Collab Crisp Malt

The Royal Oak: Geeking Out on Barleywine

During the first week of October, Robert Crane of Crisp Malt entered our laboratory of mischief in Haarlem to collaborate on The Royal Oak, a barleywine brewed for our small-batch Lab Series. Usually at Uiltje, we geek out on hops, but our collab with Crisp gave us the rare opportunity to geek out on malts. And seeing as barleywine originated in 18th-century England, who better to talk to than a malt chap from Norfolk?

Uiltje: Breweries are typically full of hop geeks and, on occasion, yeast geeks. Rarely malt geeks. Do you sometimes get the feeling that malt is craft beer’s third wheel?

Rob: Feels like that sometimes, doesn’t it? But really, us maltsters like to say we’re just a few ingredients short of a beer. Arguably, malt isn’t as sexy as hops, which has so many different elements in terms of aroma, bitterness and terpenes. Because grain is used in everything from whiskey and beer to cereal, people don’t really think about it—despite it being the base for many everyday essentials, like beer.

Uiltje: So brewing a barleywine is malts moment to shine?

Rob: Collaborating on a malt-forward barleywine is always something special, and obviously this isn’t Uiltje’s first barleywine. Crisp collaborates on IPAs, stouts, etc., but in a barleywine like The Royal Oak the malt is really ramped up. It’s a great showcase for our grain.

Uiltje: I suppose it’s all agricultural, right—hops, yeast, grain? They’re all united by their obsession with the weather.

Rob: Weather plays a massive, massive part in our industry. One year it’s too dry with barely any rain; the next, the rain won’t stop. Hopsters, yeasters, maltsters—we’re all obsessed with the weather. Fortunately for us, our winter crop is looking really good this year.

Uiltje: Crisp was founded in 1870 in Norfolk. You’re a major player in specialty barley—the good stuff used in whiskey and craft beer. I’ve heard Norfolk has something special about its grain—special enough for you to wear a branded shirt printed with ‘the finest malt’.

Rob: ‘The finest malt’ is printed on the shirt, and we stick by that. Norfolk is blessed with beautiful light sandy soil that is very low in nitrogen; when barley is too high in nitrogen it can affect malting characteristics. We are definitely the epicenter of quality grain in England and a global player. Norfolk offers the perfect conditions for brewers. The fact that quality brewers like Uiltje go through the trouble to import it says a lot about Norfolk grain.

Uiltje: So, like Haarlem is proud of its brewing history and surrounding tulip fields, Norfolk is proud of its grain?

Rob: We work with grower groups and some 200 farmers, all of whom are located no farther than 40 miles from our maltings, which is important for both traceability and sustainability. The farmers, the grower groups, Crisp—we all know each other and recognize the quality of the UK’s east coast for growing grain. There’s definitely a shared pride in that, so much so that we’ve all agreed to implement a shared framework (called Field Forward—editor’s note) that uses on-field data to control local soil health, water usage, biodiversity and emissions. We all understand how fortunate we are to be gifted this incredible soil to work with and understand our responsibility to sustain it.

Uiltje: So here’s your chance to flaunt your malt chops. What grain are we using in The Royal Oak?

Rob: The grain bill for The Royal Oak is solid. The initial idea was to use Maris Otter as the backbone, but Vini (Uiltje Head Brewer) decided the slightly sweeter Best Ale malt with its light caramel notes would work better for this collab. It’s a great malt—very diverse—used a lot in English ales, IPAs, stouts and porters. It’s got a super rich color and sweet balance but also a good bite, which is perfect for barleywine. A second malt we’re using is Crystal 100, which is the lightest in our Crystal series. It’s named ‘crystal’ for the crystallization of sugars, which delivers a clean, nutty, caramel flavor and aroma. It’s can bring a reddish hue to a beer which is part of the color spectrum you’re looking for in an English barleywine. The third grain we’re using is Dark Munich, which brings a rich malt taste with fresh-baked bread crust and that classic Dark Munich sort of bite you get on the back of the palate after sipping. The 11.5% we’re aiming for is ideal—maybe on the higher end of the alcohol spectrum.

Uiltje: As a malt man, do you get to collab much with breweries?

Rob: Like everyone else in this industry, I like to collab as often as possible. It’s fun checking out the different breweries and the kits they use. The smaller one-man breweries often put me to work, sometimes really backbreaking stuff like digging out mash in 50°C heat. The steam is great for my skin but pretty savage for the rest of me. Larger breweries like Uiltje with their super automated systems are more relaxed. It’s less about ripping open sacks and stirring mash than it is talking and comparing notes. These collabs are great for insights, and I get to drink great beer. It gives me a renewed appreciation of the entire industry. The things people are brewing these days! Right now, being here, I just love the aromas you get from grain and hops. The sights, the sounds, the sensory stuff. And the great thing is you have a product in the end. But if you’re asking me if Vini and Marko (Uiltje’s Head of Cellar) have been breaking my balls all day, the answer is no. I’m listening, advising if need be, but in the end they are the ones calling the shots. They know their kit and how to get the best out of it. Most of my work happens in advance by advising and delivering the grain. When I need to get my hands dirty, I gladly do. But the most important thing is the experience—this day spent together, the time shared, the stories told, the friendships made.