Distilling Malts
The foundation of whisky
Distilling malts are the bedrock of whisky production and are designed to deliver high extract levels, clean fermentation profiles and a distinctive spirit character.
At Simpsons Malt, all of our distilling malts are produced at our Tweed Valley Maltings in Berwick-upon-Tweed – the UK's largest malting site with the capacity to produce 260,000 tonnes of malt per year.
The carbon footprint of the malt produced at the site is also considerably lower than the UK average, with energy for the kilning process – the most energy intensive stage of malting – powered by our renewable Energy Centre.
The Energy Centre has reduced the site's Scope 1 & 2 emissions by 72%, leading to significant Scope 3 emissions reductions for distillers who purchase our malts.
Fully traceable distilling malt
Every batch of distilling malt begins with high-quality malting barley that has been directly contracted with growers through our agricultural merchanting division McCreath Simpson & Prentice (MSP).
As MSP supplies certified seed to these growers – as well as offering other farm inputs – it provides us with traceability from seed through to spirit production. All of this data is captured on our MaltDNA platform, which our distilling customers have access to.
Additionally, because we have long-term agreements in place with our growers – aligning with similar agreements we have in place with many of our end user customers – we have been able to launch dedicated Growers Groups.
Within these Growers Groups, farms are allocated to grow for specific end user customers, with their barley stored and malted separately.
Domestic and export
Our distilling malts are produced through the standard malting processes: steeping, germination and kilning.
Following production, most of the malt is delivered via bulk wagon loads to distilleries using one of the 30-plus wagons in our fleet, all of which use sustainable HVO fuel to reduce transport emissions.
We also produce a smaller amount of distilling malt for the export market, which is distributed in secure shipping containers to customers across the globe.
Peated malt options
Our Peated Malt plant, which was upgraded in 2024, allows us to produce a full range of peated malts to customers' desired phenol levels.
From Lightly Peated Malt to Very Heavily Peated Malt, each grade offers varying degrees of smoky flavour.
Produced from finished white malt, our peated malts are trusted by distillers to create spirits with depth and character.
