TO BEER or not to beer? A question that will never again need a second thought for many, thanks to a new gluten-free barley crop.
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As part of a collaboration between the CSIRO and the Grains Research and Development Corporation, Tasmanian company TAP AgriCo has been asked to grow about 70 hectares of the grain throughout the state.
There are plans to send the finished product to a German brewery to be turned into a gluten-free beer.
With coeliac disease affecting about one in 70 Australians, the barley has the potential to be used in other foods, such as bread, if everything goes to plan.
‘‘It’s been modified, so part of the DNA has been taken out of that barley,’’ TAP AgriCo managing director David Skipper said.
‘‘The CSIRO has identified Tasmania as a perfect trial ground. We’ve got large enough areas to grow cereals and we’ve been growing barley for hundreds of years.
‘‘Because we can grow it with smaller paddocks, it becomes a really doable project.’’
With crops currently being planted at Bothwell, Westwood and Cressy, Mr Skipper said that he was expecting to see the crops yield about 2.3 tonnes to the hectare – less than a third of a traditional barley crop.
‘‘The barley doesn’t yield as well, it doesn’t have the vigour that normal barley would have,’’ he said.
‘‘Because it’s such a new product and it’s very rare throughout the world, it has to attract a premium price to be in a commercial environment.
‘‘There’s a really big market for this, especially for people with coeliac disease and beer drinkers who cannot drink normal beer with barley in it.’’
Although the barley grains harvested from gluten-free crops are typically smaller in size, Mr Skipper said it will be able to be malted and taste the same as a normal beer.
He said this product would be an exciting addition for beer-lovers around the world.
‘‘There will be breads and all sorts of things that are coming out of it ... there’s a whole new world of products out there,’’ he said.
‘‘There’s a big market out there for gluten-free products and I think we’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg.’’
NOTE: The original story stated that genetically-modified barley was used in the process. This is not correct. Only natural barley is used.
