American Malting Barley Association announces recommended malting barley varieties for 2019, including new Bill Coors two-row

Each year, the American Malting Barley Association (AMBA) releases its list of recommended malting barley varieties to U.S. growers, and each year we share it with our readers because the evolution is important — the domination of two-row, the efforts of breweries to grow unique varieties, the quality characteristics of different malts and onward.

AMBA, a nonprofit trade association of 76 brewing, distilling and malting companies, is quick to note the list below is meant to inform U.S. producers which malting barley varieties the industry intends to use in the upcoming year, but the info is also good for brewers to see what’s trending. From the release:

Some varieties will be used in large quantities and others are only utilized is niche markets, so producers 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.

There are several changes from the 2018 list. The two-row varieties Harrington and Propino are being dropped from the list and four two-row varieties are being added. These additions include ABI Growler, Bill Coors 100, Moravian 165 and Thunder. ABI Growler is a two-rowed, midseason, spring barley developed by Busch Agricultural Resources, Ft. Collins, Colo. Bill Coors 100 and Moravian 165 are two-rowed, spring varieties bred by Molson Coors in Burley, Idoha. Bill Coors 100 was released in 2016 in celebration of Bill Coors 100th birthday. Thunder is a two-rowed, winter variety released by Oregon State University and has performed very well in the Pacific Northwest.

With these changes from last year, the list of recommended malting barley varieties for 2019 is as follows: