Last week our team had the opportunity to tour the test plots with WSU Breadlab Grain Breeder, Steve Jones. During this tour we were able to discuss the particulars in breeding wheat, barley, and rye. Each test plot is a trial for a number of different things and the variations in colors, heights, and growing vigor are really something to see.
The main question we wanted to answer for our customers was: How do barley varieties get selected?
The answer, as you may assume, is complex.
One plot had many different colors of barley - variation in barley can help with issues from climate change.
Barley can take anywhere from 3 to 10 years to grow out enough to make sense to malt. From either a handful of seeds from a seed bank or a genetic cross in a greenhouse, barley takes a while! We have to grow ~125lbs of seed per acre we want planted!
So, which varieties make it through the gauntlet of growing seasons? Steve presented an answer that made us laugh - “Varieties that look cool.” Of course there is input back and forth between us and our growers, but varieties that have interesting traits - colors, malting performance, and ability to grow well, all play into “looking cool.”
When we talk about pursuing difference as a core value in the barley varieties we bring in for malting, there’s nothing better than a walk through the test plots to visualize what we mean. Which of these varieties will make it into beers, whiskeys, or other products? We won’t know for a couple of years, but we’re excited to continue the hard work of growing, testing, and trialing, until we discover them!