Asahi Beverages overhauls supply chain to source barley direct from Aussie farmers

Some of Australia’s most-loved beers will be brewed using barley purchased directly from Aussie farmers for the first time in decades, with the first batch of new beers to roll off the lines next month.

The new supply chain will give Asahi Beverages, which owns Carlton & United Breweries, clear oversight of the barley growing process to ensure only the best barley is used to brew beers such as Victoria Bitter, Carlton Draught, Great Northern and Pure Blonde.

Under the new deal, barley purchased direct from farmers will travel from farms to our breweries in in Yatala, Queensland or Abbotsford, Victoria, before being shipped across Australia as beer.

The new deal also showcases Australian farmers’ commitment to producing high quality and sustainably grown barley.

More than 30 Victorian farmers in the barley-growing hubs of the Wimmera and the Mallee have been engaged, with their 30,000 tonnes of barley sent to the Abbotsford Brewery once it has been malted.

And seven farmers from southern NSW will supply 40,000 tonnes of barley to Asahi’s Yatala Brewery in Queensland once it has been malted. Northern NSW growers are expected to join the scheme before this year’s harvest. The first beers using the directly-purchased barley will be brewed at both Abbotsford and Yatala in April.

The new supply chain means more than 90% of Asahi Beverages’ barley is purchased direct from farmers in line with our quality and sustainability requirements, with the program set to then expand to Asahi Beverages’ smaller breweries including Cascade in Hobart.

Asahi Beverages’ Group Chief Brewer Jaideep Chandrasekharan said: “Barley malt is the heart and soul of beer and has a defining influence on the taste, colour, aroma and foam.

Australian malting barley is of the highest quality and sourcing it direct from farmers is an important change for our national operations and also the dozens of farmers we’ll purchase from.

Read the full article at: www.brewsnews.com.au