Jeff Malkiewicz launched Great Lakes Malting Co. in 2016. The company now supplies malted two-row barley, malted rye, and malted wheat to 40 breweries and five distilleries in Michigan.
Michigan brewers and distillers long sourced malted grains from around the country — and even Europe — before Jeff Malkiewicz decided to give up a promising career in the banking and finance sectors, and left behind cities such as Detroit, New York, and San Francisco.
In 2015, when Malkiewicz took a trip to Grand Traverse Distillery in Traverse City, he recalls listening intently as Kent Rabish, the owner, detailed the difficulties he had in obtaining locally pro-duced barley.
Malkiewicz figured there had to be an answer to the problem. A graduate of Michigan State University in East Lansing, he reached out to a research team that had completed a feasibility study showing small-scale malt houses could be successful supplying the beer and spirits industry in-state.
“I started with the Michigan State barley research team,” says Malkiewicz, a Dearborn native who now lives in Traverse City. “The foundation for my business plan was built out from those ear-ly discussions.”
His timing in opening Great Lakes Malting Co. in 2016 in Garfield Township, a mile south of
Traverse City, proved to be ideal. From a burgeoning brewing market in 2005, today there are 418 craft breweries in the state — making Michigan eighth in the country, according to the Michigan Brewers Guild in Lansing.
Word about Malkiewicz’s premium malt quality quickly spread among brewers and distillers. In his first year, he malted 50 tons. In 2022, two germination units were added, and a year later 250 tons were malted. Within the next three years, Malkiewicz expects to increase annual production to 600 tons.
Today, Great Lakes Malting is supplying 40 breweries and five distilleries across Michigan. Malted two-row barley accounts for 80 percent of production, malted rye is 12 percent, and 8 percent consists of malted wheat.
After starting with seven varieties, the company now has 14 offer-ings, which gives it the ability to produce malt for almost every style of beer. In the next two years, Malkiewicz plans to produce roasted malts, such as those used in stouts and porters.
“We work with breweries of all sizes, and we pride ourselves on supplying flavorful malts that you can taste in the finished beer,” says Malkiewicz, who sources barley and rye from six Michigan farmers, including one in the Upper Peninsula.
“Our hands-on approach sets us apart from larger malt houses. We’re responsive and we listen to what our customer is looking for. We’re not a revolving door. We’re looking to build long-term relationships on a foundation of mutual respect and collaboration. We work with our customers’ production schedules to ensure an ample supply of malts.”
Nearly all malt used by Michigan breweries and distilleries is cur-rently grown and processed outside the state, and occasionally comes from Europe. Considering those statistics, Malkiewicz hopes to increase awareness of how important local farms are to the local craft beer and spirits industries.
“The larger companies can’t connect the farmers and brewers like we can,” explains Malkiewicz, who has five employees including his wife, Kerry, who handles marketing and accounting. “We’re supporting the state’s rich agricultural history. It’s something that resonates with Michigan consumers.”
Rabish, who opened Grand Traverse Distillery in 2005, often can be found in the production room in Traverse City. He uses malted barley and malted rye, and two malted products are used for his Old George rye whiskey and bourbon line. The single malt whis-key uses 100 percent malted barley.
“We only use Michigan products, so it’s a good fit,” Rabish says of Great Lakes Malting. “We mill about 1,000 pounds a week, which ends up being about two-thirds rye and the rest malt.”
Iron Fish Distillery in Thompsonville has been using Great Lakes Malting barley malt for seven years. Last summer, the addition of a still saw the company double its annual capacity to more than 71,000 pounds.
“Great Lakes Malting is only 45 minutes away,” says Jeff Edding-ton, production manager of Iron Fish Distillery. “Having the local connection and Michigan-grown (products) is important. Depend-ing on how the lab says it’s grown in the field, and if it was a wet or dry season, there can be a variation in taste.
“We might ask Jeff to tweak it a little; it’s great to have that level of communication. We use it for our whiskeys, single malt whiskey, bourbon, and rye whiskey. You definitely taste the difference.”
Archival Brewing, located just north of Grand Rapids in Belmont, has been a customer for two years. Levi Knoll, owner of Archival Brewing, says the brewer receives more than 35,000 pounds of product annually. Beginning in the spring and through the fall, they receive deliveries twice monthly.
“We get the base malt pilsner and pale, some Munich, Vienna, and white wheat and caramel malt,” Knoll says. “Everything they have pairs well with what we make.
“They’re great people to work with and they have a fantastic prod-uct. The smaller batch size ensures fresh quality. It’s malted and packaged; they don’t sit on it. The quality is what you’d expect from places in Europe.”
Nick Van Court has been using products from Great Lakes Malting since 2018, when he and his wife, Marina Dupler, opened Barrel & Beam in Marquette.
“With our Bog Berry beer, we use a rye malt, which gives it a pep-pery, spicy flavor, and we finish it with cranberries,” says Van Court, who will order more than 20,000 pounds this year, up from 7,000 pounds in 2018.
“The spelt malt we use with a seasonal beer for the summer,” he says. “Wheat malt is used in our terroir and several other beers. It’s a good malty flavor with foam stability, and it’s softer on the palate.”
In downtown Traverse City, the Filling Station was Great Lakes Malt’s first customer.
“We get base malt, pilsner malt, and pale malt,” says head brewer Thomas Hodges. “We use those with 90 percent of our beers. We get hops locally. They set the bar high for quality and freshness; their malts are on par with anything else we’ve ordered from Ger-many, Vienna, or England.”
Jeremy Lewis, owner of Copper Hop in St. Clair Shores, says the malts pair well with his beer list.
“Our best-seller is pint break, which is a blonde ale,” Lewis says. “We use wheat and pale malt. We also use wheat, pilsner, pale ale, and Vienna. There’s no middleman. I call Jeff or their sales-man, Justin Rivard, tell them what we need, and it’s at our place in less than a week. The malts really shine well with our lighter beers. With our pilsners and lagers, the malts really come through, as well.”
David Becker, co-founder of Mothfire Brewing Co. in Ann Arbor, ordered 25,000 pounds last year.
“We use the pale malt, pilsner, Vienna, and white wheat with al-most all our base malts,” says David Becker, co-founder of Moth-fire Brewing, which offers more than 40 beers. “Lolo is our best seller, and we use Vienna. It’s a hazy IPA that has a tropical citrus flavor. We use the pale malt in most of our 12 IPAs and darker beers as a base malt.
“I have a background in sustainability. We want to minimize our carbon footprint and support local businesses. When people know the farms we utilize produce local ingredients, it gives them a deeper connection to the beer.”
