LISBON FALLS, ME— Construction is underway for a major Blue Ox Malthouse expansion that will triple the operation’s malting floor space and quadruple its processing capacity. The Blue Ox team is thrilled to respond to the growing consumer demand for truly local beers and spirits while combating supply chain challenges that brewers and distillers experience.
This expansion will ease supply chain difficulties that Northeastern craft breweries and distilleries experience by allowing for more robust resilient supply options.
Having outgrown its current facility, Blue Ox purchased the building it previously leased a section of. Once completed, this upgrade will include two malting floors totalling nearly 8000 square feet. In addition to providing more robust resilient supply options, this expansion will achieve the goals of staying dedicated to floor malting while making work less physically demanding, enabling Blue Ox to hire staff of more diverse physical abilities. It will also allow the malthouse to offer a more diverse lineup of malt products, and work with a wider array of small farms without compromising quality, consistency, or performance of its existing products.
Blue Ox Malthouse was founded with the intention to serve as a liaison between Northeastern agriculture and consumers of craft beer and artisanal spirits.
“After ten years of being on the scene, Blue Ox Malthouse is undertaking this step to connect farms to locally produced beers and spirits in the Northeast region,” says Blue Ox Founder Joel Alex. “We weren’t built to be vertically integrated, but instead to make space for a mid-sized accessible market for rotation crops. Enriching our business with more capacity and improved equipment helps us stay niche and devoted to our mission of provide opportunities for breweries and farms to create meaningful collaborations”
Completion of the Blue Ox Malthouse expansion is slated for early in the New Year. The malthouse will celebrate with an open house gathering for their customers this winter. Alex and his team plan to invite the community to tour the malthouse to see the value it’s bringing to the food and beverages we all enjoy in Maine and beyond.
Media inquiring about Blue Ox Malthouse can contact Emily Hutto at hutto@radcraftbeer.com.
ABOUT BLUE OX MALTHOUSE
Launched in April 2013 by community organizer and homebrewer-turned-maltster Joel Alex, Blue Ox Malthouse is Maine's first malting operation and was founded with the mission of creating more robust resilient and equitable regional food systems.. Blue Ox Malthouse seeks to push possibilities in craft beer and spirits by supporting shorter supply chains and thoughtful farming practices.. Reinvigorating a centuries-old floor malting techniques and tradition, Blue Ox is committed to these community-focused methods while constantly innovating to serve as a model for sustainable rural economic development. Learn more at blueoxmalthouse.com.