As any brewer will tell you, malt is a magical thing. When grains are sprouted, dried and cured, the end result is an integral ingredient that is part of what makes different beers possible. To gain the desired chemical changes that happen to each grain throughout this process, it truly requires the skill of an expert maltster.
When Deer Creek Malthouse was established in 2012, it revived a historic artisan practice that hadn’t happened in Pennsylvania since Prohibition. As Mark Brault, chief maltster at Deer Creek, puts it, “There was no one making malt in the Mid-Atlantic, so there appeared to be an opportunity to add value to the regional supply chain that didn’t already exist. Although Deer Creek Malthouse was the first commercial malthouse in Pennsylvania since Prohibition, I’m still learning and growing every day.”
So what gave Mark the idea to start malting in the first place? “My desire to learn stemmed from an interest in agriculture and a passion for homebrewing,” he explained. Much of Deer Creek’s malt comes from grains they grow themselves, with the rest coming from hand-picked local farms. While malt is also used for distilling and baking in addition to brewing, it’s easy to see how Deer Creek combines two of Mark’s passions.
“Although part of our goal is to add value to local farms and farmers growing small grains with an alternative market and higher-margin revenue stream than feed or cover crop, what drives us is innovation,” he said. “We want to create unique, specialty grain and malt ingredients that have quality and flavor attributes that cannot be compared to anything on the market. To that end, some of our ingredients are seasonal, based on grain quality and availability, and we process many non-barley grains to produce malt ingredients that otherwise wouldn’t be available to food and beverage artisans (sorghum, oats, triticale, buckwheat, spelt, etc.). One consideration brewers should take into account is the cost associated with producing high-quality, flavorful ingredients with locally grown grain. I know it sounds cliche, but you get what you pay for when it comes to craft malt. It’s not a commodity.”
Deer Creek’s malts have been used by more than 100 breweries in Pennsylvania alone (including Tröegs Brewing Company). The strong trend in craft brewing of making new and unique beers makes the world of specialty malts a growing niche to explore.
Every brewer has his or her favorite beers, and maltsters are no different with the malts they create. Mark’s favorite? “A UK-style pale ale malt. It’s more flavorful than the American pale malt used for light lagers and adjunct beers, but it still has good diastatic power (as in enzymes) and can be used in a broad range of styes, even in adjunct recipes. It’s the primary ingredient in pub ales (which I love in cask, on hand pump or on nitro) and difficult to make well, so the challenge is also appealing. Our Independence Pale Ale malt is inspired by a UK-style pale ale malt, and it was also the first malt ingredient we ever released commercially.”
Interest in hop genetics has seen explosive growth. Creating high-quality malts — an agricultural product — is also driven by attention to horticultural details. “In all living organisms, genetics define a set of heritable features that determines some characteristics of the offspring,” Mark said. “This ‘code’ by which cells develop and synthesize is an organism’s genotype. In the case of barley for malting, we care about the plant’s phenotype, which is the set of observable characteristics resulting from the interaction of its genotype with the environment (like the condition of the grain and suitability for malt production). Our mantra is great barley equals great malt equals great beer (or spirits, bread, etc.), and we have extremely high standards when selecting grain to create the highest quality and most flavorful malts. When combined with the skill of our maltsters and custom malting process, magical things can happen.”
The Brewers of Pennsylvania is a nonprofit trade association that brings together leaders of Pennsylvania-based breweries in order to promote and protect the brewing industry in the state. Established in 2011, the Brewers of Pennsylvania serves the consuming public of Pennsylvania by encouraging brand diversity in the market. We believe in the nobility of brewing and hold dear the great traditions and history of Pennsylvania brewing.
Photos: Deer Creek Malthouse
