A group of thirty-five of the biggest brewers in the world, along with major EU and UK maltsters and distillers, have joined in the annual Gleadell malting barley tour through Wiltshire and Hampshire.

"This was a very important tour for our customers, as France and Germany have very poor crops due to the extensive drought,” explains Stuart Shand, Gleadell Agriculture’s sales director. “Unlike most of England, our southern crops - from Tipple to Concerto - look very well indeed and are comparable to last year.

 “We visited our trial plots as well as commercial fields and our Null-Lox spring malting barleys were of great interest to all present as the area grown expands year on year.

“It was very noticeable that the new Null-Lox varieties, were head and shoulders above all of the other new spring barleys with Chief, Chapeau and Cheers looking the pick of the crop – with Chief the stand-out variety.

The brewers, maltsters and distillers present commented on this and all wanted to know if they could buy and process Null-Lox. A key advantage for brewers and consumers alike is that beer made with it stays fresh for a longer period of time, so consumers will be able to store their beer longer.  Also it tastes better in the glass.”

One of the growers visited during the tour remarked that that last season his Tipple yielded an excellent 7.5t/ha, but the Charmay out-yielded it with a massive 8.15t/ha.  In addition, he commented that the Null Lox variety was very vigorous and extremely quick in establishment.

“This, and the experience of our other growers, underlines the fact that these varieties are very robust agronomically and, importantly, very vigorous and quick to establish,” adds Stuart Shand.