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12th March 2021

37 years in malting. 6.5 million tonnes of malt. 100 billion pints of beer.

Crisp Maltings Gt Ryburgh Photo by Simon Finlay Photography

6.5 million is how many tonnes of malt Rob Moody has been involved in over his 37 years in the malting industry. This has in turn enabled brewers to make around 100 billion pints of beer. However, as Rob steps away from work to pursue his other long-neglected interests, it is not the large numbers that give him a sense of time well spent.

“It is the people;” he says, “my brilliant team, great colleagues – and the amazing brewers and distillers we’ve had the privilege to supply and work with. It’s been a hugely exciting time to have been working in the sector, especially with all the opportunities for innovation in malt stimulated by the boom in craft beer. I have been so lucky. I just hope the country’s fantastic array of brewers can get back on their feet successfully after the pandemic.”

Guinness to Crisp

Following a false start in surveying, in 1984 Rob followed in his dad’s footsteps, by joining Guinness to work at its floor maltings in Diss, south Norfolk. Ten years later, Diageo closed the site and Rob joined Crisp as barley intake supervisor at the maltings in Gt Ryburgh, Norfolk.

Abandonment to Production

In July 2002, Crisp bought a maltings in Alloa in the south east of Scotland. Rob was sent north with a set of keys and a torch, and the instruction to get the place, previously owned by Bass, up and running again. More than that: he was set a production target of 1,000 tonnes of malt within less than 4 months.

As soon as activity at the site was spotted by local people, Rob was contacted by several former maltings employees seeking to be taken on by the new owners. He was hugely impressed by the enthusiasm and support for the project – and ended up with a workforce made up of 50% previous Bass maltings employees and 50% new blood.

“They were really great guys to work with,” says Rob, “and the time spent in Scotland is one of the highlights of my career. We pulled together as a team; worked stupidly long hours; overcame endless issues with the plant; and delivered on the challenges we’d been set. We’d reached 1,000 tonnes of malt by the end of October and went on increasing production in the months that followed. I loved it.”

The Alloa maltings is still an integral part of Crisp’s business, with recent investment in a new bagging line. “This ensures Scottish craft brewers can buy barley that has been grown, malted and bagged in Scotland – a first in the industry,” says Rob.

Structural Change

A year after the Alloa maltings set up, Rob was coaxed back to England to help restructure the company’s head office in Gt Ryburgh; set up a ‘central services unit’ (CSU); and improve planning and logistics to ensure 365 days a year malt production. These he did – and has been running the CSU ever since.

The changes foretold, and helped the emergence of, a buoyant craft sector.

Focus on Craft

When Anglia Maltings (Holdings) acquired Crisp in 2005, Rob was appointed as a director, with responsibility for logistics, and, later, also for the company’s craft brewing sector business. “Right up my street,” as Rob says. “A professional reason and a personal excuse for sampling a wide range of beers – and enjoy the huge range of flavours and styles that are made with our malts.”

More breweries, more beers and greater experimentation by brewers mean more complexity in the supply chain. For Crisp, it meant building the capability to supply smaller specialist orders to multiple destinations, without compromising the efficiency needed for the large volume brewers and distillers. The 5 or 6 sku’s offered when Rob first took on the job now number over 100, and the number of customers has increased 1,000%! Production and sales of speciality and crushed malts in bags has spiralled.

Tribute to Rob

Crisp’s managing director Adrian Dyter says, “Rob has played an instrumental part in the evolution of the company. His enthusiasm for the new direction the market was taking; pushing for change; and laying the foundations of our support to the craft sector has been critical.

“In addition to his other responsibilities, Rob has been heading up marketing, seeing through the company’s rebrand. The results are clean and modern whilst simultaneously capturing Crisp’s heritage and longstanding support to customers.

“In paying tribute to his 27 years’ with Crisp and 37 years’ service to the malting industry, I would like to thank Rob for his passion and commitment, as well as for his skills and knowledge. He has definitely helped to make the company what it is today; he’s been a truly excellent colleague, and we will all miss him.”

Conclusion

“I’m leaving at a time when things have been thrown up in the air for the drinks industry. At Crisp, it’s been all hands on deck to support brewers and distillers in whatever way we can. I honestly believe that the service my colleagues have provided to customers – and to the wider industry – has been second to none.

“It’s been a privilege to work with so many fantastic people over the years and I’m sad not to be getting together with the team to thank them all in person.

“I’m also disappointed that the pandemic means no visiting of customers to say goodbye. Still, I’d like to assure craft brewers that I’ll be supporting them in a personal capacity, drinking at least my fair share of beers! As you’d expect, I’ll always be looking out for brews that I know are made with malt from my friends at Crisp.”

Ends


Press release from Crisp Malt

Further info: frances@redflamecommunications.co.uk 07432 692309