The American Malting Barley Association has recommended a bunch of new and interesting malting barley varieties for 2020

The American Malting Barley Association (AMBA) Board of Directors recently approved the addition of AAC Connect, LCS Odyssey, Moravian 164 and Moravian 170 to the recommended list of malting barley varieties for 2020. AMBA is a trade association of brewing, distilling and malting companies, and the list is meant to inform U.S. producers on the malting varieties that the industry will be using in the coming year. Not all varieties will be used in large quantities and growers are encouraged to contact their local elevator, grain handler or processor to gauge market demand for any variety grown in their region prior to seeding.

What’s up with these new varieties?

Dr. Bill Legge developed AAC Connect at the Brandon Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri Food Canada. It is a two-row, spring malting barley variety that was registered in Canada in 2016. It has plump kernels, good resistance to lodging, improved resistance to FHB and has greater yield than AC Metcalfe and CDC Copeland. The variety is licensed to Canterra Seeds in Canada and distributed in the United States by Meridian Seeds.

LCS Odyssey, a spring two-row malting variety, was developed by the Limagrain U.K. breeding program and is marketed in the United States by Limagrain Cereal Seeds. LCS Odyssey has an unusually wide area of agronomic adaptation, achieving peak yields in Montana, Colorado and the Pacific Northwest. The maturity of LCS Odyssey is not generally a good fit for North Dakota and Minnesota. LCS Odyssey is a non-producer of Glycodidic Nitrile (GN).

Dr. Bob Brunick of Molson Coors Beverage Co. developed Moravian 170 and released it in 2019. Moravian 170 is an early maturing, two-row, spring malting barley. It was bred and developed for irrigated production in Colorado. It is a short statured barley with good lodging resistance and yields equal to or greater than Moravian 069. Moravian 170 produces high yields and quality grain in heat-stressed conditions and can be produced with 2 to 3 fewer inches of irrigation water than Moravian 069. Moravian 170 is a proprietary barley variety of Molson Coors Beverage Co.

Dr. Bob Brunick of Molson Coors Beverage Co. also developed Moravian 164 and released it in 2019. Moravian 164 is a medium statured, two-row, spring malting barley. It was bred and developed for irrigated production in the San Luis Valley of Colorado. Moravian 164 produces higher grain yields and greater plump seed than Moravian 069. Moravian 164 can be produced with 1 to 2 fewer inches of irrigation water than Moravian 069 without an increased risk of reducing grain yield, grain plumpness or malting quality. Moravian 164 is a proprietary barley variety of Molson Coors Beverage Co.