Australia: Joe White Maltings sponsors Asia-Pacific malting spotlight on Australia

Joe White Maltings, a wholly owned subsidiary of ABB Grain, is a platinum sponsor of the Asia Pacific section annual conference in Hobart held by the Institute of Brewing and Distilling, ABB Grain announced on March 16.

Next week, in Tasmania, the focus for five days will be on brewing and distilling as the Institute of Brewing and Distilling holds its Asia Pacific section annual conference in Hobart.

It’s an opportunity for people from around the world who are involved with producing a range of beverages to gather and discuss the latest innovations and developments in their industry.

A range of speakers from around the world will speak on wonderfully diverse subjects, such as: the ‘Extension of Extended Exploded Bottle Detection Systems’, or the ‘Bio-fortification of Barley with Selenium’, through to ‘A National Approach to Further Develop the Australian Barley Industry’.

Given Tasmania’s small production levels of barley, Tasmania might initially seem an unusual location for this ‘gathering of the clans’. However, Tasmania has a rich and colourful past in malt making and brewing.

In 1928, for example, Joe White’s imported Tasmanian barley to supplement its operations in Victoria. Devonport in fact was JWM’s first non-Victorian malthouse built. For many years it supplied malt to makers of Ovaltine.

The current Devonport malthouse, commissioned in 1967, now supplies malt for James Boag’s brewery.

Incidentally, some of JWM’s rich history (it celebrate its sesquicentenary in 2008) is contained in an article published in the current issue of British-based magazine, Brewer and Distiller. The article is also on ABB’s website, www.abb.com.au (go to malting).

Given the enormous increase in beer consumption predicted for China (and South East Asia) in coming years, the Hobart conference is a timely opportunity for Australian barley growers and malt producers to put their product and expertise on display to international visitors.