Fourteen participants from North American brewing and malt companies are attending the Barley Malt Quality Evaluation technical course at Northern Crops Institute (NCI) this week. During the course, the group will learn more about the quality components of barley and malt necessary to produce an acceptable beer.

Maltsters and brewers attending the course represent Anheuser Busch; Brewer’s Alley, Inc.; Busch Agricultural Resources; Cervecceria Cuauhtemoc-Moctezuma; Grupo Modelo; Labatt Breweries of Canada; McAuslan Brewing; Prairie Malt Limited/Cargill Malt; and University of Minnesota. 

North Dakota ranks number one in U.S. barley production, with 91% of acreage sown to malting varieties.  Thirty-one percent of total U.S. barley is produced in N.D., S.D., and Minn.  Six-row barley is the predominate type of malting barley grown in the Midwest.

Course topics include U.S. barley production and variety development, barley breeding, barley malt production technology, barley quality and grading, specialty malts and extracts, biochemical changes in malting, practical malt analysis, comparison of North American, European and Australian malts, food safety issues, and a biotechnology update on barley.

In addition to lectures, the group will tour the Busch Agricultural Resources Elevator Operations in West Fargo, N.D., hosted by Mike Stevens, regional manager, and the Busch Agricultural Resources Inc. Malt House, Moorhead, Minn., hosted by Greg Ballentine, plant manager.  They will also visit the NDSU Barley Greenhouse and NDSU genetics and malt analysis laboratories.

Dr. Paul Schwarz, NDSU professor of plant science, is program coordinator and instructor in the course.  A variety of industry professionals and university faculty teach in the course. Jud Carlson, Anheuser-Busch Moorhead, will provide a brewer’s perspective on malt.  Additional instructors include Dr. Richard Horsley, NDSU barley breeder and professor of plant science; Paul Bolin, Anheuser-Busch; Dr. Lynn Dahleen, USDA Northern Crop Science Laboratory; Dave Kuske, Briess Malting Co.; and Rich Joy, Rahr Malting Co.

American Society of Brewing Chemists, Institute of Barley and Malt Sciences, and NCI co-sponsor the course. 

Five participants are sponsored by U.S. Grains Council.  They are escorted by Julio Hernandez, technical director of USGC, Mexico City. 

“Barley malt imports [into Mexico] will continue to be strong for the foreseeable future because Mexico breweries continue to modernize both their brewing capacity and distribution,” says Hernandez. “It is expected that breweries will continue looking for barley and malt sources at their best interest (price, quality and other preferences); therefore it is important to make sure they are exposed to the American advantage in terms of malt quality, new 2- and 6-row barley varieties with enhanced malting characteristics development and convenience due to geographical proximity.”

“The Mexican industry produces over 60 million hectoliters in 14 breweries across the country. Total imports of barley malt are over 180,000 metric tons with an approximate value of USD $50 million (65% U.S. origin – 35% other origins),” Hernandez concludes.

Northern Crops Institute supports regional agriculture and value-added processing by conducting technical education and services that expand and maintain domestic and international markets for northern-grown crops.