2026 Malt Cup - The Only Competition for Maltsters. An offering of the NA Craft Maltsters Guild

The Malt Cup is the only malt competition in the world.

This one-of-a-kind international event allows maltsters to receive valuable analytical and sensory feedback on their malts. 2026 is the 8th annual Malt Cup and this years participants not only have the chance to win accolades but will also receive:

A full report of Certificates of Analyses (COAs) for entries in each category participated in. Entries are blind coded so maltsters can ID the data for their own malt, while getting a comparison to the malts across the full entry field. Malt COAs are provided by the competitions official partner, Montana State University’s Barley, Malt, & Brewing Quality Lab. The COA data is valued at over $100 alone, while the ability to review the data from the full competition field is priceless. Note: All entries remain anonymous.

Sensory feedback report (for malts passing the scrutiny of the analytical round). Entries which advance are sent around the country to judge panels made up of industry professionals, including maltsters, brewers, distillers, researchers, journalists, and Cicerones. The Malt Cup is proud to partner with the Beer Judge Certification Program to source high quality judges for the competition. A comprehensive sensory report is generated for each malt and provided back to participants.

Sensory and COA feedback (for malts advancing to the Best of Show judging). Entries which advance to the final round will receive additional feedback including evaluations of the malt COAs, raw malt, and wort.

Winning malts (Gold, Silver, Bronze), in each category will receive a beautiful hand made medal. The competition has partnered with Aaron Maki of Old Hand Design to provide these hand crafted awards.

Best of Show trophy. Of the Gold winning malts, the single highest scoring entry will take home the traveling Malt Cup. Each year this trophy represents bragging rights for the top malt and malthouse. 

This year’s competition was fierce:

  117 entries

 29 craft malthouses

 5 countries

 7 grain types

 48 malt varieties

 All judged blind by top industry pros.

We are incredibly pround to share that our customers brought home so many medals during this year's ceremony, they are: 

Red Shed Malting

  Best in Show / Malt Cup Trophy – Parkland Pale, crafted from CDC Churchill barley — a Canadian success story breaking decades-long variety lock-in.

•  Silver: Caribou Malt – Caramel Malt category, streamlined for both flavour and efficiency..

•Bronze: Whisky Jack – Distillers Malt category, our first medal for this malt made from AB Dram barley from Lacombe..

Loam Malt Studio

Gold: Pilsner Lake, Loam Malt Studio in Nomans Lake, WA Australia

New York Craft Malt

Golden: Maine Finger Lakes Flaked Corn, New York Craft in Malt Batavia, New York

South Fork Malthouse

•Bronze: Wheat Malt, South Fork Malthouse in Cynthiana, Kentucky

Blue Ox Malthouse

Sliver: Light Munich, Blue Ox Malthouse in Lisbon Falls, Maine

• Silver: Golden Triticale, Blue Ox Malthouse in Lisbon Falls, Maine

• Bronze: Yankee Pils, Blue Ox Malthouse in Lisbon Falls, Maine

Red Shed Malting Winning Best in Show with Parkland Pale and taking home the Malt Cup Trophy is a dream come true and validates years of research into modern barley varieties and the dedication of Canadian breeders. These awards also reflect the hard work of their team perfecting each malt and refining processes for consistent quality.

Congratulations to all the small, independent malthouses and all the incredible work happening across the industry! We’re proud to be part of a community that pushes the boundaries of flavour, quality, and innovation.

#MaltCup2026 #CraftMalt#CanadaMalt #AwardWinningMalt #GrainToGlass #Promalting