Barley Variety and Growing Location Provide Nuanced Contributions to Beer Flavor Using Elite Germplasm in Commercial-Type Malts and Beers

Understanding the role barley variety plays in the overall flavor profile of beer is an area of research of interest to barley breeders, maltsters, and brewers. Here we build on previous research on the effect of barley variety on beer flavor by focusing on commercial-type malts and beers. A selection of three winter-habit, elite malting lines – two released varieties and one experimental – were grown in three locations across Oregon and California and harvested in summer 2020. Each was malted to the specifications of Pilsner-style malt. Beers were produced to mimic offerings of the industry partner and utilized a small portion of specialty malt and higher hopping rates than previous work. All beers underwent descriptive sensory analysis and Projective Mapping (Napping®) to characterize and determine the magnitude of separation between samples. Malting and brewing performance differed among the nine entries, but sensory outcomes showed only minor separation and few significant differences in the descriptive analysis. The results here showed that there is correlation between malt modification and sensory outcomes and ultimately confirmed that barley variety and growing location contributes to beer flavor. However, the overall contributions are nuanced, particularly in commercial-ty3pe malts and beers.

探明大麦品种对啤酒整体风味特征的影响，是大麦育种者、麦芽制造商与酿酒师共同关注的研究方向。本研究立足于此前关于大麦品种对啤酒风味影响的研究，聚焦商业化类型的麦芽与啤酒展开探索。研究选取3份冬性优良麦芽专用大麦品系——其中2份为审定品种，1份为试验品系——于俄勒冈州与加利福尼亚州的3个试点种植，并于2020年夏季收获。所有供试品系均按照皮尔森型麦芽（Pilsner-style malt）的质量规格完成麦芽制备。本次酿造的啤酒模拟合作企业的量产产品配方，使用了少量特种麦芽（specialty malt）且酒花投放量高于此前同类研究。所有啤酒样品均开展描述性感官分析（descriptive sensory analysis）与投射图谱法（Napping®）测试，以表征样品特征并确定样品间的分离幅度。9份供试样品的麦芽制备与酿造性能存在显著差异，但感官分析结果仅呈现出轻微的样品分离，描述性分析中显著差异较少。本研究结果表明，麦芽溶解度（malt modification）与感官评价结果之间存在相关性，并最终证实大麦品种与种植地点均会对啤酒风味产生影响。不过，二者对商业化类型麦芽与啤酒风味的整体影响较为复杂微妙。