Is cream ale simple? Maybe. But that simplicity is exactly what makes it hard to brew well. And that is why beer drinkers should love it.

The History of Cream Ale

The modern story of cream ale begins in 1960, when Rochester, New York’s Genesee Brewing released cream ale. For a time, Genny Cream—as its fans call it—was the best-selling ale in America. It has won multiple medals at the Great American Beer Festival and World Beer Cup.

Genesee Cream Ale is the archetype of the beer style. Pale ale means Sierra Nevada. Steam means Anchor. And cream ale means Genesee.

But the real story of cream ale begins over 100 years prior to Genny Cream.

“In our area of the country, in the mid 1800s or so, lager was really booming, and a lot of the brewers in our area were ale producers, and they needed something to compete with those crisp, clean lagers,” says Andy Cook, founder of Swiftwater Brewing in Rochester.

“So they essentially invented cream ale,” says Cook. “The base malt and malt recipe is very similar to what became American lager: lots of pale barley and a pretty healthy dose of corn. I think sometimes rice or sugar are used, but I really think of cream ale as having a pretty good chunk of corn. It’s very traditional for American brewing, I would say. And it was fermented with ale yeast, but at a colder temperature, so it wound up nice and crispy and clean and chuggable.”

Despite brewing in the shadow of the Genesee giant, Cook is proud to brew a cream ale at Swiftwater. “We as Rochester brewers really claim it as our style,” he says. “This is our community beer. We should all participate in making this our beer. And I think it’s really cool because the New York State Brewers Association has fostered that through their competition and they really want to adopt that as New York State’s native beer.”

Cook and Swiftwater have now taken over stewardship of the Celebration of Cream Ales, a beer festival started by Roc Brewing. “Maybe a year or two before we opened, a place called Roc Brewing that was right up the street opens, and I got to be really good friends with them around the time that we opened,” says Cook. “And they started a Celebration of Cream Ales, and we always participated in it. They reached out to 20 or 30 other local brewers and asked them to make their version of cream ale, and the implied message was ‘get weird with it if you want to.'”

“When, unfortunately, Roc Brewing closed a couple years ago, I reached out to the former owner and the head brewer at the time and I was like, ‘Do you mind if I bring it back?’ And they were fully supportive, so I can’t thank them enough for that,” says Cook.

Although many of the participating breweries stick to a classic, true-to-style cream ale, others do take the opportunity to “get weird with it.” Cream ale with fruit. Dry-hopped cream ale. Even cream ale with lactose. The clean flavors of cream ale can serve as a blank canvas for a creative brewer. Cook himself once made an Arnold Palmer cream ale with lemon and tea.

Hold The Cream…Or Don’t

Lemon and tea aside, the ingredients of cream ale can be quite simple, though they can also be overcomplicated.

“Historically, six-row barley was used in anything with adjuncts,” says Cook. “Now with modern malting science, it really doesn’t matter. So we use a two-row pilsner [malt]. We have messed around with a six-row pilsner [malt] in the past. And as far as diastatic power, I didn’t really see any difference. I feel like modern two-row has more than enough for what you need.”

As for corn, “We’ve used everything from modern off the shelf flaked corn to […] an heirloom malted corn,” says Cook. “We made a dark cream ale with an amber malted corn from Valley Malt in Massachusetts.” A brewer Cook works with made cream ale with nixtamalized corn, which is whole kernels of corn soaked in food-grade lye. Anything goes when it comes to the corn in cream ale.

A four-hour drive away from Rochester, in Hawley, Pennsylvania, Wallenpaupack Brewing also has a cream ale, as its flagship beer. Head brewer Logan Ackerley says the beer is popular with the tourists in the area looking for whatever is light or most similar to the macro lager they are used to drinking. While many of Wallenpaupack’s customers might not appreciate the beauty of Paupack Cream Ale, that doesn’t mean Ackerley doesn’t care about the beer. He brews the beer with a malt bill which he says is “overcomplicated.”

“We’ve been changing this recipe for the last nine years, so we’re still constantly tweaking it,” says Ackerley. “But because [our water is] high in sulfate, a lot of our beers tended to go on the dry, bitter side. So we use 20% corn, which is on the high end for what the style guidelines say. But we also have some dextrin malt, a little bit of Vienna because we want to get that sweet malty thing that you’re looking for in a cream ale.” The recipe used to have acidulated malt, but that has been cut back to “just a touch.”

“So it’s pils, corn, Vienna, dextrin, and just a touch of acidulated now,” says Ackerley. “Which is, like I said, probably a little more complicated than the style calls for.” The complex malt bill is compensated for with simplicity in corn. “It’s flaked corn. It’s nothing fancy,” says Ackerley. As for why 20%, Ackerley says, “It’s a pretty significant amount, but we found that without that, we really don’t get that really pleasant sweetness that you’re looking for.”

The hops in a cream ale would have historically been a descendant of a noble variety grown in New York State. Cook uses Triumph, which is indeed a descendant of the noble varieties that were bred in the State. But at Wallenpaupack, Ackerley uses a surprising hop in the cream ale.

“The variety of hops is probably the only thing that we haven’t changed about this beer, and it’s entirely Centennial,” says Ackerley. “Just a 60-minute addition. Centennial was always the hop from the start, so we haven’t messed with that.”

Ackerley acknowledges that a more traditional hop choice might have been Cluster or Magnum, but “being a 60-minute edition … you wouldn’t know just by drinking it that it is Centennial. It isn’t citrusy or anything like that,” he says.

As for water, Cook says, “Rochester water is pretty neutral. We’re pretty fortunate that we have a blank slate to work with…. So I really don’t do a whole lot to the water. I add a little smidge of calcium to promote flocculation and yeast health, but really that’s about it.”

While Cook is aware some breweries have experimented with adding lactose to put the “cream” in “cream ale,” he says that would not be traditional.

The Perfect Cream Ale

Em Sauter, the artist behind Pints and Panels and co-host of the All About Beer Podcast, called Wallenpaupack Paupack Cream Ale “perfection.” But Ackerley has tweaked the beer for nine years in hopes of making it even more perfect.

“I want better foam and head retention,” he says. “Using 20% of an adjunct makes that kind of tough. We are messing with some Tetrahop on the small scale just to see if that’s an option to get a nicer pour on the beer.”

The defining characteristic of the perfect cream ale is corn flavor and drinkability. “There should be a solid corn character in there,” says Cook. Ackerley, for his part, increased the corn percentage of Wallenpaupack’s cream ale from 12% to 20%. “Don’t be afraid to give it a shot up at the higher threshold, because it’s really unique to this beer,” he says of corn. “If you’re putting it in there, make sure they can actually taste it.” As a bonus, Ackerley says it adds to the drinkability of the beer. “That sweetness just makes it very quaffable,” he says.

For a time, cream ale was maligned by craft beer lovers. Too simple. Too similar to macro beer. But that simplicity means approachability, which can mean sales of craft beer to new audiences. And the subtleties of the style mean that small changes in brewing and recipe make noticeable changes to the beer. While some brewers claim German or Czech lager styles prove a brewer’s skill “since there’s nothing to hide behind,” the modern equivalent is America’s original beer style, cream ale.

At All About Beer, we’re honored to share the stories that define the beer community, and we couldn’t do it without the generous support of our underwriting sponsors. Their commitment helps sustain independent beer journalism, allowing us to highlight the people, places, and passion behind every pint. Their partnership ensures these stories continue to inspire, connect, and celebrate the craft we all love. Join our underwriters today and help make an impact on independent journalism covering the beer industry.

The post Is Cream Ale the Perfect Beer? first appeared on All About Beer.

We’re also going to discuss storytelling and the way a good iconic beer has something to say. With history, agriculture, brewing processes, wars, laws, and even marketing, iconic beers have rich stories. It’s the job of the brewery to make a great beer, but we’re tasked with finding the reason that beer matters.

You’ll get a demonstration of this process midway through the show as John makes the case for an unlikely icon, so listen for that. And looking forward, we’re in the process of lining up a slate of future shows, so expect the story of another iconic beer next month.

Listen to the whole conversation where you download podcasts including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, and Overcast.

This episode is sponsored by:

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This episode of the One Iconic Beer podcast is supported by RahrBSG – trusted supplier to brewers, distillers, and beverage makers across North America.  From the barley field to your brewhouse, we’re proud to support the people behind great beer with the ingredients, expertise, and service they depend on.  Whether you’re brewing the next great American Double IPA or crafting an award-winning continental lager, RahrbSG provides the industry’s finest quality, selection, and support. Behind every great – or even iconic – pint, there is a partner who knows what it takes to make it happen. RahrBSG is proud to keep the beer flowing with you. 

At All About Beer, we’re honored to share the stories that define the beer community, and we couldn’t do it without the generous support of our underwriting sponsors. Their commitment helps sustain independent beer journalism, allowing us to highlight the people, places, and passion behind every pint. Their partnership ensures these stories continue to inspire, connect, and celebrate the craft we all love. Join our underwriters today and help make an impact on independent journalism covering the beer industry.

The post One Iconic Beer: Behind The Scenes first appeared on All About Beer.

This year Samuel Adams released a non-alcoholic version of its best-selling seasonal Oktoberfest, saying it had the “same smooth, bold taste and rich caramel malt flavor” as the original. Sierra Nevada Brewing Company also released its Trail Pass Fest Brew brewed with Chinook and Tradition hops.

“Trail Pass uses traditional brewing methods, not alcohol removal, to create full craft flavor below the 0.5% ABV non-alcoholic threshold,” the brewery wrote when announcing the beer. “It’s packed with the rich flavor and smooth drinkability of a classic Festbier, but without the alcohol, so you can keep the party going strong.”

Those with some experience will tell you that an Oktoberfest session is a marathon not a print. When drinking by the Maß, staying upright until the end takes some packing and strategy. As older generations are drinking less and younger generations are minding their consumption, moderation has come into focus.

Zebra striping, where drinkers alternate between a full-strength beer and a non-alcoholic options, is a popular practice. There is no shortage of mainstream lagers, stouts, and India pale ales in the non-alcoholic space. Now, seasonals are being passed over the bar.

Beyond Oktoberfest but still in the autumn vein, Maine’s Shipyard Brewing Company launched Pumpkinhead NA, a non-alcoholic version of its iconic Pumpkinhead Ale.

“Pumpkinhead has been part of our story for more than 25 years,” said Fred Forsley, Owner of Shipyard Brewing Company in a press release. “As more consumers reach for non alcoholic options, we’ve heard one request over and over: make a Pumpkinhead NA. We took our time because we wanted to make sure it tasted like the real thing. We think our fans are going to love it.”

Best Day Brewing, a non-alcoholic brand released its märzen this season calling it a “delicately hopped lager with a malty nose and a subtly sweet body that finished crisp and smooth.”

While American brewers are finally coming around to non-alcoholic options, German brewers have been at it for years and seeing tremendous growth, including at the world’s largest beer festival.

“In 2024, four to five percent of all beer served at Oktoberfest was alcohol-free,” says Henner Höper the Marketing Director Paulaner Brewery Group.” At first glance, that may seem like a small share. But with around seven million litres served in one-litre steins, that translates to roughly 300,000 alcohol-free beers. Demand continues to grow. For 2025, festival tent operators reported increases of between six and ten percent compared with the previous year, depending on the tent.”

Non-alcoholic beer saw a 10.7 percent increase across the entire Oktoberfest in 2026.

This reflects how perceptions of alcohol-free beer have changed, notes Höper. 

“What is striking is how quietly this change has taken place,” he says. “Ordering an alcohol-free stein is no longer considered unusual. And perhaps that is the clearest sign of how attitudes toward alcohol-free beer have evolved.”

At All About Beer, we’re honored to share the stories that define the beer community, and we couldn’t do it without the generous support of our underwriting sponsors. Their commitment helps sustain independent beer journalism, allowing us to highlight the people, places, and passion behind every pint. Their partnership ensures these stories continue to inspire, connect, and celebrate the craft we all love. Join our underwriters today and help make an impact on independent journalism covering the beer industry.

The post Why Brewers Across the Globe are Taking the Alcohol Out of Oktoberfest first appeared on All About Beer.

Each year, Eastern North Pacific gray whales make a 10,000-mile round-trip migration between Arctic feeding grounds and Baja California Sur’s lagoons. Laguna San Ignacio, part of the UNESCO World Heritage-designated Whale Sanctuary of El Vizcaíno, is the last undeveloped gray whale nursery on Earth, where mothers give birth and nurse their calves before heading north.

Despite historical protections, gray whales face growing modern threats. A warming climate has severely impacted Arctic prey availability, driving steep population declines and reduced reproductive success. At Laguna San Ignacio, researchers have documented a dramatic drop in mother-calf pairs: From over 100 per season down to fewer than 20 in recent years, with only four documented in 2026. Combined with risks from ship strikes, coastal development, and entanglement, dedicated conservation efforts are more critical than ever.

For more than 30 years, WILDCOAST has led the fight to protect this vital marine ecosystem. To date, the organization’s efforts have safeguarded 209,108 acres from industrial development, conserved over 480 miles of shoreline surrounding gray whale breeding lagoons, and helped advance mangrove restoration and community-led ecotourism in the region.

“Laguna San Ignacio is one of the world’s greatest marine conservation success stories, but the future of gray whales is far from secure,” said Serge Dedina, Executive Director and Co-founder of WILDCOAST. “After decades of working alongside local communities to protect this extraordinary nursery from industrial development, we’re now facing a new challenge as climate change threatens the whales’ survival. Partnerships like this one with Pure Project help us bring attention and resources to protecting these magnificent animals and ensuring that future generations can experience the wonder of gray whales in Baja California.”

“At Pure Project, we believe beer can be a force for good and a way to inspire meaningful change,” said Mat Robar, Co-founder of Pure Project. “Expanding on Noc-Turtle IPA, our previous collaboration that supported the protection of sea turtle nests, Baja Breach elevates WILDCOAST’s conservation efforts to the ocean’s largest giants. We are honored to partner on this new IPA and raise awareness for the vital conservation work being done to protect Baja’s gray whale nurseries.”

Baja Breach is now available on draft and in 4-packs to go at all five Pure Project taprooms in San Diego County and at select retailers. To learn more about WILDCOAST’s work and more ways to get involved, please visit: https://www.purebrewing.org/story/wildcoast/.

Follow Pure Project on Instagram for specialty release dates, event information, and more at @purebrewing. To find Pure Project beer near you, visit https://www.purebrewing.org/beer-locator/.

About Pure Project:

Pure Project is a small-batch craft brewery with multiple taprooms in San Diego, California, and distribution across the West Coast. Established in 2015, Pure Project produces ingredient-driven craft beers, non-alcoholic beers, hard seltzers, ciders, and more with a passion for sustainability, seasonality, and the small details.

Pure Project has been named the #1 brewery in the country, featured on numerous “Best Brewery” lists, awarded prestigious Great American Beer Festival and World Beer Cup medals, and has earned national recognition for its brewing excellence, thoughtful innovation, and dedication to using beer as a force for good.

Pure Project is a 1% for the Planet company and supports initiatives for a more sustainable future.  To learn more, visit www.purebrewing.org/beer-for-good/.

About WILDCOAST:

WILDCOAST is an international team that conserves coastal and marine ecosystems and addresses climate change through natural solutions.

Founded in 2000 and with offices in California and Mexico, WILDCOAST carries out its mission through three strategies: 1) Establish and manage protected areas; 2) Protect and restore blue carbon ecosystems; and 3) Partner with local communities, governments, and the private sector. In total, WILDCOAST has helped conserve over 38 million acres of coastal and marine ecosystems. 

WILDCOAST is a voice for the ocean and coastlines and is committed to conserving, restoring, and protecting ecologically important and globally significant coastal and marine ecosystems and wildlife for future generations. To learn more, visit https://wildcoast.org/.

The post Pure Project Partners with WILDCOAST onBaja Breach IPA to Support Gray Whale Conservation first appeared on All About Beer.

Asheville’s original craft brewery worked with local coffee roaster Dynamite Roasting Co. to bring back the limited-time favorite. Thunderstruck presents big, booming coffee aroma and flavor with subtle spice and fruit notes. The porter is brewed with 1.5 pounds of Dynamite Roasting coffee per barrel to impart its distinctive coffee character.

“This year’s seasonal calendar has centered around bringing back beloved favorites like Thunderstruck Coffee Porter,” said Commercial Director of Highland Brewing, Jared Turbyfill. “It’s a nostalgic approach that allows us to connect with long-time fans and celebrate our very flavorful craft beer legacy here at Highland.” 

Learn more at https://highlandbrewing.com/.

About Highland Brewing

Highland Brewing was founded in 1994 by Oscar Wong, a retired engineer and entrepreneur, making Highland the pioneer of Asheville’s craft beer scene. Since 2018, the minority-founded company has been proudly woman-led by Oscar’s daughter, Leah Wong Ashburn, President & CEO. Highland is the largest family-owned brewery native to the Southeast, distributing beers across NC, SC, TN, and GA. Committed to quality and sustainability, Highland operates one of the largest solar arrays in the U.S. craft beer industry. The 40-acre hilltop destination welcomes visitors for limited-release beers, tours, disc golf, live music, outdoor retail shopping, private events, and Oscar’s Pizza, a new restaurant honoring Highland’s founder. The campus will also welcome an expanded rock-climbing facility.

The post Thunderstruck Coffee Porter Returns to Highland Brewing in Cans for the First Time first appeared on All About Beer.

Breweries have had to navigate the transition from serving the hospitality industry to being part of the hospitality industry. They have to thread the needle of drawing in their own customers, while not stealing customers from their hospitality accounts.

What does hospitality mean to today’s craft breweries? Bill Eye of Bierstadt Lagerhaus, Amy Loebig of Dancing Gnome, and and Mark Babson of River Roost Brewery joined the panel to discuss brewery hospitality.

Hear the whole conversation on the Drink Beer, Think Beer podcast.

Or download via Overcast, Stitcher, Podcast Addict, or wherever you download shows.

This episode is sponsored by:

Drink Beer, Think Beer podcast listeners are among the first to know: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company’s famed rare beer Celly Drippins will be released to the public on Friday November 6 at both the Chico California and Mills River North Carolina locations. Learn more about the details of the release events at ​https://sierranevada.com/event/celly-drippins-release-2026 and plan your trip to experience this extra special beer, available only on tap at the brewery for a limited number of days while supplies last.

Our Tropics yeast is based on a London Ale strain, but we added a new gene to its genome that codes for a unique thiol-releasing enzyme. The enzyme converts the precursors in barley to free thiols that smell and taste like passionfruit and grapefruit. It’s super clean. No off-flavors like burnt rubber or other sulfurous notes. Just tropical aromatics. You don’t have to do anything unusual either, like mash hopping. Just pitch dry Tropics and supercharge your hazy IPA.

The post How Brewers are Shifting Hospitality Practices first appeared on All About Beer.

Over three days, 225 judges evaluated 7,267 beer and cider entries from 49 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The field included 54 collaboration entries and 30 Pro-Am entries.

“The submissions from this year’s competition continue to reflect just how far American brewing and cidermaking have come,” said Chris Williams, competition director for the Brewers Association. “The addition of multiple new styles and unique concepts like the Craft Malt Beer and Hop Water categories gave producers fresh ground to explore. The overarching quality presented by so many of the contenders underlines how intensive the judging process is and how competitively these contenders rise to the occasion with entries that pushed each category forward. GABF remains one of the most competitive stages in craft beer, and these winners represent the very best our industry has to offer. Congratulations to this year’s medalists.”

View the full list of winners here.

The post Winners of the 2026 Great American Beer Festival first appeared on All About Beer.

Additional Coverage

A New Era Begins for the Great American Beer Festival

The greatest tragedy of reveling in the glow of nostalgia is the often fleeting realization that you didn’t appreciate just how great a moment was while you were living in it. Many beer fans who had the privilege of attending the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) during its golden era of opulence likely felt that all-too-familiar pang of regret on June 1 when the Brewers Association announced that GABF would be moving on from the Colorado Convention Center after 26 years to a smaller venue down the road to Denver’s Levitt Pavilion.

Read the article here.

The Guide to 2026 Great American Beer Fest Week Events

Start prepping your livers accordingly because the new-look Great American Beer Festival (GABF) is set to return October 10-11, 2026. While the festival itself has scaled back in both size and scope this year, what happens outside of the fest continues to be a spectacle with tap takeovers, special releases, hangover brunches, mini beer fests, and more!

Read the article here.

Hear the whole conversation on the Drink Beer, Think Beer podcast.

Or download via Overcast, Stitcher, Podcast Addict, or wherever you download shows.

This episode is sponsored by:

Drink Beer, Think Beer podcast listeners are among the first to know: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company’s famed rare beer Celly Drippins will be released to the public on Friday November 6 at both the Chico California and Mills River North Carolina locations. Learn more about the details of the release events at ​https://sierranevada.com/event/celly-drippins-release-2026 and plan your trip to experience this extra special beer, available only on tap at the brewery for a limited number of days while supplies last.

Our Tropics yeast is based on a London Ale strain, but we added a new gene to its genome that codes for a unique thiol-releasing enzyme. The enzyme converts the precursors in barley to free thiols that smell and taste like passionfruit and grapefruit. It’s super clean. No off-flavors like burnt rubber or other sulfurous notes. Just tropical aromatics. You don’t have to do anything unusual either, like mash hopping. Just pitch dry Tropics and supercharge your hazy IPA.

The post Big Changes for the Great American Beer Festival first appeared on All About Beer.

It was the summer of 2017 in Alameda, a friendly island city across the bay from San Francisco. In a few weeks, Silberstein and partners Dave McLean and Curtis Davenport would open Admiral Maltings, California’s first floor malting operation since Prohibition.

But for the moment, Silberstein’s eyes kept darting upward at the wooden ceiling: “a redwood cathedral,” he called it. There was an element of faith in what he and his partners were building beneath it. They believed malt from California-grown grain could become something more than a commodity. That it could be an ingredient local brewers and distillers would seek out. One that could carry a sense of place all the way into the glass. 

That it would happen within walking distance of St. George Spirits and Faction Brewing, with Almanac Beer Company soon moving in next door, only added to the excitement. Silberstein had already spent two decades running San Francisco’s ThirstyBear Organic Brewery. For all his optimism about Admiral, he was clear-eyed about the risks of what he readily admitted was a passion project.

“I’m trying to be smart about it,” Silberstein told me over beers on Faction’s patio in 2017. “I’m trying to do it so we can all pay the bills.”

But nearly a decade later, Admiral Maltings can no longer make the economics work.

Last week, Admiral Maltings announced the closure of its malt house and its pub, The Rake. After spending recent years seeking partners to help carry the business forward, Admiral simply exhausted the resources to continue.

From California Grain to Glass

The closure represents more than losing a source of malt. It breaks a link between farmers and the brewers and distillers turning their grain into distinctly California beer and spirits. Producers lose an ingredient they say genuinely changed the flavor of what they made. And with the closure of The Rake, the Bay Area loses a gathering place built quite literally around celebrating Admiral’s mission, where drinkers could sip beer and spirits made with its malt while looking through windows onto the malting floor.

In an email this weekend, Silberstein said one of Admiral’s proudest accomplishments was helping people understand that “beer is agriculture—no malt, no beer.” 

The malt house helped create a premium market for California-grown malt barley, giving farmers another option for a drought-tolerant crop in a state with limited water supplies. That connection will be difficult to replace. 

“Farming malt barley is a specialized skill that will disappear if it isn’t practiced,” Silberstein said. Brewers and distillers, he added, will lose access to some of the diverse grain varieties and sense of terroir that came from working with small farms and small-batch floor malting.

From the beginning, Silberstein promised a product that would be “like getting fresh-baked bread versus packaged Wonder Bread.” And by all accounts, Admiral delivered on that promise.

Reacting to Admiral’s closure on Instagram, distiller Tyler Burke recalled storing Admiral malt in one room and malt from other producers in another. 

“The aroma intensity coming out of the Admiral room would blow the other away,” wrote Burke, who worked with Admiral malts at Spirit Works Distillery and with Redwood Empire Whiskey. 

Almanac Beer Company founder and CEO Damian Fagan said it was a privilege to use Admiral’s malt in dozens of their beers, calling “the quality and consistency of their products second to none.”

And Admiral helped many producers tell the local story Silberstein and his partners envisioned from the start. 

At Alameda Brewing, Let It Lager employs 100-percent malt from Admiral. In Sacramento, Geisthaus Brewing Company makes Landbier, a lager made entirely with California-grown ingredients, including Admiral’s Feldblume malt. And in Arnold, a small town in the Sierra Nevada foothills, Hinterhaus Distilling uses Admiral’s malt in its flagship American Single Malt Whiskey.

Co-owner and head distiller Nate Randall was proud to tell patrons who grew and malted the barley. “[They] were able to taste the land in every sip,” said Randall.

The Problem with the Math

In many respects, Admiral Maltings was a success. Steve Clark, president of the Craft Maltsters Guild and co-founder of Colorado’s Troubadour Maltings, called Admiral an inspiration and a “gold standard craft maltster.”

But the company couldn’t make that success pay off in the long run. Much of what made the operation special also made its products expensive. And the math only got harder as the breweries and distilleries Admiral depended on faced downturns of their own in recent years.

Days after announcing the closure, Silberstein told the San Francisco Chronicle that Admiral had its best financial year in 2023, when distillers accounted for about 40% of its malt sales. Last year, that figure fell to less than 1%. Sales to breweries were falling, too.

Then there was the cost of operating in the Bay Area, where rent alone was a huge burden. Might Admiral have had better luck in a more rural setting? Perhaps. But Silberstein acknowledged that Admiral may never have achieved the same recognition or impact without its urban location and The Rake. “There are always tradeoffs,” he wrote.

There may have been a deeper challenge. For all the value brewers and distillers placed on Admiral malt, that value doesn’t always translate to the person holding the glass.

Making Craft Malt Matter

The closure of Admiral Maltings raises an existential question for small, niche malting companies: Do consumers care whether a brewery uses craft malt?

That assumes that consumers even know what craft malt is. Those who do likely care more about the taste of what’s in their glass than how the ingredients got there.

Even so, Admiral’s closure doesn’t mean the craft malt movement is doomed. The Craft Maltsters Guild counts more than 60 active malt houses in North America. Still, losing Admiral stings.

“I’ll say that this movement is as difficult as it is rare and important,” Clark said in a statement. “Craft maltsters worldwide need your partnership more than ever. Our humble ask to brewers, distillers, and consumers is to consider more ways to choose craft malt and the products made with it.”

Back in Alameda, St. George master distiller Lance Winters said the loss of Admiral Maltings is a gut punch, especially in a state that prides itself on locavorism. 

“The pioneering work of Ron, Curtis, and their entire team allowed California brewers and distillers the option of using malt that was both locally grown and malted, as well as being of world-class quality,” Winters said in a statement. “The fact that the economics of our state can’t support one of its cornerstone philosophies (eating and drinking local) should be alarming to all Californians.” 

The final batch of malt from Admiral Maltings came out of the kiln on Friday, and The Rake will close on Oct. 18. Over the weekend, the company’s website was replaced with a landing page bearing a simple message: “Thank you for 9 great years!” 

But the story isn’t quite over. 

Some of the first malt produced at Admiral Maltings has been aging in another form just down the road. St. George head distiller Dave Smith said that malt was brewed at Faction, then distilled and barreled at St. George. The distillery plans to release that whiskey sometime next year.

“When we do,” Smith told The Alameda Post, “we’ll be raising a glass to our friends and neighbors who built something special at Admiral Maltings.”

Unfortunately, Silberstein and his team won’t be able to savor it beneath that redwood cathedral.

At All About Beer, we’re honored to share the stories that define the beer community, and we couldn’t do it without the generous support of our underwriting sponsors. Their commitment helps sustain independent beer journalism, allowing us to highlight the people, places, and passion behind every pint. Their partnership ensures these stories continue to inspire, connect, and celebrate the craft we all love. Join our underwriters today and help make an impact on independent journalism covering the beer industry.

The post On Legacy and Loss at Admiral Maltings first appeared on All About Beer.

Cream ale is an easy-drinking beer that remains a regional favorite to this day. Comparisons to German helles are not inapt. Far from bland, an annual cream ale festival showcases the art of this American classic.

Listen to the whole conversation where you download podcasts including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, and Overcast.

This episode is sponsored by:

This episode is brought to you by Hopsteiner and Alora hops. If you’re looking for the next breakthrough aroma variety, Alora delivers. With 5 times more bound 3MH thiol precursors than Cascade hops, Alora gives brewers incredible potential for unlocking vibrant tropical and citrus character. Add in a unique oil profile featuring over 50% selinene—and you get expressive notes of peach, apricot, yuzu, and sweet melon. Discover otherworldly flavor with Alora. Shop Alora and other products at shop.Hopsteiner.com.

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At All About Beer, we’re honored to share the stories that define the beer community, and we couldn’t do it without the generous support of our underwriting sponsors. Their commitment helps sustain independent beer journalism, allowing us to highlight the people, places, and passion behind every pint. Their partnership ensures these stories continue to inspire, connect, and celebrate the craft we all love. Join our underwriters today and help make an impact on independent journalism covering the beer industry.

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