Jen Zimmerman has been called the Malt Queen of Minnesota, and if there’s an ace up her sleeve, it’s that she always has a story. As the sales director for Maltwerks, the four-year-old craft malting company in Detroit Lakes, MN near Fargo, she thinks a lot about what it takes to bring grains full circle.
In fact it’s that big picture—who and where grain comes from, how they’re processed, and what they taste good and perform well in—that has helped her build rapport with her brewery customers. “I’ll say something like, ‘Hey, the malted buckwheat is doing well in a hazy IPA. If we malted it would you buy it?’ Sometimes they’ll ask, ‘who else is using it?’ But there are very few that are stuck in their ways. Usually if I bring something new to the table, brewers and distillers are open to that.”
Before joining Maltwerks in 2018, Jen, an Indianapolis, IN native, worked for craft breweries, most recently Firestone Walker in California. Six months into her role at the malthouse, she attended the Minnesota Grains Gathering co-hosted by AGC and Renewing the Countryside, which was her first opportunity to meet grain farmers as well as a seed company. “I really do credit AGC for having open arms and bringing so many people together in one room with different perspectives,” she says, adding that she continues to learn every day from both farmers and brewers.
I always have a story: where we’re sourcing it from, what our process is, what it’s good in. If I have the whole story that ends with ‘and it’s working,’ then that helps.
- Jen Zimmerman, Sales Director, Maltwerks
When Jen started with Maltwerks, they were malting just one type of barley. Now they work with several varieties, as well as rye, oats, and hard red spring and soft white wheats. Buckwheat and wild rice are next on their list. And Maltwerks is doing their best to keep in lockstep with regional growers and end-users as they expand the varieties of grains they malt. Upcoming collaborative brews include one featuring Kernza® from A-Frame Farm.
Jen has seen an evolution in attitudes towards craft malting over the past several years, and credits the Craft Maltsters Guild for facilitating change among brewers and beer drinkers alike. “The Craft Malt Certified™ Seal has helped educate brewers,” she says, so that people have a better sense of what craft malt is all about: relationships and food system change.
She's taking that ball and running with it, spreading the message to her brewery community. Since the program started in September 2019, she’s persuaded 14 breweries to sign on to be Craft Malt Certified. The certification boasts a beautiful logo, now proudly displayed on product packaging and on a wooden plaque that hangs in 145 craft breweries and distilleries across the country—a great way for craft beer and spirits enthusiasts to find truly local beverages near them. Curious whether your favorite craft beer and spirit makers have the Craft Malt Seal? Learn more here.
The pandemic has been tough for Maltwerks, as for many businesses. When breweries paused to adjust to different marketing channels last spring (more bottling and wholesaling with fewer taproom sales), they generally brewed less. On the bright side, Jen sees that the value proposition for craft malting has become new again through the pandemic. People thought more about where they wanted to spend their money: “Customers understand who I am and why I’m doing it. It’s a passion project.”
Jen went to school to become a geologist, but instead underwent her own metamorphosis. Since developing a taste for craft beer, a love for the craft brewing community followed closely behind. Jen now brings her interests full circle with a sparkling personality and natural affinity for building relationships. She’s a great ambassador for local malt, and we’re lucky to have her as a critical link in our Midwestern grain value chain. Follow along with her and the rest of the Maltwerks team at the links below.
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