By Brent Manning, Board President
The Guild Board hopes everyone is fairing well as we continue to navigate our way through the pandemic and what has been a challenging harvest year for many in our community. It has been inspiring to see so many of our members rise to meet the challenges that the last two years have presented.
The Board has been working on several major initiatives, including the formation of a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Task Force which has produced a DEI mission statement that presents a new, broader vision for our community. I encourage you to take a moment to review it and fold the principles discussed into your business. The recent town hall meeting with Dr. J Jackson-Beckham of Crafted For All was also recorded and available to watch here.
Lastly, we have finalized the program for our in-person (yay!) 2022 Craft Malt Conference in Portland, Maine this upcoming February 18-19. We’ll be welcoming speakers from academia, agriculture, brewing, and distilling to provide an exciting mix of content for the event. Pre-conference tours on Thursday, February 17 are also in planning for Allagash Brewing Company, Blue Ox Malthouse, and the University of Southern Maine’s Quality Control Collaboratory. The virtual portion of the conference, held one week after the in-person event on February 25-26, will feature a similar mix of speakers. All virtual sessions will be live-streamed via Crowdcast and are open to all Craft Malt Con participants. We hope that this hybrid approach expands access and interest across our expanding membership. Register here.
We will also be resuming our Advanced Class in Craft Malt Production in Portland, offering up to 20 spaces for aspiring maltsters to learn about the malting process from grain to glass. The class will be held in the days leading up to the Craft Malt Conference, February 14-17, 2022. Sign up to attend.
The Guild Board of Directors wishes everyone a healthy and happy holiday season!