Read on to learn more about the nominees in this year’s
Craft Maltsters Guild Board of Directors Election.
Member Malthouse Nominees
Craig Miller, Root Shoot Malting
- Role: Production Manager and Account Manager
- Location: Loveland, CO
- Guild Member Since 2016
What is your personal vision for the craft malt community?
To be an outlet for shared ideas and resources that help improve the quality, consistency, marketability, and sustainability of craft malt.
Why are you interested in serving on the Guild’s Board of Directors?
I’d like to serve on the Board in order to bring some different perspectives and to be part of an organization that values the whole idea of “craft” as it pertains to small business and being part of that community. Hopefully to be able to be involved as the Guild continues to grow and have a positive impact on our portion of the supply chain and value chain.
What skills, resources, and/or connections do you feel you will be able to contribute to the Guild’s Board?
I’ve been involved with the craft beer industry as both a (former) brewery owner and as an employee of a craft malt house. I have made many connections both personally and professionally that allow me to have some measure of insight into how craft breweries work, what the brewers are looking for, how the craft story is passed on to consumers, the challenges these small businesses face, and what factors may be involved when deciding on what ingredients are used in their products, etc. I hope to be able to use this insight while having conversations about the goals and direction of the Craft Maltsters Guild.
What other long-term volunteer opportunities have you been involved with (including service on other boards of directors)? Please list and describe your responsibilities with each below.
I’m currently playing the role of guest lecturer and content contributor for a Brewing Supply Chain class for Auburn University’s Brewing Science Masters program. As a contributor, I am helping the course designers as they write this module of the Master’s program by providing details about the raw ingredient supply chain by detailing real-world examples, answering questions, and interviewing and interacting with the class remotely.
In my personal life, I have served on several homeowners’ association committees and was President of our HOA for two years.
What do you hope to achieve as a Craft Maltsters Guild board member?
Create more relationships within this geographically vast yet tight-knit community of Craft Malt and advance craft malt!
What is one thing that your fellow Guild members should know about you?
My wife and I started a brewery that opened in 2019 and we’re both still very involved in the craft beer world even after we recently ended our involvement with our brewery. I’m really enjoying working for Root Shoot Malting as we continue to grow along with my role at the malt house.
I enthusiastically enjoy beer and whiskey!
Phil Neumann, Mainstem Malt
- Role: Co-Founder & CEO
- Location: Walla Walla, WA
- Guild Member Since 2014
What is your personal vision for the craft malt community?
The Guild celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2023 and is still the only trade group in the world with a mission to support artisan-scale maltsters. Despite being founded with a geographic focus on North America, the growing community it currently represents is very much global in nature. I want to see the Guild lean further into its role as the leading support structure and source of inspiration for craft malt stakeholders of all kinds, from all kinds of places.
Why are you interested in serving on the Guild’s Board of Directors?
My life has revolved around malt for the past 8 years and I’ve been actively involved with the Guild through it all. I’m motivated to spend a second term on the Board and help the Guild navigate its most impactful years to date. Throughout agriculture and the craft beverage industry, current systems are failing to perform how the world has come to expect, and the Guild has a unique opportunity to help rebuild them in a more socially and environmentally positive way.
What skills, resources, and/or connections do you feel you will be able to contribute to the Guild’s Board?
The feedback I’ve received about my involvement in the Guild has been very positive. I’m a hard worker who brings an uncommon spirit of transparency, positivity, and creativity to team dynamics. Beyond my character, look to me for a wide-ranging network and in-depth professional experience spanning agricultural systems, conservation, supply chain management, brand development, and small business.
What other long-term volunteer opportunities have you been involved with (including service on other boards of directors)? Please list and describe your responsibilities with each below.
● 2022… Walla Walla County Conservation District, Washington State Voluntary Stewardship Program work group
● 2021-22… Craft Maltsters Guild, Marketing & Events Working Group, and DEI Task Force
● 2020-21… Craft Maltsters Guild, Board of Directors
● 2017-18… Blue Mountain Land Trust, Outdoor Recreation Committee
● 2015-16… Craft Maltsters Guild, Marketing Committee
● 2013-15… Walla Walla Watershed Management Partnership, Staff
● 2012… Oregon State University Cycling, Club President
What do you hope to achieve as a Craft Maltsters Guild board member?
The craft malt community has become a major part of my life. It’s this incredibly special confluence of local-to-regional food systems and the craft beverage industry, and it’s growing too fast for any one person to keep up with. More than any single thing, the Guild needs a diversity of stakeholders to be engaged in its work and want to help keep the craft malt movement growing, so I see the biggest measure of my success during this term as the heartfelt relationships I’m able to build and maintain on the Guild’s behalf.
What is one thing that your fellow Guild members should know about you?
I have a very tough time sitting still and, on a probably related note, have accumulated roughly one million hobbies. You too? Fun! Let’s talk about the odd things we do to stay too busy, over beers at Craft Malt Con 2023!
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