Maltsters in Canada watch barley quality

Maltsters are facing a double whammy in terms of supply constraints this year, says an industry official. Not only is North American barley production way down, but there are serious quality issues as well. "It's going to be a tough year all around for producers and the malting industry alike," said Peter Watts, managing director of the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre. The average protein level in this year's malting barley crop is north of 14 percent compared to the usual 11 to 12 percent range. "We're talking two percentage points or more higher on average," said Watts. "That's a big difference for the malting industry." Brewers will be forced to work with high protein malt, which is less than ideal. It creates problems like low extract levels, haze formation in beer and reduced shelf life. The CMBTC is working with high protein malting barley in the 14 to 16 percent range to see how the malting and brewing processes can be tweaked for better performance. "We'll work ...