1. Criteria for MBC Provisional Approval
- Candidates for Provisional Approval will be selected from those varieties in UK Recommended List trials with promising NL1 and NL2 micro-malting results and the potential to supply a significant proportion of UK malting industry purchases.
- Provisional Approval 1 will be awarded to those varieties that demonstrate useful malting quality in micro-malting tests following the first Recommended List trial harvest.
- For winter varieties only, Provisional Stage 1 Approval will be given after RL1 where the data are strong with borderline varieties being assessed again a year later using additional data from the RL2 harvest. Once a decision has been made to delay consideration for Approval the variety will only be considered at its due date.
- Varieties entering the UK system via the EU Common Catalogue will be eligible for Provisional Approval once the MBC is satisfied that sufficient comparable data on UK grown barley is available, and that the micro-malting or commercial performance demonstrates useful quality.
2. Criteria for MBC Full Approval
- Candidates for Full Approval will normally have been awarded Provisional Approval 1 based on micro-malting results. To gain Full Approval the Malting Barley Committee must have evidence of satisfactory commercial performance in the maltings/brewery/distillery. Each year a maximum of 5 varieties will be chosen for commercial scale trials, no more than 2 of which will be Winter varieties. A minimum of 1000 tonnes of barley needs to be made available per test in order for sufficient trials to be carried out to enable a variety to proceed from Provisional Approval 1 to Full Approval in a single crop year. If a variety is to be trialled for both brewing and distilling, then a minimum of 2000 tonnes is required.
- Wherever possible the barley available for testing should have nitrogen content of:
Brewing 1.55 – 1.75%
Distilling maximum 1.65%
Grain distilling minimum 1.85%
- In order to ensure a variety has the best opportunity of gaining Full Approval within the required timescale trial, barley should be in store and dried by the end of September. This will then enable maltsters to complete their trials by the end of January and Brewers/Distillers to complete the trials by the beginning of May.
- Multiple trial data from individual brewers/distillers may be admissible providing each trial is performed through a different process system (i.e. mash tun, lauter tun or mash filter).
- For Brewing and Malt Distilling approval data from a suitable control variety must be submitted with each trial result. It is preferable that a spring barley variety should be tested against another spring barley and likewise with a winter variety.
- For Grain Distilling approval the trial malt batches must achieve a minimum specification of 160 DP / 60 DU and zero GN.
- Satisfactory micro-malting results should be confirmed by a minimum number of satisfactory macro trials.
Macro Trials:
For Full Approval for Brewing Use
2 commercial malting and 2 different brewing trials (one of which must be a mash filter)
For Full Approval for Distilling Use
2 commercial malting and distilling trials
For Full Approval for Grain Distilling Use
2 high DP commercial malting trials plus 1 acceptable test report by SWRI
- The Malting Barley Committee wishes to confirm that two macroscale malting trials are acceptable from the same company, if using two separate maltings and the same barley bulk; or if using two different barley bulks within the same maltings. However, this is an exception, to be used in exceptional circumstances only and is not to become the norm.
- A variety should normally progress to Full Approval with one year of commercial trials. Where there have been insufficient satisfactory malting, brewing or distilling trials to award Full Approval in one year of commercial trials, the Malting Barley Committee may award Provisional Approval 2 to denote that a variety has not been rejected and is still progressing through the approval process. Macro-scale data from outwith the UK can provide secondary evidence to back up the primary evidence from UK macro-scale trials.
- A variety should progress to Full Approval within two years of commercial trials. Any variety failing to gain Full Approval within two years will be removed from the List.
- The Malting Barley Committee may consider for Provisional and Full Approval varieties with special qualities providing that they demonstrate satisfactory (but not necessarily the best) malting and brewing/distilling performance in all respects.
- The Malting Barley Committee may use its absolute discretion with regard to awarding of Approval, which might under circumstances override the above criteria.
3. Criteria for Removal from the List of MBC Approved Varieties
- Varieties may be removed from the List of MBC Approved or Provisionally Approved Varieties when, at the discretion of the Malting Barley Committee, the Approved or Provisionally Approved variety no longer warrants promotion by the industry.
- Criteria for removal may include insufficient commercial scale trials, poor or outclassed performance, low purchases or lack of seed availability.