Blue Ox Malthouse in Lisbon Falls once again ranked high in a global malthouse competition.
The Craft Maltsters Guild’s 2026 Malt Cup awards involved 117 total entries from 29 malthouses in five countries. Competitors hailed from the U.S., Canada and Australia. The awards were held virtually on Feb. 26.
Blue Ox was awarded silver medals for its “Light Munich” product and for its “Golden Triticale” in the “unique malt” categories. It received a bronze for its Yankee Pilsner in the “Pilsen” category.
“This year’s three awards are our first for products made exclusively on the new floor malting system that opened in 2024,” Joel Alex, the company’s founder, told Mainebiz. “We won in 50% of the categories for which we submitted.”
‘Amazing flavors’
The company characterizes its Light Munich as “honey, toast, with a nutty finish … packed full of amazing flavors and aromas.”
“The Light Munich continues to shine this year with a second-place finish,” said Alex. “Last year this malt won gold and ‘Best of Show.’”
The judges’ comments said the Light Munich “shows strong toasty and cracker-like characteristics” and “consistently rated high across descriptions.” They praised the malt’s “warm, grain-forward foundation” and said the sample offered “a clean, sweet malt profile with very light bitterness and low sourness, supported by moderate to high sweetness that leans toward a caramel-like character.”
‘Pure s’mores’
Blue Ox said the Golden Triticale is a staff favorite that’s “pure s’mores and granola. Addictingly delicious.”
“Our Golden Triticale was a brand-new product for us and this was the first time it’s been judged, so we’re proud it is getting recognition so quickly,” Alex said.
The judges characterized its profile as “strongly toasty, with prominent notes of toast and graham cracker supported by medium grain character. Sweet caramel and granola add warmth and richness, while light hints of cinnamon and marshmallow provide gentle sweetness and nuance.”
Grape-Nuts and honey
Blue Ox characterizes the straw-colored Yankee Pilsner as “clean” with “subtle flavors of fresh bread and aroma of hay.”
“It is also worth noting that the Pilsner (Pislen) category is one of the most competitive styles, so it is no small feat that our Yankee Pilsner malt rose in the field to take bronze,” Alex said.
The judges said, the aroma “shows a mix of light to medium bready and cereal-like notes, including graham, sweet bread, Grape-Nuts and bread crust, supported by stronger impressions of breakfast-cereal and cracker character” with “subtle hints of honey, walnut, cucumber and dandelion add gentle sweetness and freshness.”
Key ingredient
Malt, made from grains like barley, is a key ingredient in craft beer recipes.
Launched in 2013 by home brewer Joel Alex, Blue Ox Malthouse is Maine’s first malting operation and now the largest dedicated floor maltster outside of Europe.
Farms in Maine and beyond supply the company with barley to make malt.
Malting is a process of soaking grain, letting it grow and then baking it down. The steps are called “steeping,” “germination” and “kilning.”
In the floor-malting method, Blue Ox does the germination step on a floor while also applying modern methods of precise temperature and moisture controls across every aspect of production, using a proprietary control system.
The company supplies malt to roughly 120 producers.
The competition, called the Malt Cup, was hosted by the Craft Maltsters Guild in collaboration with Montana State University’s barley, malt and brewing quality lab.
The program provides feedback that’s intended to improve malt quality and ultimately elevate the credibility of the small grains community.
Formed in 2013, the guild promotes the tradition of craft malting in North America, providing services and resources to members.
Malt for home brewers
Last year, Blue Ox debuted an online shop that allows homebrewers to buy five-pound bags of Yankee Pilsner, Vyenna, Dark Munich, Caramel 60, Roasted Barley, Chit, Wheat, Chocolate Rye, Special Moxie and Maplewood Smoked malts for delivery.
“Blue Ox Malthouse was founded on the principle of supporting farmers and our food system at large,” said Joe Rinaldo, the company’s senior account manager. “By offering our award-winning products to a wider audience, we further that mission and hope to connect to more of our community beyond professional brewers and distillers.”
