China's Thirst for High-End Beer Fuels Canadian Barley Surge
- Canada exports seen rising, rivalry with Australia expands
- Researchers test new varieties for use in Chinese market
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At a laboratory in downtown Winnipeg, Peter Watts samples a golden pale ale, admiring the silky foam top and smooth, slightly grain-tinged taste. A new variety of barley grown in Canada’s Prairies helped flavor this beer, and brewers anticipate that the kernels will one day end up in shipments to meet China’s increasing thirst for premium ales and lagers.
“We saw a real uptick in the last couple of years” in China’s demand, said Watts, managing director of the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre, a non-profit research facility funded by some of the nation’s malting companies, exporters, brewers and farmers. “We think that’s because they’re producing more premium beer.”