In the world of craft beer, hops are more often than not viewed as the rockstars, even if yeast has made the occasional pitch for preeminence in recent years. Often when drinkers discuss the nuances of styles and why they prefer one beer over another, the discussion will be centred around the hops involved, occasionally the yeast (and bacteria), but rarely the ingredient referred to as the backbone of beer.
Malted (and unmalted) grains of many forms contribute to beer's appearance, aroma, texture and flavour, and without them there would be no beer. Yet, other than the occasional mention – such as 48 seconds into this – while brewers acknowledge its importance, even among educated beer drinkers its vital role in every can, bottle, schooner or pint they've enjoyed is often forgotten or skimmed over.
The reality is that plenty of thought and consideration is applied to the makeup of grain bills, with brewers often looking for specific attributes to suit a particular style of beer – from diastatic power and starch content through to colour, flavour and aromatic properties. Further to this, quality and consistency is key to ensure brewers are able to achieve their intended outcome, especially when it comes to producing core range beers that are recognisably the same from one batch to the next.
These days, much like the market for hops, there are producers and growers looking at more conscious, creative and unique ways to grow and malt grain, particularly when their desired customers are craft brewers. Whether the discussion is around malt-centric styles, or those that seem less dependant on grain choice specificity, there is much to consider for those who grow, malt and brew with it, as well as for those who consume the resultant beers.
One such producer resides and operates in the small, rural, Western Australian town of Karranadgin – population 168 – located around 120 kilometres north of Perth. Here, a fifth-generation farmer is growing fully traceable, premium quality heritage barley for brewers and distillers, and malting it all on site.
Mortlock Malt is run by Rex Rowles (pictured above), who after studying brewing at ECU and gaining brewing experience at Little Creatures, decided to move back to his family farm to combine his love and knowledge for brewing with his experience growing barley. The result is the development of a facility dedicated to producing malts for brewers.
At Mortlock, Rex places an emphasis on sustainability and traceability, having a hand in all aspects of the production process; from the selection of niche, heritage barley and the sourcing of suitable pastures, right through to malting, packaging and distribution.
"The process starts on the farm," he says, "selecting varieties, paddocks and getting the best quality barley. We get our grain primarily from our own farm but we also contract malt for other farms and breweries.
"At Mortlock, each parcel of grain can be selected for uniformity and malting parameters not available to commercial maltsters."
Currently, distribution is limited but Rex is eager to see Mortlock grow. Expansion plans include a larger malting facility to be completed by 2022, which was well underway at time of writing. Gaining broader recognition within the brewing industry is also a big goal for an operation that sees value in a more curated offering of malt for craft brewers.
At time of writing, Rocky Ridge, Dandaring Brewery (in their startup phase) and Perth’s iconic Whipper Snapper Distillery (pictured below) are all using Mortlock products with good results, and further distribution is anticipated.
"Right now, at the pilot stage, we are doing base pilsner and ale malt from our own and other farmers' barley," Rex says. "The expansion of the malthouse will be completed in early 2022, then we’ll be able to produce a full range of base and specialty malts, along with other grains, wheat, rye and oats et cetera."
In an increasingly conscious beer world, where punters and brewers alike are concerned with quality, locality and ethics, Mortlock is on a mission to introduce a considered range of malts that brewers can utilise while also benefiting from a true "paddock to pint" ingredient they hope will elevate quality, without degrading the environment.
For more features in The Collaborators series, head here.
Jono Outred is a food and beverage writer based in WA’s Southwest. He has been involved in craft beer across a variety of capacities over the past 11 years, from beer blogging to production brewing and everything in between. When not immersed in beer, Jono is a cricket tragic, grows grapes and tends to his farm in Nannup.
The beer(s) or moment(s) that turned you on to good beer:
That would be would be BrewDog Tokyo, gifted to me by a colleague for my 18th birthday. Its existence alone as a 12.5 percent ABV beer blew my mind; previously I had only consumed Emu Bitter (in excess) at house parties. Discovering that beer led to a visit to the International Beer Shop where, obviously, many more mind-blowing beers were purchased and consumed.
You've got three beers to turn someone else on to good beer; what are they and why?
-
Rocky Ridge Peach Invasion: For me, it's the perfect craft beer. It's big flavoured but perfectly smashable. Interesting but easy-drinking. Bold but balanced. Naughty but nice. Made entirely out of locally made ingredients in WA, you'd be mad not to give it a crack!
-
Boatroacker Ramjet: Because THIS is what beer can be. It's massive. You might hate it now but you certainly won't forget it. One day you'll understand and you won't be able to get enough. This beer is everything that is right about crazy, "big" beers.
-
Jester King El Cedro: It's American craft beer at its best. A beautiful, bubbly farmhouse ale aged in cedar barrels. We're lucky here in Australia to get our hands on these fantastic American ales and I think Jester King stands for everything we love about beer. Great beer, great story.
The last beer you enjoyed:
Beerfarm Native series Quandong & Samphire Gose.
Name three examples of music/art/culture/sport/travel/other that represent you.
- Cricket – a passion from a young age. A mediocre off-spinner with an U17's club record of 8-30. Currently playing for the Nannup Tigers!
- Punk rock and heavy metal – A passion for over 15 years, from singing in a dodgy death metal garage band as a teenager and being active in Perth's punk and hardcore scene, to mic grabs at Slayer and traveling cross country to farewell I Killed the Prom Queen in Adelaide!
- Food – A chef in a past life, now out from behind the pass and exploring food throughout Western Australia and cooking more at home.
