Craft brewers are looking for barley varieties that bring deeper malt characteristics in beer, including a greater contribution to flavour. The malting industry is working with breeders that are further working with farmers and universities to lay the foundation for change. Under this initiative, breeders are targeting new barley varieties specifically for independent brewers, with Canadian examples like CDC Copeland and CDC Bow illustrating this focus. Another approach that the industry is following is the one of malting companies, Proximity Malt, in identifying areas within America that are currently underutilized for barley production and with a potential to be brought back for craft brewers. The malting company worked with heirloom European varieties, abandoned by big American brewers, to get them in the hands of farmers. The company is now producing malt from the Genie variety in Colorado and Violetta in Delaware.
