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On January 12, 2023, the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service released its annual 2022 Crop Production report and its quarterly Grain Stocks report. To break down the reports and get an outlook on malted barley for 2023, we recently spoke with Ashley McFarland, the Vice President – Technical Director for the American Malting Barley Association (AMBA).
The American Malting Barley Association (AMBA) Board of Directors annually develops a list of recommended malting barley varieties for U.S. growers for the upcoming crop year. The list is intended to provide U.S. growers with guidance as to what varieties the industry may be contracting or purchasing in the coming year.
Wet milling remains one of those topics that brewers discuss but rarely encounter in the wild. Once solely the province of the largest craft brewers, in more recent years wet mills have become slightly more common but remain unusual to find in a smaller craft brewery.
In contrast to dry milling, wet mills steep malt in a continuous stream of warm water to allow the grain’s moisture level to rise to a set mark, usually 15 to 20 percent. When a wet mill’s rollers grind the malt, the grain’s husk remains intact and doesn’t fragment. This significantly reduces the amount of dust and debris created and allows for faster run-off time and more loading of the lauter tun. The downsides, beyond cost, include additional cleaning of the mill and its rollers along with an increase in the time required to mill the malt.
We recently spoke with Scott Shirley, the Director of Brewing Operations at Lawson’s Finest Liquids in Vermont, to learn more about his brewery’s experience with a wet mill and hear what advice he has for brewers considering one.
The Craft Maltsters Guild has announced that that the 6th Annual Craft Malt Conference will be held March 16-18, 2023 in Portland, Maine. The event will mark the guild’s tenth anniversary.
The conference will take place at the Holiday Inn By the Bay Hotel & Convention Center and include expect tours, educational seminars, receptions, a trade show, and networking sessions. It is the only conference that offers workshops and seminars specifically focused on the research, topics, and best practices relevant to the craft malt supply chain. In 2023, both in-person and virtual registration options will be offered.
There is a lot of talk and interest in the growing craft malt industry. The niche agricultural sector is bringing a lot of local flavor to beer (and spirits) and reviving heritage malts that bring new dimensions to the glass.
Jesse Bussard, the executive director of the North American Craft Maltsters Guild spoke with Beer Edge Editor John Holl about the 2022 harvest.
As craft malting continues to rise in popularity and farmers are reviving traditions, brewers are looking for ways to have their beer stand out on the marketplace. While rauchbiers aren’t breaking any sales records there is a loyal set of fans who are looking for a smoky fix.
Some craft maltsters, like Caleb Michalke, the owner and maltster of Sugar Creek Malt in Indiana has taken to creating specialty smoked malt that appeals to today’s modern brewer. He spoke to Beer Edge editor John Holl.
Russia and Ukraine produce 13% and 5% of the world’s barley respectively, and with no end in sight for the war and Russian sanctions, the cost of barley is likely to push the cost of beer higher.
That is on top of already surging prices of beer due to inflation and supply chain issues. Brooklyn Brewery’s CEO Eric Ottaway told e-Malt News that the price of a six-pack has increased by 50 cents to a dollar over the past year, and prices will go up by a “similar amount again before the end of the year.”
Even before the war, a barley shortage contributed to higher prices. Last year US barley production declined due to drought as well as a decrease in acreage cultivated.
Brewers could see price hikes of barley due to the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
Ukraine is among the top five global producers of barley, and if a full scale war breaks out, it could disrupt the flow of barley out of the country.
See the full story here.
The popularity of local maltsters has exploded in recent years. Yet brewers still confess some trepidation over how to incorporate locally produced malts into their beer portfolios and brewing operations. We talk with Andrea Stanley, co-founder of Valley Malt in Hadley, Massachusetts, to explore the benefits of building a relationship with your local maltster.
Read more…
The Executive Director of the Craft Maltsters Guild Shares Insights into the Year Ahead
The new year began with a host of challenges for American brewers and raw ingredients are no exception. There are, however, some bright spots amid the worry in the malt industry and Jesse Bussard, the executive director of the Craft Maltsters Guild says there are three things every brewer should be thinking about.
Read more…
Despite a late barley harvest in the UK caused by unusual weather, the caliber of the crop has been noted as better than prior years.
Dry weather early in the season followed by unusually wet weather in August has resulted in some pleasant surprises in both yield and quality.
Full story here.
Barley growers and brewers are concerned that the overall crop quality may lower than usual as much-above average temperatures and drought plague the 2020 growing season.
During a normal year, the Northern Plains are an optimal growing space for barley, as it is a cool season crop. But the crop quality depends on cool nights and adequate soil moisture, both of which have been far from ideal this summer.
Although it is too early to tell how the crop quality will be at harvest time, one result that is becoming certain is that the harvest season is being pushed ahead due to the extremely dry conditions.
by Paul Schwarz and Richard Horsley
Ever since its introduction to North America in the 17th century, barley has taken on a life of its own. Both two-row and six-row North American malted barley are rather different from their European cousins and have developed distinctive new characteristics. Genetics, climate, and breeding practices have produced a rich variety of malt qualities from which to choose.
A brewer’s preference for two- or six-row barley can be born of a number of factors, including barley and malt purchase prices, quality specifications, and brewing traditions. Product quality is in turn affected by genetic makeup, environmental conditions, and the practices of the grower and the maltster.
By Greg Noonan
You are a serious grain brewer. Whether you brew professionally, as a hobby, or as an obsession, you take pride in your beer. You do everything you can do to reproduce each of your recipes accurately from brew to brew. Or do you?
Like most serious brewers, you probably adjust your hopping rates to reflect the alpha-acid content of each new lot of hops you purchase, but do you adjust your grains for changes in color, moisture, and extract potential? Do you know that a mere 2% increase in the moisture content of a new lot of malt accompanied by a matching drop in the extract potential can drag the density of a 12 °Plato (S.G. 1.048) wort down to 11.5 °P (S.G. 1.046) or increase the cost of malt 31/2%? Do you know that the color of dark-roasted malts commonly varies by 25-50 °L from lot to lot, or that one maltster’s “dark crystal malt” may be 40-45 °L while another’s is 80-90 °L and someone else’s is 120-130 °L?
by George J. Fix
Republished from BrewingTechniques’ May/June 1993.
Belgian malts offer qualities and performance profiles that differ markedly from their North American and British counterparts. This report on the results from experimental test brews based on Belgian malts reveals their strengths and limitations and provides recommendations for their use.
Belgium and France contain selected areas prized for growing top-flight malting barley. The ancestors of the modern varieties grown there can be traced back to the Middle East, where barley was first cultivated and malted (albeit using a primitive process). The evolution of ancient to modern strains of this malting barley is similar to the evolution of Vinefera wine grapes grown in France. Both have been selectively cultivated over the centuries for the desirable flavors they impart to their host drink.
by Neil Gudmestad, Raymond Taylor and Paul Schwarz
Although the grain disease called Fusarium head blight has posed little serious threat to the North American brewing industry in the recent past, reports of the disease’s recent resurgence in certain regions may merit some concern among growers, maltsters, and brewers alike.
Any crop is potentially susceptible to the ravages of pests or disease, and barley is no exception. One fungal disease has been appearing in certain production areas where climate and soil conditions are conducive to the fungus’s growth. The disease, known as Fusarium head blight (FHB, or scab), affects barley and wheat and has created many problems for farmers and livestock. This article presents what we know and don’t know about the disease’s effect on the malting and brewing industries.
Malt-handling isn’t such a back-breaker when you have a silo and a good delivery system
by George Manset
Brewing may seem to be synonymous with heavy lifting unless a practical malt storage (read that silo) and efficient conveying system is part of the brewhouse. Without bulk storage and automatic handling, brewers may be destined to lift more than 100,000 pounds of bagged grain a year. But a properly designed silo (besides saving your back) can provide many economic benefits. Bulk storage shortens the overall brewing process, simplifies malt handling automation, and reduces the cost of malt. If you’re planning a microbrewery or considering an expansion, the following checklist will aid you in designing a silo for your needs.
Bill Ladish
Cargill Malt, Specialty Products Group
In a previous article we discussed the drop in acres planted to Harrington in Canada during the mid- to late-1990s and afterwards, after a long and distinguished reign atop international commerce. The declines were driven by the comparatively improved agronomics of newer lines of crops which compete with malting barley for average in Canada, and by the improved agronomics of newer 2-row malting barley varieties released in order to keep malting barley competitive with these other crops.
The newer 2-row malting barley varieties are primarily Metcalfe, Kendall, Stratus, and Copeland. Metcalfe and Kendall were discussed in previous articles. Stratus has not been successful in the marketplace compared to Metcalfe and Kendall. Here we discuss Copeland.
Bill Ladish
Cargill Malt, Specialty Products Group
The Canadian 2-row malting barley variety CDC Harrington has long been the standard bearer of international commerce. Its smooth and neutral flavor profile, combined with enzyme levels significantly higher than traditional European varieties of the same level of total protein, makes it well suited for the production of lager beers. Harrington was developed by Dr. Bryan Harvey at the Crop Development Centre at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. Hence the initials CDC. Dr. Harvey just retired as the dean of Canadian malting barley breeders, with the development of Harrington being his proudest accomplishment.
However, Harrington was registered in Canada in 1981. So it has been on the scene for more than twenty years. During that extensive time period the development of new barley lines, and more importantly the development of lines with improved agronomics in those crops which compete for acreage with malting barley in Canada, has proceeded unabated. By the late 1990s it was apparent that Harrington was losing acreage. Harrington reached its highest percentage of the total area seeded to barley in Canada in 1993 at about 38%. That figure dropped to about 21% in the year 2000, and to about 8% in the 2004 crop year. The trend is anticipated to continue with the 2005 crop.
Malt in general can store for long periods of time if kept in a clean dry environment. The majority of malts are below 5.0% moisture, and quite simply at that low moisture very little can sustain life. Molds won’t grow, and many grain related insects will not be able to thrive in an environment that dry. There are some specialty malts that have higher moisture levels, and keeping all things equal, would not stand the test of time as well as malt that is below 5%.
Therefore, the best way to store large quantities of malt is in a clean, dry, silo. Not only can it be the most efficient and economical way of storing grain, but also provides the brewer the ability to maximize the malt’s “shelf life”. Larger brewers do not store malt for any length of time because they are receiving malt deliveries weekly, and for the largest breweries on a daily basis. However the smaller craft brewer, who is benefiting from volume pricing by purchasing truckload quantities can end up storing their malt for several months. This can be done easily using a silo, but there are just a few considerations or tips. First, it is a good practice to empty the silo completely a few times a year.
This reduces the build up of chaff, which is all the dust, and pieces of debris, that are created any time you move grain. The movement of grain in a silo is such that the lighter particles will rise to the top, so if you never completely empty your silo, continuing to create chaff, you will eventually wind up with a bunch of material in the bottom that you can’t brew with. Another source of chaff build up could be from high pressures used during pneumatic unloading. Cargill recommends unloading its trucks between 3 -5 psi, which is adequate to move the grain while minimizing breakage. Also there are more insects that can easily use the fine dusty debris as a food source, therefore limiting the quantity will lessen the likelihood of getting an infestation.