Maris Otter Barley Champions
Maris Otter was the champion barley-of-choice for eight of the last ten winners of the ’Champion Beer of Britain’, according to research conducted by Robin Appel Ltd, malting barley merchants.
The winning beers were:
2000 Moorhouse’s Black Cat
2001 Oakham Jeffrey Hudson Bitter
2002 Caledonian Deuchars IPA
2004 Kelham Island Pale Rider
2005 Crouch Vale Brewers Gold
2006 Crouch Vale Brewers Gold
2007 Hobsons Mild
2008 Triple FFF Alton’s Pride
Maris Otter was born in the 1960’s from two barley varieties, Proctor and Pioneer, and it soon established itself as the foundation for high quality cask ales.
The Tests
In 2006, Robin Appel Ltd, wanted more evidence of its special flavour and style, and so commissioned* tests on eight different barley varieties to assess their individual characteristics. This involved making ’porridges’ and beers from each of the eight malts so as to compare the barleys’ flavours in their un-fermented and fermented forms.
The Results
Beer experts were stunned by the differences of flavour moving from words like ’honeyed, bready, creamy, Horlicks and Ovaltine to green apple, spicy, Bovril and bitter toffee. The conclusion was that ’all barleys are not born equal’ and that Maris Otter’s soft, generous flavours make it very special. Its subtle flavours seem to compliment other ingredients rather than competing with them.
Jonathan Arnold, sales director of Robin Appel Ltd:
"Maris Otter was one of the last barleys to be developed in Britain for its flavour, and not just for its brewing capabilities, so its prize-winning achievements have come as no surprise.
"To demonstrate this further to brewers in a more colourful way, we have been working with Little Rose Bakery of Bishop’s Waltham to make two sets of biscuits from Maris Otter and Tipple malts. A high malt inclusion has been used in the biscuits and the difference in flavour and aroma is quite astounding.
"The area of Maris Otter under contract to Robin Appel Ltd will be at its largest ever for the 2010 harvest. This is a great achievement for a 49 year old barley variety, at a time when the total area of malting barley sown in Britain is set to experience one of its largest ever reductions."
