Emergency! Barley-pocolypse! Malted barley shortages predicted

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/busine...drinkers+crying+their+suds/4398681/story.html

Not good news.

I just may have to buy a couple 50# bags of DME before prices skyrocket.

Brewers may look into more "traditional" methods like multi-rest mashes and decoctions to utilize under-modified grains. Modern high-quality malt is a recent development. I know people on this board have had good luck malting their own "low quality" grains from feed supply stores.

I wouldn't put too much stock in that story. A lot of the barley malt BMC uses comes from US grown barley.

The story said it wouldn't be the large breweries (the BMC's in the US or the Molsons/Labatts/Keiths -mlk's?- here in Canada) who would be affected too much, but the smaller brewers who would feel it. (You know, the ones that make drinkable and worthwhile beer.)

I'm not actually overly worried, it's just another thing that will cost more. Gas is costing me over $1.20 per litre and groceries trips regularly run over $400.00.

Glad I went in on the group grain buy when I did... It really is the only way to get grain, IMO...

The commercial yellow fizzy water brewers can use upward of 70% corn syrup in their beer, so they're not really affected. It's the craft industry that has the potential to be hit, but a majority of them have likely locked into some decent pricing contracts through the end of 2011 and we won't see any price increases until next year.

Just sayin'

Anyone know which breweries use "up to 70%" of their fermentables in the form of corn syrup? It sounds like the craft brewer is trying to spread some rumors...

Now that I'm thinking of going Ag, maybe it's time to actually go AG!

B

Maybe they doctor the batches going to NJ to be that way...

birvine said:

Now that I'm thinking of going Ag, maybe it's time to actually go AG!

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Consider the cost difference when buying bulk of each...

50# Light DME: $98
55# UK 2 Row: $31.35
55# Canadian 2 Row: $24.75

With the sacks of base malt, if you get in on a group buy, that can easily be less. I actually paid less during the recent MA/CT grain buy (UK 2 Row)... I don't see lower prices for DME based on amount of the order.

theredben said:

Anyone know which breweries use "up to 70%" of their fermentables in the form of corn syrup? It sounds like the craft brewer is trying to spread some rumors...

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I heard it on the internet, so it MUST be true

http://www.montrealgazette.com/Barley+shortages+could+have+beer+drinkers+crying/4398681/story.html

Quote from the article:

"The cost of malted barley is by far the biggest ingredient expense we would have," said Beauchesne, co-founder of the brewery in Vankleek Hill, Ont. "Industrial brewers are using as much as 70 per cent corn syrup these days instead of barley to get their sugar content, so a craft brewer will be affected more than a mega-brewer."

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Anyone know how much Monsanto has to do with barley production in the US? I mean, they've already monopolized the soybean industry.

Mischief_Brewing said:

I heard it on the internet, so it MUST be true

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I read it the local paper hear. Makes sense, all the rain we had last year in my neck of the prairie.

MeatyPortion said:

Anyone know how much Monsanto has to do with barley production in the US? I mean, they've already monopolized the soybean industry.

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That's a scary thought.

You know the popular press has said something like this every year for the last 5-6 years, and it's never actually been noticed. Just like the so- called hop shortage turned out to be a big bust.

I wouldn't worry.

Revvy said:

You know the popular press has said something like this every year for the last 5-6 years, and it's never actually been noticed. Just like the so- called hop shortage turned out to be a big bust.

I wouldn't worry.

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SSShhhhh.... don't say that. I can use this as leverage to convince my wife that I need to buy 200lbs. of grain.

Golddiggie said:

Consider the cost difference when buying bulk of each...

50# Light DME: $98
55# UK 2 Row: $31.35
55# Canadian 2 Row: $24.75

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This might sound rather n00besque, but is the UK 2 Row better than Canadian 2 Row, or does it cost more due to shipping overseas?

Revvy said:

You know the popular press has said something like this every year for the last 5-6 years, and it's never actually been noticed. Just like the so- called hop shortage turned out to be a big bust.

I wouldn't worry.

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But what happened to hop prices in 2008-2009?

And have you seen what's happened to grain prices in the last couple months? On the rise big time...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f41/message-supplier-grain-prices-rise-december-208005/

add in higher energy costs for transport, and 2011 is gonna be a pricey year....

Xaphoeous said:

This might sound rather n00besque, but is the UK 2 Row better than Canadian 2 Row, or does it cost more due to shipping overseas?

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UK 2 Row has different characteristics that Canadian 2 Row... Just like Maris Otter and UK 2 Row are slightly different, even thought they're both from the UK... You can often swap them around, but each will give the brew something a bit different.

A good way to see the difference would be to brew the exact same recipe, but change the base malt between the different types of 2 Row... You might not be able to tell the difference between some (like US and Canadian 2 Row) but between Canadian 2 row and UK or Maris Otter you should be able to tell the difference.

I use the UK 2 Row (Maris Otter, UK 2 Row and Golden Promise) mostly to keep within the style guidelines of what I'm brewing (almost all British Isles styles)... I have ~3-1/2 sacks of it right now (gone through almost 1/2 of a sack of the UK 2 Row already)... So I have a good supply on hand.

Golddiggie, thanks for the response! I suppose I'll be "forced" to go AG and buy a barley crusher at some point. However, I will probably be waiting until I buy a house and have more room. This 950 sq.ft. apartment just isn't going to cut it...according to SWMBO.

MeatyPortion said:

Anyone know how much Monsanto has to do with barley production in the US? I mean, they've already monopolized the soybean industry.

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Monsanto bashing... If they are monopolizing everything why not buy a bunch of stock and cash in? They are struggling right now and the stock is going nowhere because the farmers can buy whatever seeds they want. No monopolies.

Xaphoeous I use my kitchen in my ~500 sq ft apartment to ferment in... Do the actual boil, and most of the other stuff outside when it's not mind-numbing cold (an actually kind of weather we get in this part of the country), then just ferment inside. You can stack grain on top of each other too... I have 3 stacked in the kitchen closet right now. They take up maybe a 2'x4' piece of floor... You should be able to stack 4-5 like that without issue...

You could just tell her how much better your brews could be when going all grain. How each batch cost will be less, so you can then brew more of what SHE likes to drink. If you use liquid yeast, you could start harvesting/washing it to reduce the costs per batch too. The BC is a one time purchase... It will pay for itself in what you'll save quickly.

With that in place, I'm about to make an EESB (OG estimate of 1.072) that's going to cost me less than $12 for the 5 gallon batch (5 gallons into bottles)... Of course, I also buy my hops online, where they're better priced... The same brew would probably cost at least 3x the price if I was doing it as extract with specialty grains...

theredben said:

Anyone know which breweries use "up to 70%" of their fermentables in the form of corn syrup? It sounds like the craft brewer is trying to spread some rumors...

Click to expand...

Joesf35 said:

Monsanto bashing... If they are monopolizing everything why not buy a bunch of stock and cash in? They are struggling right now and the stock is going nowhere because the farmers can buy whatever seeds they want. No monopolies.

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It doesn't sound like you know much about Monsanto.

Revvy said:

You know the popular press has said something like this every year for the last 5-6 years, and it's never actually been noticed. Just like the so- called hop shortage turned out to be a big bust.

I wouldn't worry.

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Tell that to the wholesalers who have been steadily increasing prices for malt over the last few weeks and can no longer supply many of the most popular hops until the next harvest. That doesn't mean it will be impossible to find those ingredients, but they will be more expensive and may have to be sourced from multiple retailers.

Golddiggie said:

Xaphoeous ...so you can then brew more of what SHE likes to drink.

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Unfortunately, she doesn't like beer.

Golddiggie said:

If you use liquid yeast, you could start harvesting/washing it to reduce the costs per batch too.

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I actually just harvested and washed the yeast from my Dogfish Head 60 Minute clone. It started as two 11g packets of Nottingham, but I did it just to learn the method. Think it'll still work? I ended up with 4 pint jars (the short/fat type from Ball) with 1/2 inch of solid yeast cake in each. What do you think? I can upload a pic if you'd like

Joesf35 said:

Monsanto bashing... If they are monopolizing everything why not buy a bunch of stock and cash in? They are struggling right now and the stock is going nowhere because the farmers can buy whatever seeds they want. No monopolies.

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You actually think it's healthy what they're doing with soybean gene patents?

And, no, the farmers can not buy whatever soybean seeds they want since Monsanto has bred out all the others.

MeatyPortion said:

You actually think it's healthy what they're doing with soybean gene patents?

And, no, the farmers can not buy whatever soybean seeds they want since Monsanto has bred out all the others.

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Healthy or not, why stop the patent?
Monsanto hasn't bred out all others, you can go buy non monsanto soy bean seeds right now if you wanted. Plant them along side your hops.
I don't want to hijack this thread though, so it's all good.

Joesf35 said:

Healthy or not, why stop the patent?
Monsanto hasn't bred out all others, you can go buy non monsanto soy bean seeds right now if you wanted. Plant them along side your hops.
I don't want to hijack this thread though, so it's all good.

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I don't agree at all but we can take this to the debate forum.

Joesf35 said:

Healthy or not, why stop the patent?
Monsanto hasn't bred out all others, you can go buy non monsanto soy bean seeds right now if you wanted. Plant them along side your hops.
I don't want to hijack this thread though, so it's all good.

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True, and when your neighbor's soy cross pollenates with yours, and your crop has gmo in it that you didn't buy, Monsanto will sue you for stealing their technology. Think I'm joking? Google it.

I gotta side with MeatyPortion on this one. Over 90% of all soybeans in the US are Monsanto genetically altered and patented seeds. The company files lawsuits against independent farmers that try using seeds from previous planting seasons, and they work to push competitors out of the market so that their seeds are the only ones available.

Competition is healthy, forced compliance and fear-through-litigation is not.

sudsmcgee said:

True, and when your neighbor's soy cross pollenates with yours, and your crop has gmo in it that you didn't buy, Monsanto will sue you for stealing their technology. Think I'm joking? Google it.

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We've all read the email forwards. These farmers aren't stupid. The monsanto products are visually different from syngenta or pioneer or the other soy seed engineers/producers.
We can start this on the debate forum but man... Can't we just drink some beer?

MeatyPortion said:

I don't agree at all but we can take this to the debate forum.

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Monsanto is one scary company. They read too many Sci fi books growing up. We really need to preserve some non-Monsantoized seeds just in case.

Xaphoeous said:

I gotta side with MeatyPortion on this one. Over 90% of all soybeans in the US are Monsanto genetically altered and patented seeds. The company files lawsuits against independent farmers that try using seeds from previous planting seasons, and they work to push competitors out of the market so that their seeds are the only ones available.

Competition is healthy, forced compliance and fear-through-litigation is not.

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I bet most of the internet searches are google, but being successful and smart does not make you evil. And when it comes to agriculture and landscaping the amount of good products that exist without competition is pretty high, whether it be high yielding seeds, growth regulators for land scapers, or chemicals for your water features.

Dupont was dismantled several times, for making good products and putting a strangle hold on the market. If monsanto were killing it out there their shareholders would be rich and they would eventually get broken down. 90% sound like internet monsanto bashing propaganda

Xaphoeous said:

Unfortunately, she doesn't like beer.

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You just haven't found "the one" yet.

Think he needs to trade the old model in for an upgraded/updated one that loves GREAT beer (aka home brew)... :rockin:

I don't know about what the future will hold, but yesterday when I was in the LHBS, the owner was talking to another customer about how they didn't have any amarillo hops, due to the grower didn't get the crop he predicted. Hopefully this isn't happening across the map. I also heard about the grain shortage, but heard that it would mostly affect breweries outside the US. :cheers:

Sean said:

Monsanto is one scary company. They read too many Sci fi books growing up. We really need to preserve some non-Monsantoized seeds just in case.

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That's already being done.

http://www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/lmd/campain/svalbard-global-seed-vault.html

Seems like a better investment to me than Monsanto.

Did anyone see the comment left on the OP's link?

GoogleMan
12:31 AM on March 9, 2011

We Canadians have the best beer in the world and I would be willing too pay $40 dollars for a case(12) of Canadian beer I know American beer is only about $8 dollars for a case but that is too cheap and only encourages Americans too drink more we Canadians should pay more because we love are beer more than any one in the world...if you agree please email me, I love you too.
Canada Rocks because the beer is better and three time more expensive...(THUS BETTER) we love Molson Canadian and Labbats because they make better beer and it cost three times more than the USA...who waters down there beer and sell's it cheap...I love paying more for Canadian beer...hell I would pay $50 dollars for a 12case of Canadian BEER!

You know how there are Apple fanboys, this guy is such a Canadian beer fanboy

sudsmcgee said:

True, and when your neighbor's soy cross pollenates with yours, and your crop has gmo in it that you didn't buy, Monsanto will sue you for stealing their technology. Think I'm joking? Google it.

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^ this

Pivzavod said:

Did anyone see the comment left on the OP's link?

GoogleMan
12:31 AM on March 9, 2011

We Canadians have the best beer in the world and I would be willing too pay $40 dollars for a case(12) of Canadian beer I know American beer is only about $8 dollars for a case but that is too cheap and only encourages Americans too drink more we Canadians should pay more because we love are beer more than any one in the world...if you agree please email me, I love you too.
Canada Rocks because the beer is better and three time more expensive...(THUS BETTER) we love Molson Canadian and Labbats because they make better beer and it cost three times more than the USA...who waters down there beer and sell's it cheap...I love paying more for Canadian beer...hell I would pay $50 dollars for a 12case of Canadian BEER!

You know how there are Apple fanboys, this guy is such a Canadian beer fanboy

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Don't think we're all like that!
Apparently this guy has never had a decent beer, if he thinks Molson Canadian is good. BMC beers are swill in the US, but Molson/Labatt/Keiths are all just as bad up here!

And just to weigh in on the Monsanto thing, they are currently being investigated by the US government for anti trust violations, and farmers do get sued for accidentally saving Monsanto Round-Up-ready seed, which has cross pollinated with their own. But I digress.