In celebration of International Women’s Day and in support of women’s craft beer advocacy organization Pink Boots Society, Country Malt Group, with Canada Malting Co. and Great Western Malting have launched the new Pink Boots Malt. Similar to the annually released Pink Boots Society Hop Blend by Yakima Chief Hops, the Pink Boots product is a seasonal craft base malt that supports the Pink Boots Society scholarship fund for women.

As part of the same global family of brands, Country Malt Group (CMG), Canada Malting Co. (CMC) and Great Western Malting (GWM) all share a passion for empowering women and non-binary individuals across the supply chain – from the barley fields to their malthouses, and from their distribution centers to the taprooms.

Malt is the core ingredient for brewers and distillers, and the foundation for every great whiskey and beer recipe. The Pink Boots Malt provides an opportunity for more members of the fermentation industry to celebrate and uplift women and non-binary colleagues. With each bag of malt purchased, a donation is made to the Pink Boots Society scholarship fund, which provides educational opportunities and empowers women and non-binary professionals to advance their careers in fermentation.

“The Pink Boots Society is excited to continue our partnership with Country Malt Group on this new fundraising effort,” says Blanca Quintero, president of Pink Boots Society. “It will be exciting to see a plethora of new beverages being created with the opportunity to utilize this malt. We’re continuing our expansion into other fermentables as well as amplifying our mission with creating more educational resources for our membership.”

Each year, the Pink Boots Malt will highlight a different barley variety and growing region, with characteristics that are versatile enough for every beer or whiskey style, but unique enough to inspire a new Pink Boots beverage each year. This year, the Pink Boots Malt is a well-balanced, low color, Pilsen-style malt, featuring the Odyssey barley variety grown throughout the Pacific Northwest. Crafted with both brewers and distillers in mind, it is also a high extract, low-GN malt product.

“As a leading malt supplier, we have the unique ability to bridge the gap between brewers and distillers,” says Bryan Bechard, executive director and founder of CMG. “Working together with our malting partners Canada Malting and Great Western, this is an exciting opportunity to highlight and honor our women farmers, employees, customers and beyond. We look forward to seeing the celebratory beverages that folks craft with the Pink Boots Malt and continuing to support the great work of the Pink Boots Society.”

As a seasonal product, the Pink Boots Malt is produced in limited volumes each year with the latest barley crop. It will be available later this month in all 12 CMG-owned distribution centers across North America. Brewers and distillers can visit CountryMalt.com/PinkBoots to learn more and sign up to be notified when it’s available for purchase.