Since 1870 we’ve lived and breathed malting. With this passion and expertise, and by combining traditional and modern techniques, we create an impressive range of malted and non-malted products, including several unique and exclusive barley malts.
There is nothing more we love than talking to brewers and distillers so if you have any questions, or would like to arrange a call with a member of our team, please feel free to get in touch – we would love to hear from you!
More than thirty years ago, a phone call from a Rhode Island homebrewer sparked what would become one of the most enduring and impactful relationships in the American craft brewing supply chain. The caller, Kerry Brown, wanted to buy Crisp Malt in bulk for himself and his fellow homebrewers. That inquiry landed on the desk of William Crisp, who recognized a golden opportunity: to supply the growing number of US craft brewers with the kind of high-quality English malt that had long set the standard in the UK.
“Kerry was a homebrewer who reached out with this question, and I thought, ‘Well, there’s clearly a need here that isn’t being met,'” says William Crisp. “That was really the spark for everything that followed.”
What began with a single 20-foot container of various Crisp Malt products would grow into a pioneering venture that helped shape American craft brewing. William funded that first container himself, and in due time, he and Kerry Brown were supplying not just homebrewers but also the fledgling microbreweries that were beginning to emerge across New England.
“We were storing malt in this old potato warehouse, moving it around on a little forklift, and hand-delivering it to brewers up and down the East Coast,” William remembers. “It was scrappy, but it worked because we built real relationships. We weren’t just selling malt—we were building trust in a new era of brewing.”
This grassroots, relationship-driven approach became the hallmark of how William Crisp did business—and it was precisely what American craft brewers needed at the time: partners who understood their passion and shared their commitment to quality.
“I understood brewers were nervous because back then, there were only one or two malt options at the time,” William Crisp explains. “So I would go into the brewery and say, ‘Look, here’s an alternative. I think you’ll find that because it’s very high-quality malt, you’ll make more beer for the same weight.'”
The company, then known as Brewers Wholesale Supply under Kerry Brown’s co-ownership with William Crisp, began expanding beyond New England, opening warehouses across the states to serve America’s burgeoning craft beer industry. Sadly, Kerry Brown’s time with the company was cut short when he passed away from cancer just a few years after starting the business. William Crisp then acquired the company and rebranded it as Brewer Supply Group (BSG), expanding the operation’s scope beyond malt to provide a comprehensive range of brewing ingredients.
Under William Crisp’s leadership, BSG quickly became a trusted name in the American craft beer supply chain, known for its emphasis on quality ingredients and reliable service. The company remained deeply dedicated to service and brewer education throughout this time. William and his wife regularly traveled across the country, visiting breweries and even organizing trips for American brewers to visit Crisp’s historic maltings in Norfolk. This hands-on approach helped brewers understand not just the product but the centuries of tradition behind it.
“We took Ken and Katie Grossman (Sierra Nevada Brewing) over, and we went to lovely little breweries like Donington Brewery, we went to the maltings, and then we spent a week in Scotland together traveling around distilleries,” William recounts. These relationships went far beyond typical supplier-customer interactions, fostering a collaborative spirit that helped define American craft brewing.
Ken Grossman, founder of Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., recalls how his team made a deliberate choice to source malt from the UK for some of their most iconic beers. “We had a couple of brands in which we would specifically use European malts over domestic malts,” he says. “At this point, that’s not quite as much the case just because we are using more domestic malts, but historically, all the malt for some of our specialty beers was UK-based malts, both pale malts and specialty malts.”
Crisp’s malts helped shape Sierra Nevada’s seasonal Celebration Ale, brewed annually since 1981. “The specialty malts out of much of Europe and the UK in particular tended to be much plumper just visually,” Grossman explains. “The quality and the differentiation between both the varieties that were used to make the malt, but also the low-protein and high plump, really made a very pretty and flavorful malt.”
In 2004, William Crisp sold the company to Rahr Corporation, marking a pivotal moment in its growth and expansion. Under new ownership, the “William Crisp” brand specialty malts continued to be offered, and the company’s name was changed yet again, this time to BSGCraft. In 2024, BSGCraft and Rahr Malting Co. officially merged to form RahrBSG, bringing together the two industry leaders under one unified brand.
In those early years of the craft movement, Crisp Malt established itself as a trusted source for pioneering breweries like Sierra Nevada, Firestone Walker, and Brooklyn Brewery. The company’s signature Maris Otter and floor-malted varieties earned a reputation among brewers for exceptional quality, flavor, and consistency. Today, of all the UK maltsters, Crisp has the longest continuous distribution in the US market, proudly supplying more than 3,000 breweries nationwide.
This feat wouldn’t be possible without Crisp’s longtime North American partner, RahrBSG. What began as a business relationship rooted in mutual trust has since become a deep, transcontinental partnership. For over three decades, RahrBSG has been the exclusive US distributor of Crisp Malt, connecting North American brewers with some of the most revered malts in the world.
“North American brewers have counted on Crisp Malt as the backbone for their beers,” says longtime RahrBSG sales representative Chris German. “Our customers appreciate the rich, biscuit and toffee-like notes of a Maris Otter in their West Coast IPAs as much as they consider Dextrin a ‘magic malt’ to add body to lagers.”
Over the years, the two companies have shared more than just product lines. Members of the RahrBSG team have made the journey across the pond to tour Crisp’s facilities, learn about traditional floor malting techniques, and visit the famed Maris Otter mother field. These trips deepened their appreciation for the craft and helped bring the story of Crisp Malt to life for American brewers.
“We hold a great deal of value and respect for Crisp Malt, in large part because they make, produce, and provide some of the world’s best brewing malt,” says German. “But in equal parts, we hold them in such high regard because they share our principles of building success on quality, people, partnerships, and a love of great beer.”
As the US craft market has evolved, so has Crisp Malt’s product range. Today, besides its renowned base and heritage malts, Crisp offers an expanded portfolio that includes non-malted cereals from Micronized Food Products—the company’s fastest-growing category. These ingredients—torrefied wheat, barley, maize, rice, and oats—are increasingly popular with American brewers creating Belgian-style ales, NEIPAs, and other styles that benefit from specialty grain additions.
Crisp’s heritage malt range has also become a favorite among American brewers looking to create distinctive beers with historical significance. This lineup includes heritage varieties like Chevallier, Haná, and Maris Otter—barleys that carry stories as rich as the beers they help create.
A new chapter began for Crisp Malt in 2023 when Richardson International, Canada’s largest agribusiness and a long-standing partner of Rahr, acquired the company. This acquisition brought together three historic family businesses with deep agricultural roots: Richardson (founded 1857), Crisp (1870), and Rahr (1847).
For generations, Richardson has supplied quality malting barley to Rahr’s facilities in Canada and the US. Now, with Crisp under the Richardson umbrella, three legacy family businesses—Rahr, Crisp, and Richardson—are united in a field-to-brewer partnership grounded in quality, tradition, and innovation.
As Curt Vossen, Chief Executive Officer of Richardson International, noted at the time of the acquisition: “We share common values with Crisp Malt and are aligned in our commitment to operational excellence and exceptional customer service. As experienced handlers of malting barley in North America, this is an exciting next step in our long-term strategy.”
For American craft brewers, this relationship enhances the field-to-glass connection that has become increasingly important in the industry. Richardson’s deep roots in North American agriculture complement Crisp’s centuries of malting expertise, creating a truly integrated supply chain that spans continents while maintaining the personal relationships and quality focus that defined Crisp’s business approach.
William Crisp’s original vision—bringing quality malts to American brewers at fair prices while providing exceptional service—remains central to Crisp Malt’s approach to the American market. Though William is no longer involved with the company, the relationships he helped build and his established foundation continue to benefit American craft brewers today.
As the American craft brewing industry navigates changing consumer preferences and market dynamics, Crisp Malt’s commitment to quality and innovation continues to resonate with brewers who value authenticity and character in their ingredients. The company’s ability to balance tradition with innovation—maintaining historic floor maltings alongside state-of-the-art facilities—mirrors the approach of many American craft brewers who honor brewing heritage while pushing creative boundaries.
With the Richardson acquisition, Crisp is firmly positioned to continue supporting American brewers as they evolve. Bringing together Richardson’s extensive experience in North American grain production and handling, Crisp’s storied malting heritage, and RahrBSG’s robust distribution network, this unified alliance creates an exceptional platform for future growth, innovation, and brewer support across the United States.
From a single phone call from Rhode Island to thousands of brewers across America, the Crisp story is still being written—one bag of malt, one pint of beer, one brewer at a time.
Explore the Range Whether you’re looking to brew with heirloom barleys like Haná and Chevallier or experiment with versatile non-malted cereals, Crisp Malt offers ingredients that combine character, consistency, and craft. Discover their full malt range here.
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