beer Archives | Alberta Farmer Express

New malt varieties are being developed that nearly match the yields of feed and that will create new interest in barley, says breeder Aaron Beattie.

Is barley making a comeback?

The crop doesn’t generate a lot of excitement but that may be changing

By Jeff Melchior October 17, 2019

If you stopped looking at Prairie acreage numbers two years ago, you can be forgiven for thinking barley is not the sexiest crop choice out there. Although it grabs lots of Alberta acres because of malting and feedlot demand, the barley sector is perceived to be slow to develop new varieties and tethered to inflexible […] Read more

There are multiple markets for soft white wheat — malting, milling, feed and as a feedstock for ethanol production, says Secan marketing rep Trent Whiting.

Cereals, Crops

Malt driving demand for soft white spring wheat

Soft white spring acres in Alberta have rebounded thanks to the craft beer movement

By Jennifer Blair October 1, 2019

Soft white wheat acres are starting to creep up in Alberta, thanks to the burgeoning craft beer movement. “There’s been a growing market for malting soft white wheat,” said Geoff Backman, markets manager with Alberta Wheat and Barley. “It’s been driven by demand from the craft brewing industry, and that’s a nice value-added market on […] Read more

Crops

New federal standard to expand beer ingredient options

By GFM Staff May 20, 2019

More variety in allowable ingredients and more requirements for declarations are now part of the federal rules on what can be called beer in Canada. The federal government on May 1 announced “modernized” beer standards under Canada’s Food and Drug Regulations (FDR) — the rules laying out the requirements to be met by a product […] Read more

A video shows exactly where the barley for Bock Chain beer was grown as well as where it was malted and brewed.

Heartland, News

New blockchain beer tells the farm-to-glass story

By Jennifer Blair February 22, 2019

The road from field to glass is a long one for the malt barley that goes in your beer. And now you can join it on its journey, thanks to a new blockchain beer made, malted, and brewed in Alberta. “The whole idea was to track the farm-to-glass story,” said Natasha Peiskar, head brewer at […] Read more

Kyle Geeraert and wife Meleah found a receptive audience when they proposed creating a malting and brewing company.

Barley, News

Being open to new ideas creates opportunity

Farm family isn’t fearful of doing something different if someone is passionate about it

By Terry Hockaday January 16, 2019

When Kyle Geeraert was getting his start in agriculture one of his stops was managing a grain company, where he and wife Meleah were exposed to some new malting equipment they thought had promise. Meleah happened to have some connections in the industry. She is the daughter of Spencer and Lynne Hilton and malting barley […] Read more

Barley, Crops, Markets

Canada’s malt barley courts two different buyers

By Phil Franz-Warkentin - MarketsFarm November 14, 2018

CNS Canada — The rising North American craft beer sector and strong demand out of China are both good news stories for Canada’s malt barley sector. However, those two customers have different needs which can also create some challenges, said industry officials speaking Tuesday at the annual Grain World conference in Winnipeg. Lorelle Selinger, North […] Read more

Hop growers Brent and Kari Tarasoff and brew master Marc Shields have seen incredible growth in their microbrewery over the past year — but the brewing business is not for the faint of heart.

Heartland, News

Ponoka microbrewery eyes world domination

By Jennifer Blair August 10, 2018

Kari and Brent Tarasoff had no intention of opening a brewery when they began growing hops in Penticton, B.C. four years ago. But their five-year plan got thrown out the window last year when they opened Siding 14 Brewing Company in Ponoka with two partners. And pretty soon, they’ll need to toss out their new […] Read more

General, Markets, Reuters

Supreme Court finds for provinces in ‘Free the beer’ case

By Reuters April 19, 2018

Ottawa | Reuters — Canada’s top court on Thursday ruled against a New Brunswick man who had argued he had the constitutional right to buy beer more cheaply in a neighbouring province, saying that the law does not impose absolute free trade across the country. Dubbed the “free the beer” case in Canadian media, it […] Read more

Barley, Crops

Sleeman investing to bring back production from U.S.

By Staff March 6, 2018

Canada’s third-biggest national brewer plans upgrades at its southwestern Ontario plant, with which it plans to bring back some production it now contracts out to a U.S. brewery. Guelph-based Sleeman Breweries, owned since 2006 by Japanese brewer Sapporo, announced Monday it will invest $6.61 million to expand packaging capability, put up new beer tanks and […] Read more

This is the goal for every malt grower, but it’s not an easy one to achieve.

Cereals, Crops

Trying to grow malt barley can make you cry in your beer

There’s way more money in malt than feed, but just 20 per cent of growers capture 80 per cent of malt sales

By Jennifer Blair February 20, 2018

Kevin Sich thinks malt barley could give canola a run for its money any day of the week — even if market share doesn’t reflect that. “Malt barley is probably one of your most profitable crops. Return on investment is probably very strong,” said Sich, Rahr Malting’s grain department manager. “But if malt barley is […] Read more

U.S. grains: Soybeans slide, nearing support at US$9

U.S. livestock: Hog futures halt skid on export data

Propane shortage looms as CN strike hits third day

GFM Network News