Grainswest - Winter 2019

GrainsWest: You’re from Tongliao in China, so why did you attend the University of Saskatchewan for your PhD in plant science? Yueshu Li: After doing my undergraduate and graduate degrees in China, I worked at Northeast Normal University in Jilin province before getting the chance to pursue my PhD anywhere I wanted. I chose Canada. Of course, if you’re studying plant sci- ence in Canada, the University of Saskatchewan is where you go. GW: What was your first impression of the country when you arrived in 1989? YL: Canada is a very clean, peaceful place. I didn’t have any problems when I came here. It felt really different but I enjoy being here a lot. In fact, I was offered a position that would have required moving to the United States earlier in my career, but my wife said, “no, there’s no way we would leave Canada.” GW: You were very involved in the hockey community when your kids were younger, weren’t you? YL: Yes, I was, and I loved it. I was living in Biggar, SK, at the time, and a co-worker suggested I put my son in hockey. I didn’t really know much about hockey, but it’s a big cultural thing for Canadians, so I did it. My wife and I loved it. We met so many other parents, and we came to understand the importance of Winter 2019 grainswest.com 19 WHETHER HE’S IN THE LAB TESTING MALTING BARLEY FOR BREWING QUALITY OR TOURING A BREWERY IN CHINA, YUESHU LI IS A FIRM BELIEVER IN TELLING THE WORLD ABOUT CANADA’S HIGH-QUALITY BARLEY. WITH YEARS OF MALTING RESEARCH UNDER HIS BELT AND POSSESSING A WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE PERTAINING TO THE MALTING INDUSTRY, LI IS THE DIRECTOR OF MALTING AND BREWING OPERATIONS AT THE CANADIAN MALTING BARLEY TECHNICAL CENTRE (CMBTC). HIS OVERSIGHT WAS INTEGRAL TO THE CREATION OF THE WINNIPEG FACILITY ALMOST TWO DECADES AGO. THE CENTRAL KNOWLEDGE, TRAINING AND TESTING HUB FOR MALTING BARLEY IN CANADA, THE CMBTC HAS BECOME INTEGRAL TO THE MARKETING OF CANADIAN BARLEY AND ITS USE IN BEER PRODUCTION. A NOT-FOR-PROFIT RESEARCH FACILITY, THE CMBTC PROVIDES TECHNICAL AND MARKETING SERVICES TO THE ENTIRE BARLEY VALUE CHAIN, INCLUDING FARMERS, SEED COMPANIES AND BREEDERS, MALTSTERS, BREWERS AND EXPORTERS. WITH TEST-SIZE, FULL-SERVICE MALTING AND BREWING EQUIPMENT, THE FACILITY’S TECHNICIANS TRIAL SMALL BATCHES OF BARLEY TO ENSURE THE MALT GROWN AND PRODUCED IN CANADA IS OF THE HIGHEST QUALITY FOR NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL USE. OVERSEEING DAY-TO-DAY WORK IN THE MALTING AND BREWING LABS, TESTING MALT BARLEY FOR QUALITY IN BOTH THE MALTING AND BREWING PROCESSES, LI ALSO TAKES PART IN BARLEY MARKETING INITIATIVES. IT ’S CLEAR HIS PASSION FOR THE CANADIAN BARLEY INDUSTRY IS STRONG. BY ELLEN COTTEE • PHOTOS BY LEIF NORMAN The CMBTC’s Yueshu Li is invested in the malting industry A COMMITTED BARLEY BACKER