From Ground to Glass: Evaluation of unique barley varieties for western Washington craft malting, brewing and distilling

This research project was initiated to provide regional agronomic and end-use data for specialty barley producers and end-users in western Washington, and to evaluate for the impact of barley variety on distillate and beer flavor compounds. The long-term aim of the project is to cultivate high-value markets for grain based on distinctive end-use qualities such as taste, aroma, and mouth feel. This study utilized a breeder-extension-farmer-craft brewer/distiller-food science collaboration to evaluate barley varieties for organic production and value-added processing. We hypothesized that unique flavors exist among the germplasm in the WSU barley breeding program that would be of interest to craft maltsters, brewers, and distillers. Nine barley breeding lines and/or varieties were evaluated for valuable agronomic and end-use characteristics. In 2017 and 2018, three replicates of breeding lines (nine in 2017, four advanced to 2018) were grown on field-scale plots in Southwest Washington. Grain from both years was evaluated for grain and malt quality. Micro-malting for malt analysis was completed utilizing two different steep regimes to evaluate the impact of malt regime on malt quality. Barley from 2017 and 2018 trials was distilled by Sandstone Distillery and unaged distillate was analyzed for flavor compounds using Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) and Liquid Chromatography Quadrupole Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (LC/QTOF-MS) at the WSU Wine Science Center. Hot barley steeps were evaluated using LC/QTOF-MS for the same varieties grown in Western and Eastern Washington. Malt from 2018 trials was brewed into beer, and mean acceptance ratings for aroma, appearance, taste/flavor, sweetness, bitterness and overall likings along a 9-point scale were obtained from trained sensory panelists for hot barley steeps and beer, in collaboration with the WSU Food Science program. A community sensory evaluation was undertaken at the Tumwater Brewfest. Barley lines showed difference in malt quality within lines and in comparison with Copeland as an industry standard malt variety. Several lines were competitive with Copeland regarding grain yield, fine extract (alcohol yield potential), and water sensitivity (need for altered steep regimes in the malt house), with generally higher levels in breeding lines as compared to Copeland of beta glucan. Altered steep regimes improved overall malt performance when adjusting for water sensitivity. Differences in new make whiskey flavor compounds were detected based on breeding line, trial location, and distillation conditions. Flavor compounds in new make whiskey, as well as their relative incidence and flavor character (spiciness, fruity), could be assigned by breeding line. Preliminary sensory evaluation of fresh-make (i.e., not barrel-aged) whiskies distilled from the barleys from the 2017 harvest found sufficient differences in the aromas of undiluted and diluted (2:1) samples to justify conducting a descriptive analysis of the samples upon approval of the IRB. Approval of the IRB is anticipated for early September 2019. The descriptive analysis will be conducted to evaluate the differences in aroma and flavor intensity across the samples in this set of whiskies, followed by evaluation of correlations if any between the previously obtained chemical composition and the sensory perception of the whiskies. Trained panelists detected various significant differences in end-use qualities in hot malt steeps and beer regarding appearance, aroma, taste/flavor, sweetness, and for overall liking. For evaluating aroma, sample 12WA-120.14 was liked the most and sample Copeland the least. Aged whiskey from Sandstone Distillery will be evaluated at the 2020 Cascadia Grains Conference, and into in the future, to track modification of end-use characteristics over time.

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