Out on Kendrick Road, among the modern, nondescript buildings of the town’s industrial park, the ancient art of “malting” is being revived – one 55-pound bag of grain at a time.

Stone Path Malt, a business co-founded by Michael Schroth and Mark St. Jean, is now operating a one-of-its-kind facility in North America, which provides a key ingredient for individual and regional brewers – malt – sometimes referred to as “the soul of beer.”   

The 30,000-square-foot processing plant opened quietly last month with an invite-only event in the facility’s tap room. There, just steps away from an array of recently imported German-built machinery, guests sampled beer brewed using the company’s malt.

With the opening, Schroth and St. Jean, friends since high school who left careers in technology and private equity, are at the forefront of a rapidly expanding craft brewing movement.

“In addition to providing regional and home brewers with options when it comes to malt, we want to educate people about the process,” said Schroth. “We were motivated by our own interest in brewing.”

The process of malt-making takes grains, such as barley, and readies them for beer brewing. The week-long process includes sprouting the seeds and then drying them, which preps the grain for brewing.   

The pair launched Stone Path Malt four years ago, originally importing malt prepared in Europe for area brewers. Schroth and St. Jean took the next step and traveled to Germany where they visited traditional malthouses and made business partnerships. They shared their vision for Stone Path Malt, which is now a reality in Wareham.

Schroth and St. Jean invested $3.8 million into the building and malting system, which was built by Kaspar Schulz in Bamberg, Germany. The process is overseen by maltster Bryan Taylor, who spent time with Stone Path’s German business partner, IREKS GmbH, founded in 1856 and respected around the world for its specialty malts.

For the past hundred years or so, malting had been done by a handful of industrial-scale commercial operators, but with the craft beer movement continuing to grow, brewers are looking for an edge. According to the National Brewers Association, craft beer sales were 21.8 percent of the overall beer market in 2016, marking a 66 percent increase over a three-year period.

Those microbrewers are now seeking grains with distinctive flavors and aromas to stand out in the market.

Schroth said Stone Path strikes a balance for brewers when it comes to malt. By being relatively small, they can work closely with individuals and regional brewers to create malt to their tastes. But the equipment, which can currently process 1 million pounds of malt annually (with plans to ramp up production to 3 million) provides them the ability to out produce other craft malthouses, of which there are only a handful on the East Coast.

“Our investment in the building, malting equipment and partnerships allows to meet customer needs with malt that meets levels of quality, consistency and scale previously unavailable in New England,” said Schroth.

The partners have invested $3.8 million in the facility, which will create 10 full-time jobs once fully operational.

Schroth credited Wareham town officials for their cooperation while navigating the approval process. Town officials and Town Meeting voters also approved a tax break for the business, which expires in 2021. According to Planning & Community Development Director Kenneth Buckland, the business will not only bring jobs, but visitors as well.

“With state-of-the-art equipment and a tap room stocked with samples made from malt processed by Stone Path Malt, the facility can attract the trending business of the ‘beer tourist,’” Buckland said.

Those tourists will likely be checking out the tap room, which is what sets Stone Path apart from other malthouses, said Schroth.

“It’s pretty unique,” he said. “We’re the only malting company in North America that has beer brewed with our malt on tap available.”

The tap room is now open to the public Tuesday through Friday from 4 to 7 p.m., Saturday from 1 to 8 p.m. and Sunday 1 to 4 p.m. Schroth said Stone Path Malt is gearing up for Oktoberfest later this month with tours, events and tastings. For more information, check out Stone Path Malt’s Facebook page for upcoming events at the facility, located at 11 Kendrick Road.