Grainswest - Spring 2024

Spring 2024 Grains West 32 O n a sunny day late last June, a group of agricultural journalists from around the world gathered next to the lush barley field plots maintained by the Field Crop Development Centre (FCDC) in Lacombe. As they scrawled notes about Alberta malting barley production, the group listened to FCDC researchers discuss the varieties the facility has developed over the years, including Lowe. The group sampled Lowe Down, a one-off blonde ale by Olds College Brewery. Its ingredients included Lowe malt produced by Red Shed Malting near Innisfail. Lowe’s strengths are its strong disease package, low DON accumulation and low lodging score. In field trials, it yielded higher than farmer favourites AC Metcalfe (12 per cent) and CDC Copeland (six per cent). Maltsters were especially drawn to the new variety’s low protein and high extracts, the perfect combination for craft brewers. To the journalists, the variety sounded promising, and it certainly made delicious beer. Surprisingly, they learned Lowe was already on its way out of production just four years after it hit the marketplace. This illustrates the complex needs a new malting barley variety must satisfy from grain to glass along the industry value chain. There is no guarantee any new variety, no matter how promising, will be a smash hit, but knowing what does not work is in itself valuable. Certain failed varieties, Lowe notable among them, have been catalysts for change that have led to tighter industry collaboration. VANISHED VARIETIES REFINE MALTING BARLEY DEVELOPMENT STORY AND PHOTOS BY MELANIE EPP HITS, MISSES AND LESSONS LEARNED