Loudoun Welcomes Pilot Malt House To Growing Brewery Industry
According to Black Hops Farm’s Jonathan Staples, Loudoun County may now be the only place in the world with a hops processing plant and a malt house working side-by-side on the same property.
On December 10, the Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry, Todd Haymore, announced that the Michigan-based company Pilot Malt House is investing almost $1 million on a new facility in Loudoun County. (See photos from announcement event.)
“Pilot Malt House will close the missing link in Loudoun’s farm brewery industry,” says Loudoun Economic Development Director Buddy Rizer.
“We will now have the ability to malt locally grown grain right here in our county. Pilot Malt House will allow more investment to stay in Loudoun, and will ensure that Virginia’s craft beer industry is heavily rooted in Loudoun’s rural economy,” Rizer explains.
Pilot Malt House is an artisan malt house that uses locally grown grains and a mix of traditional and modern processing techniques to produce a variety of base, specialty, and custom malts. The company will work directly with Virginia producers to source more than two million pounds of Virginia grains, creating new markets for Virginia barley, wheat and rye.
Erik May is the owner of Pilot Malt House, and he and one of his staff flew to Loudoun for the big announcement.
“We couldn’t be happier to be expanding our Michigan operation into Northern Virginia,” May said in a statement released by the governor’s office. “Pilot Malt House, since its inception, has existed to connect farms to breweries and distilleries. We will provide the best quality malt to Virginia breweries and distilleries made from Virginia-grown grain made by Virginia-raised folks in a truly Virginia facility.”
Pilot Malt House currently supplies malt, an important ingredient in beer, to several national breweries. The company plans to work with Virginia’s craft brewers, home brewers, and distilleries to sell its distinct, quality malts.