U.S.A., North Dakota: Anheuser-Busch, Inc. recently became the second major brewing company to use a variety of barley developed by Rich Horsley, a researcher at North Dakota State University, in 1991, Associated Press reported on September 15. Miller Brewing Co. has been using the strain, known as Drummond, for the last two years. "I think it's a big victory for the growers," said Horsley. "They should finally have a choice out there."

Robust has been the preferred variety for the last two decades, mainly because brewing and malting companies are scared to change their recipe for fear of offending dedicated beer drinkers, Horsley said. "The malting and brewing industry is very conservative. They find a variety they like and stick with it." Many growers are unhappy with the yields of Robust, and won't grow barley until something better comes along, said Bowman farmer Wayne Narum.

North Dakota is the country's top producer of malting barley, even though the acreage has dropped from a high of about 3 million in the mid-1990s to 1.6 million last year. The acreage rebounded to 2.1 million acres this year. "New varieties such as Drummond might provide an option to bring barley back into some areas," said Mike Davis, president of the American Malting Barley Association. "It's hard to say what the other implications of Drummond will be, but at least the farmers will be able to produce more bushels."

Developing barley takes patience, Horsley said. The first five or six years are spent analyzing such characteristics as yield and disease resistance. The next five or six years of testing are cooperative efforts with the malting and brewing companies.

"Ultimately it has to yield, have disease resistance and make a product that the consumer will like," Horsley said. "It's got to taste right, it's got to smell right."

There are two types of barley, two-row and six-row, named for the number of kernels on the head. Most countries use two-row barley for brewing beer, but six-row barley is preferred in the United States, Horsley said.
Six-row barley is higher in enzymes than two-row barley, which helps break down corn and rice used in American brewing, he said. "Americans tend to like a lighter beer," Horsley said.

Though Anheuser-Busch and Miller - the two largest brewers in the world - are using Drummond, they are doing so only in small amounts. Horsley said he hopes brewers will increase the use of it in coming years. Three six-row varieties were recommended by the malting and brewing industry in the 1980s and only one, Robust, made the final cut, Horsley said. Only three varieties were accepted in the 1990s, out of about 100 tested, he said.

About 55 % of the barley planted in North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota this year was the Robust variety, the American Malting Barley Association reported. Less than 2 % of the barley planted in North Dakota was Drummond.

More farmers might grow Drummond now that two companies are using it, Horsley said. "There are a lot of growers in the western half of the state who have had good luck with it," he said. "But we're really going to have to see what the market demands." "Barley is a nice crop to grow," said Louie Arnold, who farms near Esmond. "It fits in nice with the rotation of other crops. But if the malting industry and the brewing industry want six-row barley production, they're going to have to come out and pay for it." Though Arnold has not planted any Drummond, he said research plots have shown that the variety has strong straw. That enables farmers to combine the grain without first swathing it, a step that involves cutting the barley into rows on the ground. "That's a big advantage, to have one less step," Horsley said.

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