Quality Corner: Optimizing Barley for the Craft Malt Industry – Insights from California Trials

Written by Dr. Maany Ramanan, University of California Davis As we come out of another successful barley season, I am excited to share findings from my doctoral research on malting barley, conducted under the guidance of Professors Glen Fox and Christine Diepenbrock at UC Davis. Our study investigated how different barley varieties, growing locations in…

Quality Corner: Craft Maltsters Guild Reports 2024 Harvest Across North America

Each year, the Craft Maltsters Guild asks some of the leading North American grain research and professional organizations for their regional perspectives on the year’s crop quality and yields. Here are reflections from Oregon State University’s Barley Project, the Eastern Virginia Agricultural Research and Extension Center, the Montana Wheat & Barley Committee, the American Malting…

OSU Barley Project’s 2022 Harvest Yields Exciting Variety Developments

By Patrick Hayes, Campbell Morrissy, Scott Fisk, and Laura Helgerson The 2022 crop at Oregon State University, and with cooperators testing our varieties/potential varieties, was a flat-out success: the sort of season that really makes Beavers want to smack their tails in the pond. There are many tales to tell but we’ll keep this short…

The Maltster’s Toolbox: Gibberellic Acid, a maltster’s friend or foe?

By Hartwick College Center for Craft Food and Beverage Gibberellic acid (also known as GA or ‘Gibb’) is a naturally occurring hormone produced in plants. GA is synthesized in germinating grain and stimulates the production of enzymes. It can also be purchased in its pure form and used as a processing aid in malting. GA…