Field To Bench: Thunder, Lightning, and GN 0 Barley at Oregon State University

By Emily Hutto, RadCraft The 2022 installments of the Field To Bench series tell stories about some of the world’s leading malt research. Next up is Oregon State University.  The barley researchers at Oregon State University (OSU) have always found themselves on the cusp of something big in the craft malt world. Today, it’s GN…

Exploring the Genetic Basis of Barley Contributions to Beer Flavor

By Harmonie Bettenhausen, Ph.D., Hartwick Center for Craft Food and Beverage As producers (and producer-adjacent) of malted grains, we are all quite aware that barley malt provides critical starches and enzymes to the brewing process, in exchange for saccharides and nutrients to be consumed by yeast and the creation of some tasty beverage. We are…

Field to Bench: Canada Led the Way

By Meghan Howes, Contributing Writer for RadCraft Located at the longitudinal center of North America, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Center (CMBTC) opened in 2000 with Yueshu Li serving as director. “I was the first employee,” Li said with a chuckle. Since then, the Centre has worked with breeders, farmers, seed companies, exporters/importers,…

Studying Roots Is Challenging But Could Help Wheat and Barley Breeders Improve Drought Tolerance

By Jessica Williams, Ph.D. Candidate at Montana State University’s Barley, Malt & Brewing Quality Lab In a semi-arid climate, it is important for crops to produce high yields and quality even if water is lacking. Since root systems are the part of the plant that absorbs water, they are a likely target for crop breeders…