Limagrain Cereal Seeds is developing a new variety of malting barley especially for all-malt brewing. The international agricultural cooperative developed a high-yielding irrigated barley variety in Europe that has performed well in trials held in Idaho, Washington and Colorado. The variety, called LCS Genie, was selected from more than 70 varieties of European barley for its adaptation to the northwest United States and its levels of protein and extract that make it well-suited for all-malt styles of beer.
“It has impressed both plant breeders and growers with its ability to keep pace with, and at times, outyield leading feed barley varieties currently being grown in the Pacific Northwest,” according to the company.
As part of an “Acres to Ales” pilot program, 14 breweries in Idaho, Colorado, Washington and Kansas made a beer with the variety, malted by Great Western Malting in Vancouver, Wash., and poured them at a tap takeover at the Mayor of Old Town bar in Fort Collins, Co. Early remarks showed promise.
“We’re always looking for something different that’s potentially better than what we’re using,” says Doug Odell, co-founder of Odell Brewing Co. “LCS Genie was really consistent with what we usually work with—Great Western Malting Co. did a great job malting it, and it was really easy to brew with.”
LCS Genie is the first malting variety from Limagrain, but the company says it has three more varieties well-suited for distilling and brewing in development.