Each year, the American Malting Barley Association (AMBA) releases its list of recommended malting barley varieties to US growers. AMBA is a nonprofit trade association of 76 brewing, distilling and malting companies that are end users of US malting barley. The list is meant to inform US producers which malting barley varieties the industry intends to use in the upcoming year. Some varieties will be used in large quantities and others are only utilized in niche markets, so producers are encouraged to contact their local elevator, grain handler or processor to gauge market demand for any variety grown in their region prior to seeding.
There are several changes from the 2018 list. The two-row varieties Harrington and Propino are being dropped from the list and four two-row varieties are being added. These additions include ABI Growler, Bill Coors 100, Moravian 165, and Thunder. ABI Growler is a two-rowed, midseason, spring barley developed by Busch Agricultural Resources, Ft. Collins, Colorado. Bill Coors 100 and Moravian 165 are two-rowed, spring varieties bred by Molson Coors in Burley, ID. Bill Coors 100 was released in 2016 in celebration of Mr. Bill Coors 100th birthday. Thunder is a two-rowed, winter variety released by Oregon State University and has performed very well in the Pacific Northwest.
With these changes from last year, the list of recommended malting barley varieties for 2019 is as follows:
Two-Rows
- AAC Synergy
- ABI Growler
- ABI Voyager
- AC Metcalfe
- Bill Coors 100
- CDC Copeland
- Charles*
- Conlon
- Conrad
- Endeavor*
- Expedition
- Explorer
- Hockett
- LCS Genie
- Merit 57
- Moravian 37
- Moravian 69
- Moravian 165
- ND Genesis
- Newdale
- Pinnacle
- Puffin*
- Scarlett
- Thunder*
- Wintmalt*
Six-Rows
- Celebration
- Innovation
- Lacey
- Legacy
- Quest
- Stellar-ND
- Thoroughbred*
- Tradition
*winters
Read the full press release here.
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