UK: Winter barley variety Buccaneer gains full approval for brewing

High-yielding winter barley variety Buccaneer has gained full approval for brewing – a welcome addition to what was an otherwise limited approved malting variety list, Farmers Weekly reported on November 13.

Buccaneer now joins Craft, Electrum and Flagon as Malting Barley Committee (MBC) approved winter malting barley varieties as the commitee gave the variety the green light at its autumn 2024 meeting.

Jonathan Arnold, barley buyer at Robin Appel, notes the approval of the two-row variety has arrived in good time.

“The winter barley area has slipped away – one of the reasons being that it is often grown as an entry for OSR and is omitted from the rotation when OSR is dropped.

“There has been significant breeding emphasis on feed varieties rather than malting, so it is a welcome addition for industry,” he says.

“With good premiums available I think this variety will certainly turn a few farmers’ heads.

“We’ve got a good commercial crop in the ground and demand for autumn 2025 is set to be strong.”

Buccaneer offers high yields with a good disease package.

It has a Recommended List untreated yield of 87%, and treated yield of 99%, putting it at the top of the table.

“The strong yield factor is critical for farmers as if they miss malting spec they still have a nice heap of grain to sell for the feed market,” says Jonathan.

Buccaneer appears to be later maturing than the other malting types, but has good disease resistance, including a resistance rating of 7 for rhynchosporium, 8 for brown rust and 6 for mildew. This is measured on a scale from 1-9, where 9 represents strong disease resistance.

The variety Craft, which was granted approval back in 2016, makes up the majority of the winter malting barley area. Jonathan suspects Bucaneer to replace some of this area.

“There’s real scope for good premiums, particularly in the traditional winter malting barley areas such as the Yorkshire Wolds, East Anglia and the chalky soils of Hampshire, Wiltshire and Dorset.

Premiums are currently under pressure as a result of the surplus of high-yielding spring crops this harvest.

“Low premiums often deter growers from re-sowing malting barley, so we expect a significant upturn next year with higher autumn wheat area going in the ground.”

“Roasters and brewers get on particularly well with winter malting barleys.

“The industry is very reliant on spring barley, which can cause problems when adverse spring weather impacts the crop.

Winter malting barley can provide a good fall back if problems occur with the spring crop,” explains Jonathan.

The Malting Barley Committee (MBC) also granted spring malting barley Tennyson full approval for brewing use, having previously achieved full approval for malt distilling earlier this year.

Furthermore, winter malting barley Vessel was granted special use full approval for malt distilling.

“This special-use category has an important role to play in industry, particularly with growers in East Anglia and Yorkshire in close proximity to the maltsters,” explains Jonathan Arnold, barley buyer at Robin Appel.

The MBC notes the award of full or provisional approval to a variety does not infer immediate acceptance for use by all malting, brewing and distilling companies.

Growers are strongly advised to speak to merchants with in-depth knowledge of the malting sector regarding variety choice.

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