Maris Otter Yorkshire Event

On Wednesday 28^th of January Thomas Fawcett & Sons (TF&S) hosted a Yorkshire Farmers Maris Otter day at the maltings in partnership with Robin Appel. The purpose of this event was to show farmers the importance of Maris Otter to the malting/brewing sector. Although yields are less than modern varieties such as Craft and Buccaneer, the premium for Maris Otter is far higher than regular malting barley. Furthermore, farmers can keep fertilizer costs down as maltsters require lower grain nitrogen.

What makes Maris Otter special?

Maris Otter is highly regarded by brewers as being one of the best malts for brewing top quality beers due to its consistent malting quality, forgiving performance in the brewhouse, and its exceptional flavour. It has a rich biscuity and malty depth, providing the backbone to some of the greatest beers ever brewed. To showcase its quality seven breweries donated their beer for the farmers to take home to enjoy the fruits of their labour. Many of these beers have won prestigious awards such as;

Acorn Brewery earned SIBA North East Gold for Barnsley Bitter in Cask (2023) and Keg (2024)

Peak Ales earned a SIBA Gold award for their Chatsworth Gold (2024) and Black Stag (2024)

Dark Horse Brewery won Yorkshire’s Perfect Pint in the ITV series filmed in 2008 for their Hetton Pale Ale.

What is the history of Maris Otter?

Maris Otter was bred by Dr GDH Bell in Cambridge in 1965, making it 61 years old this year. The sole purpose was producing a barley variety perfect for cask conditioned ale. ‘It was bred by crossing the two varieties Proctor and Pioneer and it soon became the foundation of the finest English cask conditioned ales.’[1] After decades of being the most prominent grown malting barley, it was facing a steep decline due to cross pollination and the use of uncertified seed.

A partnership between Robin Appel LTD and H Banham LTD rescued Maris Otter, they rejuvenated the variety by controlling the supply of seed and ensuring it was grown on the finest soil possible. Yorkshire lays claim to having some of the best land for growing Maris Otter.

How did the day look?

The day began in the laboratory where Managing Director Mungo Fawcett welcomed the farmers and spoke of the importance of Maris Otter to the brewing community. Production Director of TF&S Brian Hickman then described the malting process and showed the 34 varieties of malt which we make on our single site. Trading Director of Robin Appel Jonathan Arnold then spoke of the challenges farmers face, most notably excess barley in the industry due to the reduced needs of the big distilleries. Jonathan was positive about the future stating that it is ‘often darkest before the dawn’. A tour of the site followed, finishing with a pub lunch at The Chequers Inn at Ledsham.

Finally, we want to say a big thank you to the seven breweries who donated their beer to show how vital Maris Otter is to their operation. The breweries who took part were;