Klamath plantings seek robust barley malts for beer ByKathyCoatney
grown in California. Hayes’ research, in three study ar- eas, is funded by the American Malting Barley Association. The organization’s members include craf t and main- stream brewers. Hayes is studying barley varieties to make themresistant to disease and stress, while achieving highmalting quality and rich tastes. But, he said, “The definition of malting quality is very much in the eye of the beholder.” That’s because craft and mainstream beer makers don’t agree on everything. Thereasonfor theirdifferences is thatmost craft brewers are using whole barleymalt intheirbeersandmuchof themainstream industry is using adjuncts such as corn or rice, Hayes explained. In his research on barley flavors, Hayes said, “We’ve been systematically working through this todocument that, yes indeed, specificvarietiesof barleycanprovidespe- cific flavors to beer.” He said the specific geographywherebarley is grownmayalso add uniqueness to those flavors. In focusing on fall plantings, Hayes is researching barley that puts out root sys- tems in autumn, then grows very slowly over thewinter—usingprecipitation in the formof rain or snow. Once spring arrives, it hits its growth spurt before springbarley is even planted. Oneclassofbarley—facultativebarley— can be planted in the fall and has enough cold tolerance to survive thewinter. It also can be planted in the spring, Hayes said. “Oneof the things thatwe reallyworkon is trying to understand the genetics of this facultative growth habits, so that we can provide our farmers and industries with thegreatest flexibilitypossible,”Hayes said. TheKlamathBasinhasoutstandinglocal grainstorageandexcellent rail connections to the Great Western Malting facility in Vancouver,Washington, Hayes said.
Patrick Hayes oversees barley research plantings for craft andmainstreambrew- ers, asAmerica’sbeermarket inspiresnew interest in growing barley in California and beyond. “There’sanuptick inbarleyacres, there’s an uptick in malt usage, and that is driv- en by the craft industry because they are largely using themalts,” saidHayes, a pro- fessor of crop and soil science at Oregon StateUniversity. The growth of the craft industry has stimulated interest in barley production from the West Coast to as far as away as Ohio and Michigan, places that aren’t normally thought of as barley production areas, Hayes said. Hayes has been studying new barley varieties that can adapt to climate change and potentially benefit major brewers, craft producers andmalting companies. “Inourmalting efforts, we try todevelop varietiesthatwouldbeof interest tothecraft industryandwouldalsobeof interest tothe mainstream industry,”Hayes said. “We try tomove those findings as quickly as possi- ble intoour varietydevelopment pipeline.” Hayes has tested winter and facul- tative barley varieties with Admiral Maltings in Alameda County and was preparing to do a spring barley project on the California side of the Klamath
Grower Ed Rose stands in a field of lightning barley malt in the Klamath Basin, where researchers are studying varieties that can adapt to climate change and produce rich flavors for brewers.
consistently provides good crops,” Hayes said. “Farmers saw it as a valuablepieceof their rotations. And the local storage infra- structure existed.” But this year has beenchallenging, with drought conditionsmaking raising barley in the Klamath Basin very complicated. Water shortages are threatening sup- ply chains and livelihoods, Hayes said. Increasingly, his research reflects drought challenges and finding alternatives. Under extreme drought conditions, varieties that are typically used for malt will not provide grain with good malting quality, he said. But rather than lookingatdrought-resis- tant varieties, Hayes is taking an indirect route to use efficiency by focusing on fall- planted barleys. The fall-planted barleys have advantages. Theymature earlier, re- quire less irrigation and are more water efficient because of their growth habits. “They’ll also produce their grain and their crop before the periods of really intense stress kick in,” Hayes said, add- ing it’s similar to how winter wheat is
Basin until that one was scrapped due to a lack of water for irrigation. TheKlamathBasinhashistoricallybeen the single largest productionarea formalt- ing barley because of its warm, dry con- ditions during the day and cool nights. Thismakes it an ideal climate for growing barley. It also has a rotation of onions and potatoes as high value crops—and barley fits into that as a rotation, Hayes said. “It’s just a good place to raise barley; it
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4 Ag Alert September 22, 2021
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