Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 8450 / SEEDWORLD.COM OCTOBER 2016 lead to mold growth, damaging quality for maltsters. Some growers use a dryland technique, but others irrigate from a system of canals that funnel snowmelt from mountains to reservoirs and out to Idaho barley farms. That gives growers the opportunity to provide water at optimal times, increasing yield and improving grain characteristics. “We can pretty much control the quality of the malt barley year after year,” Olson says. That leads to plump kernels with low protein and high starch content. Maltsters partially germi- nate the barley, allowing brewers access to the starches in the grain. Those starches are converted to sugars during the mashing process. And those sugars, when fed to yeast, become the alcohol in beer. Perfecting the Craft The preferred variety for brewers these days is two-row barley. The grains on those plants are evenly spaced and have room to plump, as opposed to six-row varieties that are more tightly packed, have thin- ner grains and are higher in protein. “Two-row is preferred by craft brewers because of the enzymes and the sugars that are in it. It’s just a little more conducive to what we’re doing as craft brewers,” says Max Shafer, cellar and barrel manager for Grand Teton Brewing Company in Victor, Idaho. As an Idaho brewery, Grand Teton is proud to source its barley from its home state. But the qual- ity is also key. “We are really happy with the consistency we see in Idaho barley,” Shafer says. Chris Swersey, supply chain spe- cialist for the Brewer’s Association, a trade group for the craft brew- ing industry, says Idaho’s two-row barley varieties also have thinner hulls than six-row varieties, which can make a big difference when transporting large amounts of the grain. “If you’re going to be ship- ping malting barley all over the country, you’d rather be shipping extract than husks,” Swersey explains. He can’t say how much of the barley supplying the craft industry is from Idaho, but he knows that a sig- nificant number of breweries work with Great Western Malting Co. The malting operation isn’t tied to a major brewer, so it serves the craft industry. “We probably have hundreds of members that do work with Great Western,” Swersey says. “Idaho has really come on strong.” Improving Barley Grain While Idaho has done well in the malt barley world, there are always new challenges and room for improvement. The large, international brewing companies have their own breeding programs aimed at improving water-use efficiency, drought tolerance, disease resist- ance and yield. Drake points to a couple varieties that have been important for AB-InBev and the growers with which it works. The ABI Voyager variety, which took more than 14 years to develop, has high yields and resistance to spot blotch. The company also works with the Charles winter variety that uses about 25 percent less water than other barleys. In addition, AB-InBev developed the SmartBarley platform that allows growers to benchmark their growing practices. They can see, for instance, the amount of fertilizers, water and other inputs that growers in similar climates or soils are using to deter- mine if they want to tweak their own practices. “That’s another thing we do to help growers and the region, to help reduce water usage and improve yield,” Drake says. “It’s a way of best-practice sharing from farmer to farmer.” New innovations and research help Idaho’s barley industry, like recent developments in the fight against powdery mildew. International Flavor Olson says this year looks like a bumper crop for Idaho barley, and growers and maltsters may need to find new markets for their products. Spring barley, usually around 120 to 145 bushels per acre, is expected to near 180 bushels per acre this year. “This year will go down in the record books for Idaho barley. It’s been an extraordinary year,” she says. “This is really good barley, so they can probably get it at a better price than previous years.” But growers will need new buyers if they don’t want supply to outstrip demand. Olson says with yields on the rise, this may be the reason to start working on new international relationships in places like Central and Latin America. “We’ve been selling to places like Mexico for a long time,” Olson says. “But it may be time to expand that reach.” SW If you’re holding a six-pack of Budweiser or Bud Lite, two or three of the beers in your hand were made from Idaho barley.