Birko and Country Malt Group sign distribution agreement

First, let’s meet Birko, a leader in providing food safety solutions for brewing, distilling, protein, produce and other processing companies.

Now, let’s meet Country Malt Group, a foremost supplier of quality ingredients and supplies to the craft brewing industry.

The two have formed a strategic partnership to make Birko sanitation, cleaning and process aid products more readily available to craft brewers. Starting now, brewers can order Birko’s complete line of brewing sanitation products, yield enhancement solutions and process aids through Country Malt Group’s territory sales managers. Because Birko products are stocked at all eight of Country Malt Group’s U.S. warehouses — Champlain, N.Y., Fletcher, N.C., Chicago, Ill., Dallas, Texas; Denver, Colo., Oakland, Calif., San Diego, Calif., and Vancouver, Wash. — brewers who order their chemicals along with their brewing ingredients and supplies, will experience significant savings in freight.

“Craft brewers have trusted and used Birko products for decades. In fact, 25 percent of the 2017 Great American Beer Festival medal winners brew with Birko. Our chemicals ensure the taste and quality of their beer is not compromised by their sanitation and cleaning. However, the cost of freight has prevented some brewers from being able to experience the advantages of Birko,” said John Flynn, vice president of sales, Birko. “By working with Country Malt Group, brewers can easily access our products at the same time they order their malt. Not only does this save them on their freight, but helps make sanitation top of mind from an operations standpoint.”

When asked about the new partnership between Birko and Country Malt Group, President of Country Malt Group Bryan Bechard stated, “Country Malt Group is a one-stop-shop for craft brewers who rely on us to provide the best ingredients and products they need, not only to make their product, but maintain the consistency of its flavor and quality, which is why I am excited to add Birko’s products to our wide array of offerings. Brewers now have the advantage of working with two companies with proven experience and expertise.”

Country Malt Group customers will also benefit from Birko’s technical expertise as their territory managers and customer service representatives are trained to answer technical questions about Birko products as well as walk customers through Birko’s patented cleaning processes.

Current Birko customers can contact their Country Malt Group territory manager to learn more about bundling their chemical orders with malt and other brewing ingredients. Current Country Malt Group customers can ask their representative about which Birko product will work best for their needs.