UNDER the latest review by Barley Australia of the preferred malting varieties list, Buloke variety has been removed in Victoria and Western Australia, Commander in NSW and WA, and Baudin, Gairdner and Navigator in South Australia.

Barley is Australia’s number two crop. Image Andrew Gee

“As market demand for malting barley changes, which is itself a function of the domestic and export brewers’ needs, various varieties are removed or superseded. A variety once removed from the Preferred List is still an accredited variety and is retained on the Accredited Varieties List,” Barley Australia chairman, Andrew Gee, said.

Varietal accreditations for malting

Barley Australia adopted several recommendations from its Malting and Brewing Industry Barley Technical Committee (MBIBTC) for evaluation for accreditation as malting varieties; see table 1.

Table 1 – Status of evaluation for malting accreditation by MBIBTC

1 : InterGrain is a field-crop breeding company in Australia

Barley Australia said the MBIBTC would assess Compass and Spartacus through 2017; both promoters had indicated sufficient grain was available from the 2016/17 harvest.

It anticipated a final recommendation as to MBIBTC’s malting evaluation of Compass and Spartacus varieties for malting barley accreditation would be considered at its meeting planned for February 2018.

The complete list of preferred malting varieties by state is available on the Barley Australia website, link here.  Accredited malting varieties are listed, link here.

Source: Barley Australia