“Barley is a major, major component of beer. And we don't give it the respect that it needs because we don't care where our barley comes from.”
Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine Podcast · Food & Beverage · November 2026
Context
Explaining why his brewery switched base malts after a poor barley crop pushed finishing gravities up, he argues brewers obsess over hops and ignore barley.
Transcript
Our beers have totally changed.
Yeah.
2D is really nice in the fact that it literally dries our beers out a little bit more. And just it's clean through the mash ton, louder ton, if you will. We only have a mash and louder ton, but it's very clear coming through. Very unfrustrating from the 2022 crop that was like insane. Barley is a fucking major, major component, major component of beer. And we don't give it the respect that it needs because we don't care where our barley comes from.
So you have this terrible crop in 2022, 2023 where, you know, efficiencies.
Barley or barley.
And, you know, and that was well documented. We wrote plenty of stories about that. You know, the quality of the barley was low and due to just crazy heat waves everywhere and whatnot.
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