Barley Australia Media Releases

12th April 2010

Barley Australia Revises Variety Preferences

Barley Australia, the industry body for Australia’s maltsters and barley marketers, announced today that it has again reviewed its “Preferred Variety List” of malting barley varieties following a decision to conduct more regular reviews of the list throughout the year rather than annually as was previously the case.

The list, which is shown below, ranks those varieties which are most sought after by purchasers of Australian malting barley who are members of Barley Australia according to their current demand on both the export and domestic markets. The list also ranks this demand on a state by state basis.

Variety	Export	Domestic	State
	Demand	Demand	Vic	NSW	SA	Qld	WA
Baudin	High	Low	Ö	Ö	Ö		Ö
Buloke	Medium	Low	Ö	Ö	Ö		Ö
Commander	Low	Medium		Ö	Ö
Fitzroy	Low	Low		Ö		Ö
Flagship	Med	Low	Ö	Ö
Flagship	High	Low			Ö
Gairdner	High	High	Ö	Ö	Ö	Ö	Ö
Grimmett	Low	High		Ö		Ö
Hamelin	Low	Low					Ö
Schooner	Medium	Medium	Ö	Ö	Ö
Sloop	Low	Low	Ö		Ö
Stirling	Low	Low					Ö
Vlamingh	Medium	Low					Ö

22nd October 2009

Hindmarsh Evaluation Progresses

The Victorian-bred barley variety Hindmarsh is currently under evaluation for malting accreditation by Barley Australia and has almost completed its first year of commercial malt processing.

This is the first in a series of 4 hurdles to clear in the variety’s pathway through the Barley Australia Accredited Variety evaluation process. 

Until it is accredited as malting barley following the evaluation process, the variety remains classified as feed by Barley Australia.

Hindmarsh was released in 2007 by AWB Seeds and has now been grown for 3 seasons as a feed variety (the third season is still in the paddock with harvest looming). Some trial segregations of Hindmarsh are being proposed by industry to assist with its commercial assessment during this upcoming season.

Recent difficult production years have meant that until the 2008/09 crop, the variety has not had sufficient tonnages of suitable quality barley available for commercially malting for the Barley Australia evaluation process.

Following on from this 2009 commercial malt, a pilot brew will be undertaken during November this year; in 2010 the process will be repeated with a commercial malt (from the 2009-10 crop) and a subsequent sample of this malt pilot brewed.

Given all parts of the process proceed smoothly, the earliest Hindmarsh will achieve its Barley Australia Accredited Variety status will be March 2011 when the final brew is completed and analysed.

Barley Australia executive manager Linda Price said the 2 year Barley Australia Accredited Variety evaluation process was a crucial part in the variety’s future uptake by overseas maltsters and brewers.

“The evaluation process undertaken by Barley Australia essentially comprises two years of commercial-scale malt processing, and a representative sample of the commercial scale batch of each year of malting is then brewed on a pilot scale,” Ms Price said.

The task of taking a new variety to the marketplace for many of Australia’s maltsters and malting barley marketers is made more efficient by the Barley Australia Accredited Variety system as Australia works together as an industry and is able to generate quality process performance information and data, which indicates to potential customers the variety’s ability in both the malthouse and the brewhouse.

“Data generated by the commercial malting trials and pilot brewing trials is a foot in the door for the new variety, showing how the new variety performs on data collected on an industry, as opposed to individual, basis,” Ms Price said.  

Hindmarsh was bred by Dr David Moody, former Senior Barley Breeder, Department of Primary Industries, Horsham, Victoria through the Malting Barley Quality Improvement Program (MBQIP), and is commercialised by AWB Seeds.

For further information on Hindmarsh, contact Simon Crane, General Manager, AWB Seeds.

ends

 

23 February 2009

Malting accreditation for Commander

Barley growers, maltsters and brewers have a new variety to consider for their malting production choices following the accreditation for malting of the University of Adelaide-bred variety Commander.

Barley Australia is the industry body charged with the responsibility of national varietal accreditation for malting barley and has this week received recommendation from national barley technical evaluation body MBIBTC (Malting and Brewing Industry Barley Technical Committee) after two years of commercial malting and GRDC-sponsored pilot brewing through the Pilot Brewing Australia program.

Barley Australia chairman David Thomas said the elevation of Commander to malting status offered the marketplace increased choice in quality Australian malting barleys.

“This variety is ready to go to the market place complete with quality data that has been endorsed by the Australian malting and brewing industry following the comprehensive evaluation it has been through.

“Because of this, it enables purchasers to have confidence in the processing performance of the parcel they buy, as well signal to growers that this variety is able to be processed into quality malt and beer,” Mr Thomas said.

“Being a newly accredited variety it is important for the barley industry to work together stepping production of Commander with market sales to customers,” Mr Thomas said.

The commercialization rights of Commander have been assigned to Adelaide-based ABB Seeds. Growers are encouraged to talk to their seed re-sellers, marketers and storage companies regarding the production of Commander in their area and the industry will look to grow new varieties in a measured manner so as to match demand from customers with production from growers.

Barley breeder Dr Jason Eglinton from the University of Adelaide said the variety exhibited broad adaptation and is suited to most regions of Australia targeting 2-6t/ha and showed outstanding grain size.

ends.

23 February 2009

Grout to remain a feed barley 

The Queensland-bred barley variety Grout, which was going through national malting evaluation, has been removed from the evaluation process following its inability to meet required quality specifications.

Grout was released as a feed variety by the Queensland DPI&F in 2006, bred by the Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries with support from growers through the GRDC.

Barley Australia is the industry body charged with the responsibility of national varietal accreditation for malting barley and Grout entered the Barley Australia Variety Evaluation process in 2007 to ascertain if it was suited to become a malting variety. 

Barley Australia chairman David Thomas said due to the outcome of trials by national barley technical evaluation body MBIBTC (Malting and Brewing Industry Barley Technical Committee) Grout was unsuited to malting and brewing purposes.

MBIBTC conducted two years of commercial malting and GRDC-sponsored pilot brewing through the Pilot Brewing Australia program, and the trials were held over a three year period due to inhospitable seasonal conditions.

“Unfortunately commercial malting trials and pilot brewing trials determined that the processing qualities of the variety were not suited to a malting and brewing end use,” Mr Thomas said.

However, as a feed barley, Grout demonstrates good adaptation to grain growing regions from central NSW through to central Queensland.  Grout is marketed as a feed barley through AWB Seeds.

ends.

31 January  2008

Buloke approved for malting status

The Victorian-bred barley line, Buloke, has been approved for malting and brewing status and given formal Barley Australia Accredited Variety status, following extensive testing and trialing around Australia under the Australian barley industry’s Malting and Brewing Industry Barley Technical Committee (MBIBTC).

Barley Australia chairman David Thomas said the elevation of Buloke to malting status offered the marketplace increased choice in quality Australian malting barleys.

“This variety is ready to go to the market place complete with quality data that has been endorsed by the Australian malting and brewing industry following the comprehensive evaluation it has been through.

“Because of this, it enables purchasers to have confidence in the processing performance of the parcel they buy,” Mr Thomas said.

Buloke barley was bred by Mr David Moody of the Victorian Department of Primary Industries at Horsham. It was one of several elite lines to come from the former Malting Barley Quality Improvement Program (MBQIP), a valued collaboration of industry and government investment in barley breeding.

Buloke is licensed to and available through AWB Seeds.
 

ends.