Brewdog: Barley Yield vs Flavour
The Head of Distillation at Brewdog, Steven Kersley, has written us a fascinating article about the use of barley in their whiskey…
At BrewDog Distilling Co. our pursuit of flavour is what drives us. We’re an innovative, experimental, small batch distillery based in the heart of Aberdeenshire Scotland and we’re on a mission to redefine Scotch whisky.
Over the past decade the whisky industry in Scotland has ascended to dizzying heights of prosper. The premiumisation of the entire category has given established brands permission to inflate the price of their liquid without any tangible justification other than, just because they just can.
Intricate packaging and elaborate brand storytelling mean that £200+ bottles are now quite normal which is sadly pricing many passionate Scotch whisky drinkers out of discovering new expressions from their favourite distilleries.
The problem, which is now evidently clear, is that whilst the branding and packaging of most whiskies has become more elaborate, the liquid in the bottle hasn’t lived up to the grandeur of the shelf price. At best liquid quality has been maintained and at worst it’s in decline. The rush to make more spirit and to replenish aging stock is real and in this climate of monumental growth the industry has prioritised spirit yield over its flavour.
At BDDC we want to recapture what’s been lost and put incredible flavour back into the glass. We don’t believe high yielding barley varieties deliver the best flavour. In fact, we know that they don’t. After extensive trials in our distillery we have been able to, with confidence, say that older varieties like Golden Promise, Marris Otter and Plumage Archer are all provably more flavoursome to make whisky with.
Our trials, which have pitted Golden Promise and Marris Otter against the likes of Concerto and Propino have resulted in clean sweeps across the board on blind taste panels where the latter varieties come out on top every time. Meaning yield and flavour do not go hand in hand.
In our bid to create full flavoured whisky we are partnering with agricultural experts from across the globe; from Scotland to the USA. Our partners, grain scientists, have vast libraries of barley seeds that have long since left the fields. Our vision is to realise a diverse portfolio of barley varieties which we will work closely with farmers to grow and to harvest. These small batch harvests will then be malted and then released into our distillery for creating small batch, flavour led whiskies, with the sole aim of showcasing the flavour that malt can bring to your glass.
We’re just getting started but one thing is for sure, the grain makes the difference and we’re so excited to be celebrating this.
Watch this space…
