Sustainable Malting Barley and Climate Change

Authors of a recent article in Crop Science address the goal of ensuring the sustainability of producing malting barley (the base of beer) in the face of climate change. The Brewers Association, which represents small and independent craft brewers, challenged the Oregon State University Barley Project to engage in a thought exercise on the feasibility of breeding perennial malting barley. All barley varieties currently used for malting and brewing are annuals. Perennial crops have the potential to provide a range of ecosystem services, and there is impressive progress in the development of perennial forms of cereal crops—notably intermediate wheatgrass.