Montana Craft Malt has a new national route to brewers. Country Malt Group (CMG) is now the exclusive U.S. distributor of products from Montana Craft Malt, the Butte, Montana, malthouse, and those malts are available through CMG warehouses across the United States, according to CMG’s partnership announcement.
Malt is the least glamorous ingredient in the beer press. Hops get the poetry; malt gets the forklift. But this correspondent has noticed that the grain side of the industry tends to tell you where things are heading before the tap lists do.
What the Montana Craft Malt partnership covers
CMG describes the deal as a partnership, not a purchase. Here is what its announcement states:
- CMG becomes the exclusive U.S. distributor of MCM products.
- The malts are “now available through Country Malt Group warehouses across the United States.”
- CMG is part of Soufflet Malt, which CMG calls “the world’s largest malting company.”
- Brewers and distillers are told to contact their local CMG sales representative or visit countrymalt.com for availability.
The announcement does not include pricing, volumes or contract length, so neither does this report. San Diego Beer News also reported the partnership on Oct. 15, 2026, carrying the same quotes.
In their words
“We’re incredibly excited to welcome Montana Craft Malt to the Country Malt Group family. As part of Soufflet Malt, we have the global strength and resources of the world’s largest malting company behind us, but we remain deeply invested in the local communities and agricultural regions that make our industry possible. Montana Craft Malt shares that commitment, from supporting local growers to producing high-quality malt that brewers and distillers can depend on.”
— Dana Lukens, VP of CMG
“Montana Craft Malt was built on a simple idea: make exceptional malt close to where the barley is grown and build real relationships with the people who grow it and the people who use it. As we look to the future, Country Malt Group gives us the opportunity to bring that story to more brewers and distillers across the country while staying true to our roots.”
— Jen O’Brien, Co-Founder of Montana Craft Malt
Who MCM is
CMG’s announcement places the Butte malthouse in “one of North America’s premier barley-growing regions,” and says proximity to agriculture “is central to who they are.” The company’s own website fills in more. MCM says it works with “top independent barley growers in Montana” and names grower regions from the Gallatin Valley to the Golden Triangle to the Beaverton Valley.
On product, the MCM site says it is designing “a broad selection of homegrown malts for lagers, ales, and pilsners,” plus specialty options including Vienna and Munich malts, low-color crystal malt, and wheat- and oat-based malts. A CMG LinkedIn post about the partnership names specific products including Two-Row, Bavarian Pilsen, British Pale, Cara 20 and Steffi Vienna. The Bureau has no lab data on any of them and will not pretend otherwise.
MCM also serves distillers. Its homepage features a testimonial from John McKee of Butte’s Headframe Spirits, who calls the partnership with MCM “a no-brainer” and says the distillery makes American single malt whiskey with the malthouse’s output.
Why a small malthouse wants a big network
Craft malting is a hard business, and the Bureau has the wreckage to prove it. Just this month, Admiral Maltings closed in Alameda, California, saying in its announcement, as reported by Eater SF, “Despite our best efforts, we couldn’t make and sell malt economically.”
That is the backdrop for this kind of deal. A regional malthouse can make excellent grain and still struggle to get it onto loading docks in distant states. CMG’s announcement frames the partnership as a way for MCM “to reach more craft producers nationwide without losing the local relationships and agricultural roots that have shaped the company from the beginning.” For a brewer in, say, North Carolina or San Diego, the practical change is simple: Montana Craft Malt is now orderable through CMG’s U.S. warehouse network.
Other small malthouses have chased distinction rather than scale. BeerAlien has logged Riverbend Malt House becoming a Regenified-certified malt house and Root Shoot Malting welcoming the Craft Malt Conference to Colorado. Montana Craft Malt is taking the distribution route.
Field notes for brewers
If you brew or distill and want to test these malts, CMG’s instruction is to contact your local CMG sales representative. Ask about which products are stocked at your nearest warehouse, since the announcement does not list which items sit where. And if a West Coast IPA or a Vienna lager made with Montana Craft Malt lands on a tap list near you, the Bureau would like to hear about it.
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