We’ve heard it all.
“Will you be serving milkshakes?” “Is that like an ice cream parlor?” “I hear you are opening a brewery?”
When we told our friends and family that we were starting a malt house, one thing was very clear: our friends and family did not know what a malt house was.
One can hardly blame them. In a state that seems to boast a new craft brewery every month, the local malting industry has not kept up with the growth. Before prohibition, there was a malt house in every county and nearly as many breweries in Michigan as there are today. The brewing business has clearly made a triumphant return, but how come the maltster never came back? Anyone can direct you to the nearest brewery or tap room, and most microbrew aficionados can even tell you a thing or two about the hops in their favorite pour, but do they know where the grains came from?
Well, friends, malting as an art form is on it’s way back. Hot on the heels of the micro brewery boom, craftsmen and beer lovers alike are turning their focus to the ancient art of malting, bringing the growing and processing of grains back to local communities. We here at Koops' Malt Haus are proud to be a part of that movement.
When it comes to beer ingredients, malt is the unsung hero of taste. If hops are the rock stars, malt is the record producer. Even the best bands can come off sounding bad if they are coupled with a poor producer. The same logic applies to your beer. Top notch hops and the purest water are fine things, but they will only get you so far if you can’t depend on your malt.
The Seed
Let’s not put the cart ahead of the horse, perhaps first we should introduce ourselves. We are Koops' Malt Haus, a company of brothers. We are a new maltster based in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, with an aim to produce consistent, quality malt for brewing that is, most importantly, an entirely Michigan product.
Koops’ Malt Haus was the brainchild of brothers Chip and Chris Koop. Chip studied electrical engineering before becoming an oil field welder and is currently a hydraulic specialist. Chris has a background in construction and is now an oil field machinist.
The brothers are craftsmen with a knack for ingenuity and a drive to do things better than they have been done before. They grew up in a farming community and worked on farms when they were young. As adults, they developed an affinity for Michigan craft beers and a passion for home brewing. That passion turned into a curiosity about malting, which grew into an obsession to fill a need here in the Great Beer State.
Fabricatin’ and Germinatin’
Malting is, most literally, a grassroots business, and the Koop brothers have started out with their feet firmly on the ground. Once the idea was established, Chip and Chris dedicated all of their nights, afternoons and spare parts to building a working prototype of their malting machine. The fully automated, small batch machine is currently producing 50-lb test batches.
Once the prototype was built and tested, the Koops set to work designing their full scale malting rig. Blueprints have been finalized and the fabrication of the machine has been contracted and is set to begin soon at J&W Machine in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan.
The germination/kiln drum malting machine will be fully automated and contained in an environmentally controlled housing. Temperature and humidity will be automatically maintained by programmable controls and grains will be robotically agitated to prevent root lock. The state-of-the-art system will allow Koops’ Malt House to control every aspect of the malting environment.
The Mission
At Koops’ Malt Haus, we feel that our job is to be the connection between the brewer and the farmer. The thriving beer economy in Michigan and the market’s continued desire to keep the business local put us in a unique position to serve both farmer and brewer. We currently have 90 acres of 2-row barley growing in West Branch, Michigan, and we have the means to expand and diversify when needed. Michigan grains, malted in Michigan for Michigan brewers; that’s our idea of a strong business community.
There are, and always will be, bigger malt houses in Michigan, and that’s just fine with us. Our focus is more on quality and service than bulk. While we are on track to be a state-of-the-art facility, we know that no amount of automation can replace the human aspect of malting. Holding the grains, smelling them, chewing them, the maltster must be as intimate with his craft as a fine chef is with the food he prepares. We strive to create a consistent, homogenous product that will not only meet, but exceed your expectations.
Our goal is to be in full production of base malt by the Fall of 2015, and we plan to begin offering Munich and Caramel malt in the near future.
To keep current on all of the exciting progress here at Koops’ Malt Haus, check our blog regularly!
“Will you be serving milkshakes?” “Is that like an ice cream parlor?” “I hear you are opening a brewery?”
When we told our friends and family that we were starting a malt house, one thing was very clear: our friends and family did not know what a malt house was.
One can hardly blame them. In a state that seems to boast a new craft brewery every month, the local malting industry has not kept up with the growth. Before prohibition, there was a malt house in every county and nearly as many breweries in Michigan as there are today. The brewing business has clearly made a triumphant return, but how come the maltster never came back? Anyone can direct you to the nearest brewery or tap room, and most microbrew aficionados can even tell you a thing or two about the hops in their favorite pour, but do they know where the grains came from?
Well, friends, malting as an art form is on it’s way back. Hot on the heels of the micro brewery boom, craftsmen and beer lovers alike are turning their focus to the ancient art of malting, bringing the growing and processing of grains back to local communities. We here at Koops' Malt Haus are proud to be a part of that movement.
When it comes to beer ingredients, malt is the unsung hero of taste. If hops are the rock stars, malt is the record producer. Even the best bands can come off sounding bad if they are coupled with a poor producer. The same logic applies to your beer. Top notch hops and the purest water are fine things, but they will only get you so far if you can’t depend on your malt.
The Seed
Let’s not put the cart ahead of the horse, perhaps first we should introduce ourselves. We are Koops' Malt Haus, a company of brothers. We are a new maltster based in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, with an aim to produce consistent, quality malt for brewing that is, most importantly, an entirely Michigan product.
Koops’ Malt Haus was the brainchild of brothers Chip and Chris Koop. Chip studied electrical engineering before becoming an oil field welder and is currently a hydraulic specialist. Chris has a background in construction and is now an oil field machinist.
The brothers are craftsmen with a knack for ingenuity and a drive to do things better than they have been done before. They grew up in a farming community and worked on farms when they were young. As adults, they developed an affinity for Michigan craft beers and a passion for home brewing. That passion turned into a curiosity about malting, which grew into an obsession to fill a need here in the Great Beer State.
Fabricatin’ and Germinatin’
Malting is, most literally, a grassroots business, and the Koop brothers have started out with their feet firmly on the ground. Once the idea was established, Chip and Chris dedicated all of their nights, afternoons and spare parts to building a working prototype of their malting machine. The fully automated, small batch machine is currently producing 50-lb test batches.
Once the prototype was built and tested, the Koops set to work designing their full scale malting rig. Blueprints have been finalized and the fabrication of the machine has been contracted and is set to begin soon at J&W Machine in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan.
The germination/kiln drum malting machine will be fully automated and contained in an environmentally controlled housing. Temperature and humidity will be automatically maintained by programmable controls and grains will be robotically agitated to prevent root lock. The state-of-the-art system will allow Koops’ Malt House to control every aspect of the malting environment.
The Mission
At Koops’ Malt Haus, we feel that our job is to be the connection between the brewer and the farmer. The thriving beer economy in Michigan and the market’s continued desire to keep the business local put us in a unique position to serve both farmer and brewer. We currently have 90 acres of 2-row barley growing in West Branch, Michigan, and we have the means to expand and diversify when needed. Michigan grains, malted in Michigan for Michigan brewers; that’s our idea of a strong business community.
There are, and always will be, bigger malt houses in Michigan, and that’s just fine with us. Our focus is more on quality and service than bulk. While we are on track to be a state-of-the-art facility, we know that no amount of automation can replace the human aspect of malting. Holding the grains, smelling them, chewing them, the maltster must be as intimate with his craft as a fine chef is with the food he prepares. We strive to create a consistent, homogenous product that will not only meet, but exceed your expectations.
Our goal is to be in full production of base malt by the Fall of 2015, and we plan to begin offering Munich and Caramel malt in the near future.
To keep current on all of the exciting progress here at Koops’ Malt Haus, check our blog regularly!
