Malt your calendar: Craft Malt Conference set for February 2022 in Portland, Maine

Plans for the fifth annual Craft Malt Conference (CMC 2022) are now taking shape. The Craft Maltsters Guild invites maltsters, brewers, distillers, farmers, and other industry partners to join them February 18-19, 2022 at the Holiday Inn By the Bay in Portland, Maine for this annual conference.

“The 2021 event had originally been slated to happen in Maine, but had to be rescheduled due to the ongoing pandemic,” says Guild Executive Director Jesse Bussard. “Now that vaccinations are underway and things are getting back to some semblance of normalcy, we’re really excited to bring our craft malt family back together again. Two years is far too long a wait!”

Similar to past conferences, attendees can expect malthouse and brewery tours, top-notch educational seminars covering topics across the malt supply chain, and a trade show featuring prominent craft malt industry suppliers. 

New for 2022, a greater emphasis will be put on networking opportunities.

Along with the usual welcome reception and Malt Cup awards banquet, a series of lunch breakout discussions, trade show mini-talks from sponsors, and a craft maltster swag swap are also planned. Additionally, collaborations between craft maltsters and Maine breweries will also be organized.

With some virtual components: Adapting with the times, the Guild is taking a hybrid approach for the 2022 event offering both in-person and virtual event experience opportunities. The organization supports an active membership across North America and overseas, and understands that not everyone can make it to an in-person event. Therefore, a virtual iteration of CMC 2022 will also be held February 25-26, one week after the in-person event. 

The virtual event will consist of two days of live-streamed educational seminars and virtual networking sessions.  In-person attendees will have full access to both experiences, while virtual attendees will gain exclusive early access to recordings of the in-person conference educational seminars, in addition to the live-streamed sessions planned.

“We learned a ton about the benefits of going virtual from Craft Malt Con 2021. Offering both attendance options in 2022 allows us to continue to make malt education more accessible, which is better for everyone and in line with the Guild’s commitment to make craft malt a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive community,” notes Bussard.

Early bird registration will open on August 15, 2021. Early bird rates for the in-person conference option are $300 for Guild members and $500 for non-members and include access to both the in-person and virtual event activities. Virtual early bird rates will be $150 for Guild members and $250 for non-members. 

As noted above, Craft Maltsters Guild members enjoy heavily discounted early bird rates, as well as exclusive access to our Members Only educational content and forums. Join or renew here to get the best deal on CMC 2022.