A Grain Full of Dreams
The barley grain is an incredible thing. Our ancestors knew this to be true, yet we seem to have forgotten just how much potential it holds. In a quest to improve efficiency and maximise yield, we have lost touch with the interaction between our people, the land, and how they work together to deliver us some of the finest ingredients in the world.
Our journey from farming to malting has given us a unique insight into this story, and the opportunities it presents to deliver something truly special to our beers and spirits. We are only just beginning to unlock new ideas, from the impact of barley variety to new processing techniques, and we can’t wait to keep exploring.
The next time you open a sack of malt, take a minute to imagine the journey it has been on, in doing so you will start to see it differently. Our tasting experiences can be so much richer by telling the story and bringing to life the invisible journey from seed to glass.
I would like to take you on our journey, a journey not just about the seed but also the people and the land from which it grows.
Our family has farmed this land for generations. We know every twist and turn, every field has a name that harks back to lost days, from the Dipper to the Crawknowe, each has a story to tell. The most important asset any farmer has is their soil, it is the foundation from which everything grows, both animals and crops. To look after the soil requires us to look both forwards and backwards, the generations before us knew how to nurture the soil before the age of modern machinery and there are many lessons to be learnt. In today’s modern environment we work with advanced equipment and machinery, but every now and then you stop to remember the value of what went before us.
In our rich soils, we plant seeds, harvested to provide ingredients for countless food and drink products. The ingredients are largely faceless commodities, destined for mass market, without even the slightest nod to their incredible journey. It is a journey full of hard work, laughter and pride, it is one that is taken by farming families the length and breadth of the country, it is an invisible journey.
Our ambition is to bring it to life, to share our story with you, to imagine a world where our grains can provide new opportunities. As farmers we knew this meant joining our grains on the next stage of the journey, learning the craft of malting. It is both a skill and an art and one that we have found to be challenging and exciting. The excitement comes from going beyond traditional thinking, believing that our grains have a potential beyond the commodity marketplace. In the last few years we have had moments of doubt, moments of wondering if we would ever get Crafty Maltsters off the ground, but we have never wavered in our belief that as a family we have the resilience to get knocked down and get right back up again.
Many people told us we would never be in a position to compete with the larger malting companies, but we don’t want to compete, we want to offer something different. We want to work with our brewing and distilling customers to explore the world of malt, from the field to the malthouse. It is not a transactional relationship, it should be a relationship build on ambition, to go beyond boundaries and find new tasting experiences.
In every new conversation I have with a brewer or a distiller I find myself shying away from the inevitable question around price. So engrained is the commodity mentality, you almost feel the need to apologise that the product you have to offer is worth more. As I stood in the malting shed last week, I reflected on the journey our malt has taken, it is at least 12 months in the making, and we have been with it every step of the way. We have invested in the belief and ambition that malt has so much more to offer the brewing and distilling industry. We have taken a leap of faith that you will work with us to help us discover the potential of our grains and we are determined to make it a memorable and exciting journey.
We may be small, but we have big ambitions.