft beer program and a recent graduate from the University of Colorado. A native of the Sunshine State, Thomas can be found enjoying craft beer while getting lost on the beautiful rivers of Colorado!

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