Winter Barley?

I was looking at a clone recipe for Chimay Red, and it was said they use winter barley. What makes winter barley different? Does it add alot of difference in flavors? Can winter barley be purchased?

Maris Otter, Halcyon and Pipkin are winter varieties of English 2-row barley. I assume the name "winter" refers to when they are harvested. Maris Otter is one of the most popular and is easily assessable, and it does make a flavor difference.

Reference: http://byo.com/mrwizard/872.html

Actually winter has more to do with when they are planted. Winter barley is planted in the fall and harvested the next summer. Summer barley types are planted in the spring and harvested late summer to early autumn.
They maybe referring to Maris Otter malt which is a winter barley. From comments on this forum Maris Otter has more/richer flavor. The other winter barleys may also provide something a little different.
Winter barley was planted because the overwintering barley had a leg up on annual weeds in the spring and therefore produced better with less harvesting problems due to weeds. Modern chemicals allow planting better yielding summer barley in the spring and controlling weed with chemicals. Summer barley also has less risk of winter kill due to unusually cold spells during the winter. That is why Maris Otter costs more than generic 2-row.
Craig

Winter barley is also planted in areas that get very little summer rain. Yields aren't all that great and most winter barleys aren't good malting barleys. Growing it can be very risky as barley doesn't have very strong stalks and a hard Spring rain or even strong winds can crush the crop.

Oregon State University has been working for decades to improve barley. They have one variety that has a strong stalk, but it's only 6" tall and can't be harvested with standard combines.

OSU does alot for beer, dosn't it? How many hops did they have a hand in breeding? Willamette I think is one. Is cascade another? What about summit? All I have got to say for them Beavers is keep on making breakthroughs for the beer industry. It will benefit us all!:rockin: