We're (not) screwed again, lol

[mr x]

First the hop 'shortage', now this:

...And by July, maltsters dependent on Canadian supplies will be "running on fumes" ahead of the harvest in autumn when the price of malting barley will jump by one-third, an official with the Canadian Wheat Board said.

http://www.thestar.com/business/article" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... et-to-rise

[wortly]

This might be the just the push to kick off some Maritime malt for this growing season.

[KMcK]

Has the next group order started?

[akr71]

Don't we have someone here that has malted their own grain?

Lets see if we can drive up the price of feed barley too.

[JohnnyMac]

Sounds like we need to get the next spreadsheet up......

[mr x]

I am going to do that, just want to get the money taken care of for this order first. NCM is slowwwwwww this time around...

[whisle pig]

Hopefully NS jumps on board with some barley trials this year !! They could catch up to NB who is already producing for Canada Malting.

[maltster]

Don't we have someone here that has malted their own grain?

Lets see if we can drive up the price of feed barley too.

Yes, I've been malting my own barley for the last 2-3 months. It started out as an experiment but it's been working pretty good so far. A friend of mine gave me a large quantity of raw barley. I believe it is probably feed grade barley but it can be malted. Cheap beer with only the cost of hops and yeast! My malting efficiency seems a little low (7kg of malt to get a starting SG of 1.041 in a 23l batch), but the good news is that the beer tastes just as good as beer made with store bought malt.
Here's a few pictures of my malting setup. It's crude but it didn't cost me anything, just spare materials laying around the basement.

The raw barley is soaked in water for 2-4 hours, then drained and left to rest 6-8 hours, then repeated 3 more times.

soaking the grain.JPG

The wet barley is laid out to germinate. This is where the starch modification takes place.

germinating.JPG

It takes 2-3 days for full modification. You can see the rootlets growing from the seed.

rootlets.JPG

The green malt is placed on wire screened trays in the kiln for drying. It takes approx 2 days at 100-120F.

drying malt.JPG

I hope to use the kiln to dry some home grown hops this fall.

the kiln.JPG

The kiln is heated from an extra heating duct from my wood fired furnace. The kiln has a small fan at the bottom to draw warm air from the furnace when the main furnace fan isn't running.

The current cost of feed grade barley at the local farm supply store is $15-16 per 40kg bag. It's definitely cheaper but a lot of extra work.
I don't mind as my barley was free and I can malt approx 21kg in a week. Much more could be done with a larger kiln.

[Jayme]

Do you know what type of barely it is exactly? I grew a small test batch of barley last year but it was a huge pain in the ass/expensive to order a lb of conlon 2-row from the US. I couldn't find anywhere locally to buy legit malting barley seeds.

[anewton]

Maltster,
I'd be hesitant to use your kiln as a hop oast. I've been looking into a dual purpose set up myself, and from what I've gathered the two would not mix well. You could end up with hop-smelling malt, or worse, malt-smelling hops!

[mr x]

That is frigging cool.

[maltster]

Do you know what type of barely it is exactly? I grew a small test batch of barley last year but it was a huge pain in the ass/expensive to order a lb of conlon 2-row from the US. I couldn't find anywhere locally to buy legit malting barley seeds.

No, the guy who gave me the barley picked it up when a large quantity was spilled during the loading of a bulk shipment. I'm guessing it's feed grade barley. I checked the Co-op Atlantic Seed catalogue and they list several barley varieties but none were malting variety. The Alberta Seed Guide lists many malting varieties but I doubt they would sell small quantities. I wonder if some of the maritime growers would sell some malt grade seed?

http://www.seed.ab.ca/news_and_events/news1.asp#Spring" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; 2012

[maltster]

I grew a small test batch of barley last year but it was a huge pain in the ass/expensive to order a lb of conlon 2-row from the US. I couldn't find anywhere locally to buy legit malting barley seeds.

I contacted Co-op Atlantic and the local seed sales rep said he was able to get "leader" which is grown locally as a malting 2-row variety. The price hasn't been set yet for this year but he will let me know. The minimum order is a 25kg bag.

Anyone intestested in a group buy to split a bag? I'm guessing the cost will be less than $25 for a bag.

[KMcK]

That could be fun as an experiment. I'd be in for some.

[Jayme]

I would buy a 25kg bag at least. If others want to split a second and don't necessarily want it all, I can pick up the rest. Lot of land to play with! The only real problem is harvesting... haha

[chalmers]

I would buy a 25kg bag at least. If others want to split a second and don't necessarily want it all, I can pick up the rest. Lot of land to play with! The only real problem is harvesting... haha

Well, we've done hop harvesting parties, how about a barley one? I call dibs on the scythe!

[derek]

Well, we've done hop harvesting parties, how about a barley one? I call dibs on the scythe!

I have my own...

[wortly]

The harvesting isn't the problem, it's the threshing that's a bitch.

[Jayme]

My dad's got a scythe, maybe 2. I wonder if you could use a hay cutter? Or would that shred things up too much... If that would work, I could just get my dad to mow it off with the tractor...

[maltster]

I would buy a 25kg bag at least. If others want to split a second and don't necessarily want it all, I can pick up the rest. Lot of land to play with! The only real problem is harvesting... haha

I haven't heard back from the sales rep yet. I will post here when I get the price. I think he can ship it to any Co-op Atlantic Farm store. Is there one in your area?

[Jayme]

There's one in Bridgewater which would probably be the best. My dad can pick it up from there (I live in Halifax) as I will be planting it at their place just outside Mahone Bay. Thanks!

[mr x]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink ... crops.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Price of a pint could fall by 10p thanks to bumper barley crops

Recent record levels of rain could take up to 10p off the price of a pint of beer due to expected bumper barley crops, analysts have predicted.

The international price of malting barley, which is used to make beer, has significantly dropped in recent months while production levels have increased.

Growers say heavy rains in recent weeks have left them quietly optimistic of bumper crops this year.

While brewers remain cautious, the reduced price of barley could lead to up to 10p per cent off premium beer and lager prices in some pubs if the fall is passed on in full, The Grocer, the industry publication reported.

Brewers said they faced other costs of production as well as duty rises.

According to industry figures, the European Union’s production was likely to be up to six per cent higher this year, with more than 400,000 extra hectares of plantations.

While growers in Spain have had a poor year, farmers in Germany, France, Italy, Denmark and Britain have all reported excellent conditions for record harvests.

Robert Miles, from Mintec, the commodities analysts, said on Monday that barley production would likely be better this year, meaning that prices were “coming down”.

This could lead to lower pint prices, if the reduced production costs were passed on to consumers, he added.

"(Last year's) pricing trend in raw materials has reversed now and we look to be coming out the other side,” said Mr Miles, a senior commodity analyst.

“It is not huge but it is making a difference. But prices could be lower. The expectation is that it is going to be a better year than last year.”

“Last year had poor crops, so there was more planting by growers this year as a result.”

One malt barley producer who supplies brewers said growers were optimistic of a good year.

"The rain we've had over the past few weeks has come at the right time and people are optimistic next year's crop is going to be back to normal,” said the farmer, who declined to be named.

On Monday a spokesman for the British Beer and Pub Association, whose members manufacture 98 per cent of British beer, said brewers were still facing difficult conditions.

He said decreases in barley prices would unlikely make a huge difference to the price of a pint because of the effects of tax rises.

“The April rain is certainly good news for barley growers, as is any fall in prices,” he said.

“But when it comes to the price of your pub pint, barley price fluctuations are likely to have little obvious impact, as barley is a relative small part of production costs and much of it is bought on long term contracts.”

[jeffsmith]