b'ON THE WEBWHERE Watch the full conversation at:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_12iUucDNGg will deliver the same results consistently.a neutral base for maltsters and brewersextract efficiency, and overall consistency It allows us to maintain the quality andto work with, allowing them to shape andin our brewing process.flavor profiles of our products withoutenhance the final flavors in their products.any surprises or deviations. Having a reli- Doug, how do you go about able and consistent malt means we canPeter, how can we speed upintroducing new malting varieties to focus on other aspects of our process,adoption of newer varieties? brewers?knowing that this foundational ingredientBy getting newly registered varietiesThe process of introducing a new variety remains stable. scaled up and tested as quickly as pos- to brewers is time-consuming. It involves sible at a commercial scale. This requiresmalting individual varieties, packaging Doug, what do you look for in atight coordination of several players,them, and sending them to interested malting barley that you then turnincluding seed companies, maltstersbrewers. The brewers will then conduct into malted barley for brewers? and brewers, with the CMBTC in theflavor tests and, if satisfied, incorporate We recognize that different brewersbackground providing logistical support.the new variety into their malt blend, have specific requirements and prefer- In the two years after registration, thegradually moving it through their system. ences for their malt. This is why we see adomestic malting companies and theThis process is not swift, and it takes few major malt varieties available. EachCMBTC process small batches of newtime to ramp up production to meet the of these varieties caters to a differentvarieties to build an understanding ofvolume required for brewers to conduct spectrum of what a particular brewerquality and performance data of a newthese tests. Once a variety is registered, may desire. The choice of malt variety wevariety. If it looks good, the industry mustit can typically take three to five years purchase in larger quantities depends onsend a strong signal to seed growers tofor it to become commercially accepted. our customer base for the malt company.ensure sufficient quantities are producedDuring this period, brewers begin brew-For instance, if we serve many adjunctthe next year to conduct commercialing with the new variety on a commercial customers, we would look into varietiesproduction trials to confirm the varietyscale, and it becomes available in the like CDC Fraser, which possess higherwill perform at a large scale. market.enzyme levels suitable for adjunct brew-ing. On the other hand, if our focus is onDan, theres always a lot of talkAaron, how do you go about catering to craft brewers, we might con- about hops in the brewing world.meeting end use demands when sider varieties such as CDC Copeland orMalt, of course, plays a huge role.creating new varieties and balance AAC Synergy, which have lower proteinHow does malt influence your beer? that with qualities important to and enzyme levels. These varieties areMy journey as an end user has high- growers like yield etc.?better suited for craft brewing practices. lighted the importance of understandingWhile we have a good understanding the complexities of malting barley and itsof what maltsters and brewers seek in Aaron, what in your opinion makes aimpact on our brewing endeavors. Whilebarley, our major challenges lie in ensur-good malting variety? my initial focus was on hops, I now realizeing barley remains a viable option for Our role as breeders is to develop barleythe significance of malt and its role ingrowers. This necessitates transitioning varieties that can be grown widely acrossachieving consistency and quality in ourto new varieties that offer higher yield Western Canada to produce a consistentcraft. My primary concern is the usabilitypotential. Balancing the demands of all product that meets the needs of bothand consistency of the malt I receive. Istakeholders involved in the barley indus-farmers and the malt industry. We aimdont have direct knowledge of the spe- try is a complex task, but its essential to provide variety options with varyingcific barley varieties that are used in theto maintaining the industrys long-term enzymatic levels, low beta-glucan levels,malting process. My focus is on ensuringsuccess.SWand higher extract levels. While flavor isthat the malt performs well and provides a consideration, we focus on deliveringthe desired results in terms of flavor, OCTOBER 2023SEEDWORLD.COM /59'