USA, ND: Malting barley seen as good fit for producers in western North Dakota

Growing malting barley is a good fit for producers in western North Dakota, according to Doyle Lentz, North Dakota Barley Council, The Prairie Star reported on October 31.

Lentz was part of a group of barley growers, brewers, maltsters, researchers and others that toured barley facilities at NDSU and also toured malting barley country, including the often arid western region where producers grow barley as a rotational crop.

The group was showed the type of farm equipment used in planting and harvesting barley and met barley growers.

“There is a lot of interest in western North Dakota as a barley growing area, especially with craft brewers who like the two-row varieties growing in the west,” Lentz said.

Brewers wanted to meet the malting barley producers who grow their barley, and also see the two-row varieties that do well in the west, he said.

“The malting barley industry continues to be a good industry, and brewers are getting a better understanding of what our growers do to produce good malting barley in North Dakota,” he added.

During the tour, the group heard from Dr. Paul Schwarz, director of the Institute for Barley and Malt Sciences. The tour took place at NDSU’s Dickinson Research Extension Center barley field day, which was organized by Pat Carr, agronomist at the center. The research center has been conducting NDSU malting barley variety and other barley trials for years.

“Barley growers in North Dakota produce about a third of the U.S. crop, and over the past five years, this national production has averaged 205 million bushels,” Schwarz said.

The barley is used to make malt in the production of beer.

Not surprisingly, water is the main ingredient in beer. In fact, about 1.2-1.9 quarts of water are needed to produce each 12 ounce bottle of beer, according to Schwarz. But there is also about 22 pounds of malt in every barrel of beer, or 1 ounce in every 12 ounce bottle.

In addition to that, there is also yeast, hops, or an adjunct grain like rice, corn grits, or corn syrup, depending on the kind of beer.

There are more than 2,500 breweries in the U.S., that produce more than 200 million barrels of beer annually, he noted.

The most popular types of beer in the U.S. are American lager and light lager, Schwarz said.

There are 2,500 brewers producing American light lager or low calorie beer that uses 50 percent adjunct grain.

“In one bottle of American light, there is actually 830-950 kernels of barley,” said Schwarz, adding the regular lager beer uses 35 percent adjunct grain.

While light beer uses 24 pounds of barley in every barrel of beer, regular beer uses 34 pounds of barley.

“Low calorie is the most popular beer,” he said.

In malt lager, there is a whopping 53 pounds of barley in every barrel or about 1.1 bushels.

But there is also a lot of interest in craft brewery beer, and several craft brewers were on the malting barley tour. Schwarz said craft breweries range from brewers with national distribution to the local microbrewery to small nano-breweries.

“As of early 2013, craft brewers produced 6.5 percent of total U.S. beer volume, but consumed about 22 percent of all malt used by U.S. breweries,” Schwarz said, adding the growth of malt beers has not gone unnoticed by large U.S. breweries that are increasing their number of new malt beers.

“Craft brewers have a strong preference for the two-row varieties of malt barley because it tends to be lower in protein,” he added.

Schwarz said about 22 percent of the malt consumed by brewers is imported.

One of the craft brewers at the field day said he believes acreage in six-row malting barleys will decrease to be replaced by more two-row varieties.

He said they needed the six-row before because it broke down sugars better, but with the newer technologies, they now prefer the two-row varieties.

01 November, 2013