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Hulless Barley Malt and Brewing Experiences.

  • 1.  Hulless Barley Malt and Brewing Experiences.

    Posted 02-13-2023 13:12

    Hulless Barley Malt and Brewing Experiences. 

     

    The recent posting of District Presentations was mentioned in THE MASH by Emma; 

    And this led the maltster Mike Doehnel to give me a call  

    and talk about his own experiences around malting and brewing with Hulless Barley Malts. 

     

    It would be great to have others discuss some of their experiences  

    related to any and all types of both core malts and specialty-type Hulless Malts. 

      

    MBAA District Ontario Technical Conference 2023 

    https://www.mbaa.com/meetings/districtpresentations/DistrictPresentations/Armstrong_Hullless%20Barley%202023_January_27%20notes%20pages.pdf 

     

    Maltster Mike Doehnel 

    https://fieldfivefarm.ca/about 

     

    Cheers, 

    Keith Armstrong 

    Brewmaster 

    Great Western Brewing Company Ltd. 

    www.gwbc.ca 




  • 2.  RE: Hulless Barley Malt and Brewing Experiences.

    Posted 02-15-2023 13:45

    G'Day Keith

    With regards to the "arse of a beer,"  I would suggest temperature.  This last sip of beer will be the highest temperature (depending on how fast the beer has been drunk.)  Temperature and flavor are inexorably interlinked in that higher temperature giving stronger flavor responses.  With craft or bottle conditioned beers, it could be the Karmeliet Triple pour tale - more yeast different flavor.  Finally, the last beer will probably not have foam on it, so less appeal.

    Evan



    ------------------------------
    D. Evan Evans
    The Tassie Beer Dr
    Lindisfarne TAS
    61 362439556
    ------------------------------



  • 3.  RE: Hulless Barley Malt and Brewing Experiences.

    Posted 02-21-2023 10:47

    Good Day, Evan. 

    No doubt that the last sip of beer has less foam; is directionally warmer; as you note.  I would also note less carbonated, as well. 

    And you also note "that higher temperature giving stronger flavor responses." I'd say this comment particularly illustrates the point; that is that the average beer drinker who is socially drinking beer may "accept" a husky/grainy note; until it becomes obvious towards the "last sip" stage. 

    The concern with respect to our guild's challenges with the emerging drinker cadre; is that this young group tends to be much less accepting of this husky/grainy defect.  

    This is one sensory territory that we brewers should definitely highlight in our efforts to invite the emerging drinker into enjoying beers; in our efforts to turn around the on-going decline in per-capita consumption of beers in general. 

    Cheers, Keith   







  • 4.  RE: Hulless Barley Malt and Brewing Experiences.

    Posted 02-21-2023 10:47

    Hi Keith,

    I was inspired to try CDC Clear, a Canadian hulless type, for two reasons. 

    • Hope for higher extract to ameliorate the high cost of malt
    • Possible flavor and stability benefit of lower husk content.

    Our inclusion rate was 33% as we have a Lauter Tun and no mash filter.

    The malt performed well in the Brewhall. No problems with Lauter. We saw no noticeable flavor difference compared to control.

    Unfortunately, the kernel size was significantly smaller. We have a two roll steep conditioning mill so unable to easily adjust gap midstream. Thus no improvement in extract was realized. 

    So we did not accept this variety and are patiently waiting for plumper hulless types

    Regards,

    Daniel Carey

    New Glarus Brewing



    ------------------------------
    Daniel Carey
    Brewmaster
    New Glarus Brewing Company
    New Glarus WI
    (608) 527-5850
    ------------------------------



  • 5.  RE: Hulless Barley Malt and Brewing Experiences.

    Posted 02-27-2023 14:18

    G'Day Daniel, Interesting.  There is a paper on that lack of translation of lab extract for hulless malt  at the commercial scale (malting and brewing).

    Stewart, D. C., Sterenberg, N., Washington, J., and Hughes, G. (2004). Hull-less barley - a commercial malting and brewing evaluation. Proceedings of the Institute and Guild of Brewing, Asia Pacific, Hanoi. 28th: 13-15.
    Basically the authors found no increase in extract at the commercial scale (Joe White Malting-Coopers Brewery collab) using a Meura 2001 mash filter.  I can get the paper for you if you like.



    ------------------------------
    D. Evan Evans
    Dr
    The Tassie Beer Dr
    Lindisfarne TAS
    61 362439556
    ------------------------------



  • 6.  RE: Hulless Barley Malt and Brewing Experiences.

    Posted 02-27-2023 14:18

    Thanks kindly everyone who had a look at this posting.  CDC clear can be very plump with the appropriate growing conditions.  There are still some yield issues as compared to hulled varieties but those are not insurmountable on the smaller scale that we are.  It does make fantastic malt but care should be taken to ensure no case hardening during kilning (much like wheat or rye).  With this process, friability can be as high as the mid 80s, which is fine for most 2 roll adjustable mills.  Don't be afraid of that adjustment knob, it can make your life much more pleasant.  Oher than that beta glucans can be a bit higher and the maltster can adjust their process to lower that to some degree.  The end result is often massive extract in line with the lab mash of up to 88% FGDB which is as high as anything on the books as reported by our brewers and distillers.  As and added benefit the hulless is automatically non GN for all malt distilling due to the removal of the acrospire during post malting cleaning

     

    Mike D






  • 7.  RE: Hulless Barley Malt and Brewing Experiences.

    Posted 02-28-2023 15:09

    Great comments from Mike and Kyle; and based upon their direct experience as well.

    I do honestly think that many of the "concerns" expressed are built upon the fact that we will all definitely benefit from much more activity; building more experience in the fields, the maltings, the breweries and the consumer experiences.

    One example; the recent widespread drought across Western Canada barley regions did nothing to progress the big long-term picture of the opportunity for hulless barley malting.

    Most brewers would say that this particular year was also a disappointment for standard hull-covered barleys as well.

    However, the longer term progress of Co-operative and Collaboration trials across several years do point to fantastic potential for, especially, the new hulless barley varieties. And once we get these barleys into the hands of the maltsters; there will be a need to learn and share and evolve the means of optimizing the malting processes to provide the best outcomes for brewers and consumers.

    and brewers will need to pay close attention to their brewhouse processes as well.

    Potential all round !

    Cheers, Keith



    ------------------------------
    Keith Armstrong
    Head Brewer
    Great Western Brewing Co Inc
    Saskatoon SK
    (306) 361-4074
    ------------------------------



  • 8.  RE: Hulless Barley Malt and Brewing Experiences.

    Posted 03-01-2023 12:38

    For maltsters I have found the very immature acrospires to be more tender than both wheat and rye.  There was once a train wreck in a saladin box when combining sprinkling with turning of the piece at the early stages,  roots will regrow but not acrospires when knocked off.  I would try and hold off on excessive turning during this stage until the acrospires become more firm.  This might have some connotations with bed temp differential but should be ok for roots not grabbing.  There is possibly some work being done on this by Brigid Meints at OSU with coloured hulless barley and the issue of tender acrospires remaining more protected during early stages.  I wonder if the barley breeders are taking this into consideration with their early genetic screening






  • 9.  RE: Hulless Barley Malt and Brewing Experiences.

    Posted 04-17-2023 11:13

    The Heart of Barley
    Enjoy this new Master Brewers Association Podcast.

    https://lnkd.in/gBXgKfhY

    and follow up checking out the other podcasts
    and links attached.

    Let's keep talking about Hulless Barley malts;
    and keep learning more !
    cheers, Keith



    ------------------------------
    Keith Armstrong
    Head Brewer
    Great Western Brewing Co Inc
    Saskatoon SK
    (306) 361-4074
    ------------------------------



  • 10.  RE: Hulless Barley Malt and Brewing Experiences.

    Posted 03-03-2023 10:35

    Update :  Development Committee meetings just wrapped up today.

    Both of the two new Hulless barley varieties focused on Malting were accepted unanimously for registration. Quite an acknowledgement of the leap forward in malting qualities.

    The three evaluation sub-teams, Agronomy, Disease and Quality, were all very positive about both new varieties; and they are showing improvements for brewers with lower beta-glucans; lower viscosity; higher friability; excellent extract; etc.

    The differences in the two new lines are around higher versus lower enzymes; and some differences in disease resistance strengths; and variances in kernel sizes.

    So, time will tell how both come through for farmers, maltsters and brewers.

    But the timing is important for brewers to express their interests in hulless malting barley potentials to their malt suppliers !

    Let your voices be heard !

    Cheers, Keith



    ------------------------------
    Keith Armstrong
    Head Brewer
    Great Western Brewing Co Inc
    Saskatoon SK
    (306) 361-4074
    ------------------------------



  • 11.  RE: Hulless Barley Malt and Brewing Experiences.

    Posted 02-27-2023 14:18

    Hi, Dan. Great comments on your experience; including no issues during lautering. The new varietal registration meetings are next week in Banff. This may lead to two new hulless varieties being registered for malting focus. I think that wider availability and much more experience in the malting of hulless; and in brewing with hulless; will lead to insights and answers that will gain more of the potential from hulless malting barleys. 

    Improvements in Barley varieties, growing techniques, and malting techniques to help open up the barley (friability, for example) may be some of these gains.

    This is an older paper speaking to some of the concerns brewers expressed back in the 1960's :  https://www.mbaa.com/publications/tq/tqPastIssues/1967/Documents/4_98.pdf#search=herbstoffe

    J. Inst. Brew. 115(2), 128–133, 2009

    2009

    Hull-less barley is possibly one of the most important developments in barley in recent years.

    provide good alcohol yield as well as significant improvements in processing characteristics.

    could save costs in terms of water, energy and time for the malting industry.

    higher alcohol yields, and increased throughput.

    clear potential for using hull-less barley in a grain distillery.

    The Scotch Whisky Research Institute, Research North Avenue,

    Riccarton, EH14 4AP, Scotland, United Kingdom.

    1 Corresponding author. E-mail: Reginald.Agu@swri.co.uk.

    Publication no. G-2009-0715-1006

    © 2009 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling

    Cheers to great beers !  Keith 



    ------------------------------
    Keith Armstrong
    Head Brewer
    Great Western Brewing Co Inc
    Saskatoon SK
    (306) 361-4074
    ------------------------------



  • 12.  RE: Hulless Barley Malt and Brewing Experiences.

    Posted 03-02-2023 10:32

    Thanks Keith,

    I look forward to seeing how this story develops as hulless types certainly have great appeal!

    Regards,

    Daniel Carey

    New Glarus Brewing Company



    ------------------------------
    Daniel Carey
    Brewmaster
    New Glarus Brewing Company
    New Glarus WI
    (608) 527-5850
    ------------------------------



  • 13.  RE: Hulless Barley Malt and Brewing Experiences.

    Posted 02-27-2023 14:18
    Phenols, including polyphenols are acidic. Lower polyphenol concentration would not be expected to lower the pH. Perhaps there is some difference between your malts other than polyphenol concentration.

    Roger Barth, PhD
    Professor Emeritus of Chemistry
    West Chester University
    rbarth@wcupa.edu

    Author of
    The Chemistry of Beer, The Science in the Suds, Second Edition. ISBN 978-1-119-78333-0
    Mastering Brewing Science: Quality and Production. ISBN 978-1-119-45605-6.

    ________________________________

    This e-mail message was sent from a retired or emeritus status employee of West Chester University.




  • 14.  RE: Hulless Barley Malt and Brewing Experiences.

    Posted 02-27-2023 14:18

    Dan, I think you have IBD access;

    https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/20500416/2009/115/2

    Potential of Hull-less Barley Malt for Use in Malt and Grain Whisky Production

      • Pages: 128-133

     

    • First Published: 16 May 2012


    ------------------------------
    Keith Armstrong
    Head Brewer
    Great Western Brewing Co Inc
    Saskatoon SK
    (306) 361-4074
    ------------------------------



  • 15.  RE: Hulless Barley Malt and Brewing Experiences.

    Posted 02-21-2023 10:48

    This is perhaps slightly tangential to true hulless barley, but I expect without the husk a similar issue may present: in an ESB flagship of ours, I tried swapping in some Crisp Clear Choice for the usual Bairds pale malt we use, and we observed a drastic and surprising drop in both mash and finished beer pH.  This happened multiple times, consistently and only when we were using the Clear Choice malt. 

    Clear Choice is a specially selected barley variety with no proanthocyanidins; those are " flavonoid polyphenols that impart astringency and also form chill haze with proteins in the final beer."  My hypothesis is that these polyphenols normally contribute alkalinity in a standard mash, which our water chemistry was already balanced out to account for, and that removing their presence from the barley resulted in throwing that pH out of balance, with less alkalinity to buffer the acids in the mash, resulting in a lower pH.  

    Since a lot of those polyphenols tend to be concentrated in the barley husk, it is possible that brewing with huskless barley may produce a similar result: a lower mash pH with less buffering alkalinity than a standard mash.  Just a hypothesis.  I'd be curious if anyone has experienced that effect in practice, or if anyone else ever worked with the Crisp Clear Choice malt and noticed they needed to radically alter their water chemistry to achieve the same mash pH as standard pale malt.



    ------------------------------
    Christopher McGarvey
    Brewmaster
    Front Street Brewery
    Wilmington NC
    (309) 621-5905
    ------------------------------



  • 16.  RE: Hulless Barley Malt and Brewing Experiences.

    Posted 02-27-2023 14:19

    That's a very interesting experience; well worth sharing.

    There are several (older) articles in the MBAA archives : for example;

    https://www.mbaa.com/meetings/archive/2014/proceedings/2014%20Presentations/M-64_Griggs.pdf

    https://www.mbaa.com/publications/tq/tqPastIssues/1980/Documents/17_16.pdf

    https://www.mbaa.com/publications/tq/tqPastIssues/1985/Documents/22_41.pdf

    and they sometimes suggest the opposite; so people sharing their experiences; and some feedback from your malt supplier; might provide some elucidation.

    Cheers, Keith



    ------------------------------
    Keith Armstrong
    Head Brewer
    Great Western Brewing Co Inc
    Saskatoon SK
    (306) 361-4074
    ------------------------------



  • 17.  RE: Hulless Barley Malt and Brewing Experiences.

    Posted 02-27-2023 14:19

    Keith, one thought while reading through your thought provoking presentation was with hulless barley do you need to malt it at all?  I was thinking about barley brewing (eg Ondea Pro, Novozymes)?  Also see Christophe Bellet's (Brasserie Dulion) paper at EBC 2023.   Not malting and directly barley brewing, although sacrilege to some, would have significant savings in water/waste water (steeping) and energy (kilning).  Potentially a green outcomes?  Also, with hulless barley, the naked grain would have far less dirt (think first steep water) to carry over into the beer.



    ------------------------------
    D. Evan Evans
    Dr
    The Tassie Beer Dr
    Lindisfarne TAS
    61 362439556
    ------------------------------



  • 18.  RE: Hulless Barley Malt and Brewing Experiences.

    Posted 02-27-2023 14:19
    Re : 
    Subject: Hulless vs hulledMessage:
    IN your talk slides you note a couple of times that hull-less barley occupies about 1/3 less storage space. Do you or someone else have this basic truth published somewhere?
    ===========================================================
     
    This is one example of info available from various barley agencies globally.
     
    the volume difference; akin to the bushel weight differences; are indeed hard to pin down precisely.
    guidelines more than rules; since there is so much varietal differences; and crop seasonal differences.
           
    But the basics are that the bushel weight of hulless grains; wheat, barley, etc.;
    are significantly higher than their hulled/covered cousins; 
    einkorn/emmer/spelt being quite light weight versus the more standard hulless wheat bushel weights; for example.
     
    Note : one concern that I have had expressed to me is that the current hulless barley malting standard variety CLEAR is "too big" a kernel; since this tendency to "too plump" makes if more challenging for water and enzymes to homogenously get throughout the see during steeping and germination.
     
    The preliminary barley registration meetings are currently suggestive of the likelihood of two new hulless barley malting types going forward to registration during the meetings next week.
    Both of these are considered solid steps forward; from the field to the glass.
     
    Also, it's worth remembering that we have spent a huge effort on breeding of hull-covered barleys for malting; and very little effort in optimizing hulless barleys;
    so I see only more opportunity as more support and focus is provided to hulless types to be grown with a focus on malting (i.e. meaning farmers pushing for human food have quite a different agronomic focus including looking to elevate protein and soluble fiber contents in the harvested grains - diametrically opposed to goals for malting ). 
     
    Cheers, Keith


    ------------------------------
    Keith Armstrong
    Head Brewer
    Great Western Brewing Co Inc
    Saskatoon SK
    (306) 361-4074
    ------------------------------



  • 19.  RE: Hulless Barley Malt and Brewing Experiences.

    Posted 02-28-2023 16:05

    Thanks for your answer Keith.  
    On the question of hull-less suitability for brewing, I have long recognised the potential of hull-less - extra extract, lower transport volumes, etc.  It has always seemed that it was just a matter of time before a suitable hull-less variety was matched with modified malting and brewing (mash-filters) protocols.  Hence a sense of perspective is perhaps needed.  The modern husked barley varieties, malting/brewing equipment have evolved over 100-200 years (and more) of modern breeding, equipment evolution and significant R&D allocation.  Sure we will progress more quickly now than say 200 years ago but it will take some time to gain the pot of gold that potentially awaits with hull-less malt.  



    ------------------------------
    D. Evan Evans
    Dr
    The Tassie Beer Dr
    Lindisfarne TAS
    61 362439556
    ------------------------------