Maltings
We’re proud to be the only brewery in Australia with its very own maltings on site.
What Malt Does
A maltings plant is where barley transforms into malt, one of the most important raw materials in the brewing process. Like our beer, our malt is carefully crafted to enhance the aroma, colour and flavour that Coopers beer is famous for.
Our Maltings
In 2017, we launched our maltings with the help of our Maltings Manager, Doug. The architecturally designed facility is what gives our award-winning team of brewers an unfair advantage when it comes to crafting our range of ales and lagers.
Having our own maltings means we can create and develop the best malts from the finest Australian barley, and manufacture a variety of premium quality malts from pale to Vienna. As the only brewery in Australia with its maltings on site, we can experiment with new flavours and brews well into the future (and just quietly, the future’s looking tasty).
The Malting Process
We source the barley, craft the malt and then we brew the beer.
The process starts with sourcing premium Australian barley, then we steep it for germination and dry it in a kiln to develop its flavours and aromas. We know it sounds easy, but if it were, then everybody would be doing it.
Where Our Malt Comes From
As an Adelaide-based brewery, we’re lucky enough to be a stone’s throw from some of the nation’s finest barley country.
We’ve met every one of our growers at their farms, and we can confidently say that we only buy grain that’s sustainably grown. Our barley farmers are audited and accredited, and we can track their grain from the paddock to a finished beer.
Our Barley Farmers
As Australia’s largest independent family-owned brewery, our backbone is the relationships we build with everyone who contributes to our brewing process.
With every generation of the Cooper family comes another generation of the farming families we’ve been sourcing barley from for decades. Our farmers grow the best grain so we can make the best brew and you can drink the best beer.
Meet the barley growers from Pannell Farms
Pannell Farms is just one of the South Australian barley growers that make our maltings successful. Brothers Tim and Mike Pannell started growing barley at their properties more than 20 years ago, after shifting their focus from sheep to cropping. Their Alawoona and Taldra farms are in the Murray Mallee region, which is known for producing some of Australia’s finest barley.
Our Maltings Manager Doug and the Cooper family are frequently in touch with Mike and Tim to talk about Pannell Farms' crops. “We’re in constant contact about our barley, its quality and the malting results, which is great feedback for us,” says Tim. “They give us their thoughts on new varieties and share what they’re looking for in barley to produce the best malt. Doug and the Cooper family have been exceptional to do business with. The company has a family business feel and we’re very lucky to be involved so closely with Coopers.”
Coopers is the Pannell brothers’ beer of choice, and they’re chuffed that their barley helps make a product they love. “It definitely adds more meaning and connection to what we produce, and it’s very cool knowing that our barley made the beer I'm buying at the pub,” says Tim. “It’s hard to go past a Coopers Original Pale Ale on tap, but my drink of choice is Coopers Mild Ale in a can, and my brother Mike’s is Original Pale Ale in a bottle.”
Photo credit: Australian Grain Technologies
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