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Supplier viewpoint Crisp Malt on how heritage hop varieties can be good for modern beer
"Many brewers who start off by trying heritage malts for historic beer styles end up loving them so much that they include them in other beers where they are looking for stand-out flavour.”
Malts from the past for beers of the present
Crisp Malt takes a look at how using heritage ingredients from the past can help product distinctive modern beers for today’s consumer more interested that ever before in the provenance of what they eat and drink…
More and more people like to know what goes into their food and drink. There is much interest in ingredients, provenance, sustainability, craft. Hence the proliferation of foods containing ‘ancient grains’. Hence the opportunity for beers containing ‘heritage malts’. These malts are from historic barleys, which had been preserved in a specialist seed bank. A few years ago, our collaborating partners used a handful of seeds for propagation. Fast forward to now and there is enough grain for each variety to take its turn in the traditional floor maltings at Crisp. “Grains of heritage barleys that have been floor malted are different from other malts,” says Crisp technical director, Dr David Griggs. “Biting into them, you get subtly different flavours and character. Brewers use them to add real depth of flavour to their beers. “Over and above the intrinsic benefits of hand turned, floor malted malts, there are also the benefits of historic authenticity. Brewers looking to faithfully reproduce beer styles from the past base their recipes on heritage malts for credibility – and the story. “Interestingly though, many brewers who start off by trying heritage malts for historic beer styles end up loving them so much that they include them in other beers where they are looking for stand-out flavour.” Crisp produces four different Heritage Malts, hand turned on their historic floor maltings– and there are likely to be others in the future. “Forgive the wait for any future additions,” he says, “but they take years to develop. Not every heritage barley we trial is going to reach our exacting standards for malt.”
No.19 Maris Otter
What is No.19? In times gone-by, all maltings were floor maltings. Not many have survived. Crisp has one of just 3 floor maltings in the country. The company used to have numerous floor maltings, out of which, number 19 survived the ravages of the last century. “The branding of our floor malted Maris Otter as No 19 is a way of doffing our caps to our malting history, at the same time as referencing Maris Otter’s great triumph-over-adversity story,” says David. Most modern barley varieties are superseded within 5 or 6 years. Maris Otter was the go-to variety in the 60s and 70s; nearly fell into extinction in the 90s; was rescued, re-selected and revived; and is now 56 years old. Its survival is largely attributable to demand from a handful of brewers who kept faith in the specialist ingredient while everyone else was heading mainstream. “The flourishing of craft brewing has massively boosted interest in this extraordinary barley variety and the amazing base malt it creates,” he says. Maris Otter accounts for less than 10% of the malt used by brewers in the UK, but is the key ingredient in a disproportionate number of award-winning beers. It is widely celebrated for the characterful, flavoursome beer it produces. Brewers cite its consistent performance in the mash tun as a compelling reason for its use not just in Britain but among craft brewers across the world.
image Matthew Curtis
Chevallier
This wonderful heritage malt is rich and biscuity, with its own unique aroma and flavour. For nearly 100 years after being first selected, Chevallier was the main malting barley grown in Britain, loved by maltsters and used by brewers across the nation. Fast forward to the 21st century. Chevallier and thousands of other older cereals have disappeared from the fields, superseded by modern varieties with better yields. All that remains of the older cereals are seeds carefully preserved in seed-banks. Crisp worked with the John Innes Centre and Morley Research Centre to propagate the Chevallier barley. Again, so fine were the grains, so good the malt, and so successful the brewing that the maltsters knew they were on to something. Chevallier will never again be the go-to ingredient for 100% of brewers as it once would have been in its heyday. But it will be a rare treat for brewers looking for that superspecial ingredient – and a rare treat for drinkers looking for that super-special beer.
Haná
Haná holds a legacy as being the first ever lager-beer grain. It famously made up in the mash of the first ever golden pilsner lager created by Josef Groll in the nineteenth century. The subsequent global success of the pilsner beer style spawned the planting of Haná barley in many countries around the world. The original 19th century Haná is internationally recognised as the classic genetic progenitor of modern top-quality brewing barleys. Crisp began work on Haná in 2014. A few Haná seeds were planted. Grains from that tiny crop were sown the next year. A small crop provided enough grain to malt on a lab scale. The results were promising. So subsequent generations of seeds were sown until there were sufficient to harvest and process on the company’s 1870s floor maltings. “We hope Josef Groll would have been proud of his legacy – not just the beer, but also of the trigger for the revival of Haná malt,” says David.
Newest Arrival
Plumage Archer
Plumage Archer is Crisp’s newest arrival! Contact Crisp for further details.
