CHICAGO (Reuters) – Overdue loans and mounting interest payments often weigh on Montana barley grower Mitch Konen as he bales hay and loads trailers at his remote farm overlooking the snow-capped Rocky Mountains. As spring sunshine warms the fields, Konen, 65, and other barley farmers worry tariffs will take away crucial export markets and increase […] Read more
Tag Archives beer
U.S. barley farmers worry as beer loses ground
Plains states face a huge glut of the crop as overall beer consumption in the U.S. slides to its lowest level since the 1970s
SHARON, North Dakota (Reuters) — Don Nygaard, a third-generation farmer in a remote corner of North Dakota, used to grow malt barley for Rahr Malting Corp. to make lagers, pale ales and IPAs. But this year, he received no lucrative contracts from Minnesota-based Rahr or any beer makers, so his sprawling farm is growing food-grade […] Read more
BBQ pain for we beer and burger boys
Here's where inflation gets real
Here’s where inflation gets real: When millions of Americans get together for backyard barbecues on July 4, the average host is going to be shelling out US$99 for ingredients, including beer and burgers. In 2018 the same stuff only cost $73, according to Rabobank, the global agricultural lender. The average guy or gal now has […] Read more
Alta. brewery moves from backyard to big time
Glacier FarmMedia – In 2012, Calgary brewer Graham Sherman was told his plan to start a craft brewery didn’t conform to Alberta’s liquor laws. The province’s legal framework wasn’t friendly to small-scale producers. Brewery-owner hopefuls had to be able to produce 500,000 litres of beer a year if they wanted a licence. Sherman didn’t have […] Read more
Excise tax increase puts brewers in a clinch
SASKATOON — Canada’s brewers are asking the federal government to refrain from punching an industry that is already on the ropes. They want Ottawa to reconsider its looming 4.7 percent increase in the beer excise tax scheduled to take effect April 1. It would be yet another jab to an already reeling domestic beer sector, […] Read more
Alta. college’s brewing program boosts barley
Program offers training in basic brewing technology and processes, taste-development and marketing and development
OLDS, Alta. — There are few things more closely married than post-secondary students and beer. In perhaps the highest expression of this sacred relationship, the beer at Olds College isn’t just sipped by agriculture and other students, but also brewed, analyzed, labelled and marketed by an elite class of trainee brewmasters, the products of a […] Read more
Beer flavour research starts small
Scientist hopes to make the connection between yeast genomics and beer quality more transparent for home brewers
The world of beer is a world of endless flavours. In fact, there’s even something called the Beer Flavour Wheel that lists dozens of beer flavours from around the globe. There are all sorts of unusual flavours on the wheel, including gooseberry, stone fruit and grassy. But there’s one flavour that’s probably an acquired taste. […] Read more
Barley origin’s impact on beer flavour studied
Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre hopes study will support future marketing campaigns that use the terroir effect
Malt barley varieties and growing locations have a significant impact on a beer’s overall quality, but these differences are difficult to identify by taste, according to research by the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre. Marketing campaigns for craft beer often emphasize taste qualities of a specific malt barley variety, or that specific growing regions provide […] Read more
Brewers add algae to beer
ROUBAIX, France, (Reuters) — A French brewer is using algae with a naturally occurring pigment to turn its beer blue. The beer, with the brand name Line, is the result of a linkup between a firm that wants to popularize the algae as a dietary supplement, and a nearby craft brewery that was looking for […] Read more
Industry introduces glass-to-the-field beer
BANFF, Alta. — Block chain is a complicated concept but thanks to this form of traceability, beer drinkers can track their beverage from field to glass. “This block chain beer is taking traceability to an extreme level, said Matt Hamill of Red Shed Malting in central Alberta. Working with Canada Malting and Last Best Brewing […] Read more
