The Craft Maltsters Guild announced the 2026 Malt Cup award recipients at a virtual ceremony this evening, with winners from across the globe.
Hannah Uhlmann, Director of the Barley, Malt & Brewing Lab at Montana State University and manager of the Malt Cup awards for eight years now, presented the awards alongside Aline Brito, Sensory & Food Scientist at Food Montana State University. They reported 117 total entries from 29 malthouses in five countries. These entries included seven grain types and 48 varieties.
Here are 2026 Malt Cup winners:
Distillers Malt
- Gold: Maltese, Two Track Malting in Menoken, North Dakota
- Silver: Distillers – High Enzyme, Root Shoot Malting in Loveland, Colorado
- Bronze: Whiskey Jack, Red Shed Malting in Red Deer County, Alberta
Light Munich
- Gold: RS M-10, Root Shoot Malting in Loveland, Colorado
- Silver: Light Munich, Blue Ox Malthouse in Lisbon Falls, Maine
- Bronze: Mjolnir Light Munich, ND Malting & Hops in Williston, North Dakota
Caramel
- Gold: Cara Rubie – C20, Root Shoot Malting in Loveland, Colorado
- Silver: Caribou Malt – C40, Red Shed Malting in Red Deer County, Alberta
- Bronze: MOD AFTDRK – C120, Troubadour Maltings in Fort Collins, Colorado
Vienna
- Gold: Super Pevec, Troubadour Maltings in Fort Collins, Colorado
- Silver: Vienna, Voyager Craft Malt in Whitton, NSW Australia
- Bronze: Keughen Vienna, Gallatin Valley Malt in Manhattan, Montana
Wheat
- Gold: Wheat Pale, 3D Malt in Camrose, Alberta Canada
- Silver: Wheat Malt, Rabbit Hill Malt in Shiloh, New Jersey
- Bronze: Wheat Malt, South Fork Malthouse in Cynthiana, Kentucky
Pale Malt
- Gold: Parkland Pale, Red Shed Malting in Red Deer County, Alberta
- Silver: Okefenokee, Two Track Malting in Menoken, North Dakota
- Bronze: Baronesse Pale, LINC Malt in Spokane Valley, Washington
Pilsen
- Gold: Pilsner Lake, Loam Malt Studio in Nomans Lake, WA Australia
- Silver: ’23 Violetta Pils, Mitten State Malt in Okemos, Michigan
- Bronze: Yankee Pils, Blue Ox Malthouse in Lisbon Falls, Maine
Unique Malt
- Gold: Finger Lakes Flaked Corn, New York Craft in Malt Batavia, New York
- Silver: Golden Triticale, Blue Ox Malthouse in Lisbon Falls, Maine
- Bronze: Frontier Malt, Gallatin Valley Malt in Manhattan, Montana
Each year, the Best In Show designation goes to the Gold Medal malt that had the highest performance through all three rounds of evaluation: Analytical Quality, Sensory Evaluation, and Best Of Show Judging. The 2026 Best In Show malt was Parkland Pale by Red Shed Malting, crafted from the CDC Churchill barley variety.
“Winning the Malt Cup means the world to us— we pour our heart and soul into this business and our products,” says Matt Hamill, Maltster at Red Shed Malting. “I’m constantly touting ‘premium’ products in the market, so this recognition helps us as a sales tool and an icebreaker to get us in the door.”
Red Shed Malting will receive the traveling Malt Cup trophy, shipped to them from last year’s winners Blue Ox Malthouse.
The 2026 Malt Cup was made possible by generous sponsors Ackermann, Bratney, the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre, the Montana Wheat and Barley Committee, the National Barley Growers Association, New Glarus Brewing Co., Promalting, RadCraft, and Yingtai Machinery; as well as AV partner Empowered Streaming.
The Craft Maltsters Guild extends gratitude to all of the Malt Cup entrants who will soon receive judging notes for their entries. This program intends to provide feedback that improves malt quality, ultimately elevating the credibility of the small grains community at large. Registration for the 2027 Malt Cup will begin in October.
