The rapidly growing craft beer industry in China continues to demand quality and variety in malting barley, providing the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) an opportunity to actively promote U.S. malt through programming in the country.

The “Meet U.S. Malt Workshop” held in September was an example of educational events provided by the Council this past year to build on those opportunities for U.S. malt within the Chinese craft beer industry.

The event took place in Beijing, where representatives from 14 leading microbreweries were invited to brew a special batch of beer using U.S. malt. The owner or chief brewer of each of the breweries was encouraged to share their experience with U.S. malt quality and its performance in the beers each brewed. Additionally, four speakers made presentations on selecting malt for different styles of beer; understanding malt varieties and their classifications; learning about malt specifications; and using malt in a brewery setting.

China is the world’s largest beer market, though craft beer is less than one percent of total beer sales in China. As craft beer grows quickly, experts project it could grow to represent upwards of 25 percent of beer sales like in the United States today, creating greater opportunity for U.S. malt in China.