• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • About Craft Brewing Business

Craft Brewing Business

Professional Insight, Unfiltered

Craft Brewing Business Craft Brewing Business
  • News
  • Business & Marketing
  • Packaging & Distribution
  • Equipment & Systems
  • Ingredients & Supplies
  • Webinars & White Papers
  • News
  • Business & Marketing
  • Ingredients & Supplies
  • Packaging & Distribution
  • Equipment
  • Webinars & White Papers
  • COVID-19

Mexican craft breweries eye Idaho barley and malt

October 1, 2013Keith Gribbins

barley field blue sky
The United States is the eighth-largest barley producing country in the world and, after corn and sorghum, it is the third major feed grain crop produced in the United States.

Idaho has more than 5,000 barley producers, and the USDA projects Idaho’s 2013 barley crop will lead the nation at 57 million bushels. Idaho barley producers have a long history of supplying top-quality malting barley to the state’s three malting facilities with customers all over the United States and all over the world. While Anheuser-Busch InBev is the single largest buyer of Idaho malting barley and seed today, many craft breweries are turning to the state’s barley resources for quality grain.

Last week (Sept. 25-26), a trade team representing Mexican breweries, including the first ambassador to Idaho representing the growing Mexican craft beer industry, made a stop in eastern Idaho to talk with the Idaho Barley Commission (IBC). The IBC is a self-governing agency of the State of Idaho that serves to enhance the profitability of the Idaho barley growers through research, market development, promotion, information and education. We quote a stellar story from Capital Press:

“We for the first time had representatives from the craft beer segment in Mexico, which is small but growing like it is in the U.S.,” said Idaho Barley Commission Administrator Kelly Olson. “They’re trying to figure out what it would take to get barley from this region.”

Jose Ruiz is the manager of MI CerveSA and the representative with the Craft Brewers Association in Mexico that met with the IBC. According to Ruiz, craft breweries in Mexico have grown from some 20 five years ago to almost 100 now. Also, Mexico will have an excess of barley production this season, but much of that grain won’t meet industry specifications.

In the long term, [Julio] Hernandez [country director of the Mexico/U.S. Grains Council] believes barley from Idaho and other major U.S. production states will become increasingly important for Mexican breweries as disposable income continues to rise in Mexico, leading to increased beer consumption. “The industry is growing in Mexico, and in the case of craft beer, which is a very interesting dynamic in Mexico, it’s growing very fast,” Hernandez said.

root-shoot-malting
Celebrate Craft Malt Week with this 2023 craft malt and barley news recap
briefcase money suit buyout cbb crop
Tilray to buy Shock Top and 7 other Anheuser-Busch-owned beverage brands
Omega-Yeast-labs
Yeast gene for hazy beer discovered by Omega Yeast Labs
Chr-Hansen-Neer
Hops, yeast and more ingredients to see and celebrate at CBC 2023

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Primary Sidebar

Latest News

  • Craft beer marketing idea of the week: the DelaWeAre collaboration
  • Celebrate Craft Malt Week with this 2023 craft malt and barley news recap
  • Iron Hill Brewery ready to open brewpub No. 22
  • Eastern Market Brewing announces Elephant & Co. self-serve taproom expansion in former Founders Detroit location

Sign up for our newsletter

unsubscribe from list

Most Popular Today

Recent Features

  • root-shoot-maltingCelebrate Craft Malt Week with this 2023 craft malt and barley news recap
    September 27, 2023
  • Let’s take a look at California Wild Ales new Point Loma brewery and taproom
    September 25, 2023
  • Distribution update: Craftwell Cocktails arrive in Idaho + moves from Resident Culture, Good Dogg and more
    September 25, 2023
  • insurance-risk-exposureReflections in risk: How craft brewing risks evolved the past decade
    September 21, 2023
  • Watch how the bacteria in Bell’s Cube wastewater facility are raised on craft beer
    September 20, 2023
  • Can Transport (1)Cheers to 10 Years: Paradox Brewing asks the key questions to revamp retail strategy
    September 19, 2023

Footer

  • Email Newsletter Sign Up
  • About Craft Brewing Business
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise on Craft Brewing Business
  • Media Kit Download
  • Privacy and Terms

© 2023 · CBB Media LLC