Scientists at the Carlsberg Research Laboratory have developed new types of barley that cut carbon by reducing the amount of energy and synthetic inputs needed for the malting and brewing processes – achieving the desired flavour with less kilning, evaporation and filtration.

This advance comes through selective breeding, not genetic modification.

Trials of a new barley variety at our Northampton brewery in the UK in 2022 demonstrated a reduction in energy use of up to 25% during wort boiling in the brewing process – with the level of savings achieved depending on the different energy systems in place at our breweries. Malting began on the first crop in 2022, and we will be rolling out this novel type of malting barley in Scandinavia, followed by other markets in Western Europe. We also want to make the new variety available to other brewers to extend its environmental benefits.

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