Low supply of brewing barley in Europe in 2011
Even long after the end of the harvest in Europe, there still is uncertainty about the availability of malting barley. Depending on the concessions of the maltsters and brewers, this amount can vary. The weather conditions in 2011 have lead to substantial quality problems.
High protein values distinguish the harvest in some regions of Germany. Very big differences in the regions led to a heterogeneous impression. There is no unanimous opinion on the amount of malting barley.
In France, brewing barley with protein contents between 9.5 percent and 11.5 percent only amounts to 20 percent – a historical low. If the maltsters accepted a protein content of up to 12.5 percent, the amount of malting barley would increase to 55 percent. The situation in Denmark is difficult as well. After the drought in spring in some regions of Europe, people pinned their hopes on the harvest in Scandinavia. However, a lot of rainfalls during the harvest destroyed these hopes. Quality issues are also a problem here, like black and red moulds and gushing occurring in some regions. Nevertheless, a complete overview over the problems of this country is still missing. Higher protein values are also a problem in Finland this year. Sweden reports problems with fusarium and germination, while protein values are as desired.
In Great Britain, the 2011 results vary a lot. Especially in the east, the drought from March to May led to low yields, with protein values of 14 percent. However, the results were good in the west and the north, with the desired protein values of 11 percent. In Scotland the results are good with very high yields and low protein values of around 8 to 9 percent. In the Netherlands production is low due to quality problems.
In 2011, spring barley achieved better results in Eastern Europe than in the rest. In the Slovak Republic the 2011 harvest yield exceeded the previous year. In regions with an early start the qualities were better. In general the protein values seem to be good. In regions with rain during the harvest, farmers had trouble with mould and germination. The highest average yield was achieved in the Czech Republic in 2011 with 5 t/ha. The quality was generally good, except from some regional exceptions.
In Hungary, the results split up in east and west. In the west of the country the results were good in quality and quantity. East of the Danube, the results are denoted by low yields and high protein values with a weak screening. Austria is satisfied with their harvest. Poland reports low to bad quality. There are problems with fusarium and germination. The screening is not a problem in most of the cases in Europe.
Overall, the supply of brewing barley in Europe can be considered as very low. For reasons of quality the actual amount remains unclear at the time of this writing. Final results are expected in spring 2012. Argentina probably will deliver enough barley to at least partly balance the situation. The prices in the EU are not stable yet. The demand for barley and malt is not very high due to a low demand for beer. The malt houses still do not operate at full capacity.
