Jeff Bloem is the Founder of, and Maltster at Murphy & Rude Malting in Charlottesville, VA. We had the pleasure of sitting down with him, plus Bonnie from Wheatland Spring Farm + Brewery, to talk about why malt matters in craft beer. Not only in the sense of the flavor and character it creates in your beer, but also the impact using local malts has on the local economy and supply chain.

Jeff is an incredibly smart guy who transitioned away from a successful career in Corporate Development, using his knowledge of supply chain management to identify a huge opportunity in the mid-atlantic region of the United States. Though the craft beer scene was on the rise, the number of local ingredient suppliers was scarce, and such was the inception of Murphy & Rude Malting.

Check out the episode to learn why malt matters in craft beer, how Murphy & Rude steeps and roasts their malt, what happens when mistakes are made, where the demand for new styles of malt comes from, and how important local collaboration is to their business.

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