Raw Materials

Weather conditions in 2021 led to a challenging barley crop—the smallest in the US since 1934—leaving maltsters scrambling while prices climb. How significant was the decline? Here, we plot the past decade of U.S. barley harvests.

The enemies of fresh malt are many, and some have legs and multiply. The damage can be costly. Here are practical tips on keeping your grain high, dry, and free of critters.

Money doesn’t grow on trees, but fruit does—and yet, it can be a finite resource. For all the talk of how climate could affect malt and hops, fruit is another raw material of modern beer that’s vulnerable to weather, as well as to supply-chain issues.

Why do hop varieties get all the love? With the help of data from the American Malting Barley Association, here’s a glimpse at the varieties that make up the bulk of U.S.-grown malting barley and where those varieties are grown.

Growers, breeders, maltsters, and brewers will need to adapt faster than they have in the past if they’re going to keep up with accelerating change.

New hop-derived products for aroma and flavor are appearing faster than brewers can learn how best to use them. Stan Hieronymus is here with a primer.

A lack of shipping containers in Europe has made it impossible for many North American brewers to get malts they rely on for some of their most important beers. It’s unclear when the situation will improve.

It’s not standard equipment in every malthouse, but many maltsters large and small are using their own pilot breweries to test, demonstrate, and help customers get the best possible malt for their needs.

Independent brewers are prolific consumers of malt, increasingly nudging growers and maltsters into more characterful varieties. What’s lacking is wider adoption of programs that can evaluate and analyze that character—and then communicate it to drinkers.

In this ongoing series that looks at hop-related issues that will matter to brewers in the years to come, Stan Hieronymus spotlights the need to think ahead when it comes to securing the future of some valued hops from the past.