Peter Watts (1),
Yueshu Li (1), Jessica Yu (2); (1) Canadian Malting Barley Technical
Centre, Winnipeg, MB, Canada; (2) Tsingtao Brewery Co. Ltd., Qingdao,
China
Malt and Grains
Poster
Rapid changes in the worldwide brewing industry, including the boom
in craft brewing, diversification in beer brand/style, as well as
changing ownership present both challenges and opportunities for the
malting barley industry. In this presentation, trends in global malting
and brewing sectors, specifically in China and the United States, and
changing quality requirements for malting barley and malt are reviewed
in the context of the current environment and expected future
developments. Due to rapidly increasing disposable income and growing
drinking age population, China has become the world’s largest beer
market by volume, while the United States remains the world’s largest
beer market in terms of value. In addition to international brewing
groups such as Carlsberg and AB-InBev, China Resources Snow Breweries,
Tsingtao Brewery, and Beijing Yangjing Beer are the dominant players in
China. They are strengthening their brand positioning. In 2014 China
Resources Snow Breweries produced 107 million hectoliters of Snow beer,
making it the world’s largest beer brand at 5.4% of the global market.
Its total volume is higher than the combined volume of Budweiser (4.6
billion liters) and Bud Light (5.0 billion liters). Together with
Tsingtao Brewery and Beijing Yangjing Beer, these three Chinese brewers
produced 10.1% of world beer production. The top five breweries in China
are Snow, Tsingtao, AB-InBev, Yianjing and Carlsberg, and together they
control over 80% of the Chinese beer market. In contrast to the
consolidation in China, the craft brewing sector continues its rapid
expansion in the United States. Today there are over 4,000 craft brewers
in operation and more than 1,800 breweries in various stages of
planning and development. Rising beer production in China and the rapid
development of craft brewing in the United States have had a profound
impact on demand for malting barley and barley quality requirements. In
China, brewers are demanding barley with higher grain protein and very
high enzyme potential to compensate for large adjunct incorporation. In
contrast craft brewers, which typically are all-malt brewers, are
demanding barley/malt with lower protein and low enzyme potential. The
craft sector has also sparked an interest in heirloom barley varieties
that may offer distinct flavors to some traditional beer styles,
although these varieties are generally lower yielding and have poor
resistance to diseases, making them less attractive to farmers. Winning
strategies in the barley industry will see players strengthening their
variety positioning: new varieties not only have better yield and
disease resistance but enzyme packages and distinct flavor attributes
that will satisfy different quality requirements from both the
high-adjunct brewing and craft brewing sectors.
Peter Watts is the managing director of the CMBTC. In this
position he oversees daily operations, including program management,
strategic planning, and financial oversight, as well as communications
and marketing. With 18 years of experience in international agriculture,
Peter brings skills in agribusiness, marketing, research and strategic
planning. Peter graduated with a M.A. degree in international relations
from Laval University.
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