Brothers Chris and Lawrence Warwaruk hope a malt-barley variety demonstration featuring
historical varieties will spark a discussion on the farmer-brewer connection.

Back to the future for Manitoba brewer

Neepawa’s Farmery Estate Brewery is highlighting the farm-brewer connection by showing the public the ingredients that make beer

Reading Time: 2 minutes A farm-based beer maker is offering a unique agri-tourism destination that will show attendees the historical ingredients that were used to make beer. Neepawa’s Farmery Estate Brewery, run by brothers Chris and Lawrence Warwaruk, are showcasing the malt barley varieties ranging from a century ago to modern times on their operation, which also produces other […] Read more

In Canada, more than 50 per cent of the barley seeded is grown for malt.

Can the beef value of beer barley be rated with just one test?

Barley that fails to meet malt grade makes it the most common grain fed to feedlot cattle

Reading Time: 4 minutes After wheat and canola, barley is the most prominent crop in Western Canada. From 2005 to 2014, an average of 7.9 million acres was seeded resulting in an average annual production of 9.2 million metric tonnes. Barley grain has two primary end uses: as malt for beer or as livestock feed. On average, the value […] Read more


Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre managing director Peter Watts with a sample of two types of malt. Watts says the craft brewing industry has different requirements than some of the bigger brewing companies.

The malting lottery continues

Having barley accepted for malting has never been a sure thing, and that’s still the case following changes to the marketing system

Reading Time: 4 minutes Malting barley can be one of the most profitable crops in Western Canada — if you can grow it, and if you can sell it. That’s not necessarily easy. Many farmers try — it’s estimated that 80 per cent of the barley sown in Western Canada is seeded to malting varieties. But only about 20 […] Read more

Malted Barley grains

The chicken and egg scenario of new barley varieties

Maltsters will buy new barley varieties if farmers will grow them. Farmers will grow them if maltsters will buy them

Reading Time: 6 minutes When ordering a beer these days, your choice is no longer just a couple of same-tasting brands from big national or international breweries. North Americans have developed a taste for “craft” beers from an ever-expanding list of smaller breweries. Different beers need different malts, which creates a demand for different varieties of malting barley. But […] Read more