After nine years supplying distinctive grains to some of California’s best-known craft brewers, Alameda-based Admiral Maltings has stopped production. The shutdown adds to a string of California craft-beer closures, but this one affects the businesses making beer as much as the customers who drink it.
Admiral named October 2, 2026, as its final production day and October 18 as the closing date for its attached pub, The Rake. It announced the two shutdowns on September 29, according to the Alameda Post.
Rent and debt became too much
Co-founder Ron Silberstein told SFGATE for an October 18 story that rent and debt payments had become impossible to sustain. The owners tried new financing, investors, partnerships with larger malt companies and flour products, but could not make the business viable.
Silberstein also told the San Francisco Chronicle that sales to craft distillers had fallen sharply since 2023 and that rent consumed almost a quarter of gross sales. The business faced pressure on both sides: weaker demand from customers and a costly facility to keep running.
Silberstein founded Admiral Maltings in 2017 with Dave McLean and Curtis Davenport. Their goal was to revive traditional floor-malting techniques using grain from California farms, giving local breweries an alternative to industrially produced ingredients.
A beer destination unlike most others
At Alameda Point’s Spirits Alley, The Rake gave visitors a front-row seat to the malting process. Its beer list featured brews made with Admiral’s grains, while the adjoining production space turned harvested barley into malt for customers throughout the region.
Floor malting involves soaking grain, letting it begin to sprout, then turning and drying it. Admiral’s team turned the grain by hand. The company’s malt guide describes sourcing barley from family farms in the Sacramento Valley and near Tule Lake, connecting its products to particular California growing regions.
The operation was based at 651 West Tower Avenue. The Rake was designed to let visitors see how a key beer ingredient was made, rather than simply pour the finished product.
Local breweries lose a hard-to-replace ingredient
Admiral’s closure reaches beyond the Alameda waterfront. Old Caz Brewing’s Tom Edwards told SFGATE he rushed to buy remaining supplies; the brewery used Admiral malt in its Bukovany Pils.
Alameda Brewing also told the Alameda Post that its Let It Lager depended entirely on Admiral malt. Without that nearby supplier, the brewery expects to revisit its recipe and find replacement ingredients.
The challenge for those breweries is replacing an ingredient, not closing their own doors. Admiral’s grains helped shape their beers. For regulars at The Rake, the closure means losing a place where local farming, beer-making and a neighborhood gathering spot shared the same roof.
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