2016 : Athena / Walla Walla

Crop Notes

GROWER: Johns Ranch
GRAIN: LCS Genie, 2-Row Spring Barley
SUSTY: Salmon-Safe Certified; Dry-Farmed
HARVESTED: July 30, 2016

Our 2016 vintage malting barley was grown outside of Athena, Oregon by Robert Johns and Chris Williams of Johns Ranch. LCS Genie spring barley was seeded in mid-March to one of the most productive dryland fields in Eastern Oregon, perched atop a crest that separates the Walla Walla and Umatilla Valleys. Here, at an elevation of roughly 2200 feet, ample silt-loam soils and uniform topography are met with an average annual precipitation exceeding twenty inches.

A prolonged spring began in February this year, with mild weather and periodic rains continuing mostly uninterrupted through early summer. The growing season's only heat wave brought 100 degree weather to the area for just a few days, right after the barley headed out. Soil moisture was abundant through the heat and the crop handled it beautifully.

Location, care, and weather nursed this dry farmed barley crop to a remarkable yield of 3.16 tons per acre while keeping protein below 10%. A high pressure system stopped the rainfall in mid-July, clearing the way for a bone dry curing window and early harvest on July 29th. 

When malting through this vintage, we aim to play off qualities more commonly associated with mild-climate, European malting barley. Lower protein and less phenolic influence offer a balanced, high yielding malt.