Maris Otter Barley is a two-row low-nitrogen winter variety barley and today is considered an heirloom variety. Praised by craft brewers all over the world for its flavor and how easy it is to work with but often disliked by many farmers because of its lower yield compared to modern barley varieties.
The history of how Maris Otter Barley came to be the legendary heirloom variety it is today is a tale of success, near extinction, and triumphant revival.
The Origin Story
Maris Otter Barley was first introduced in 1965 at the Plant Breeding Institute in Cambridge by Dr. GDH Bell who cross-bred Pioneer, a winter barley variety, and Proctor, a spring variety to produce a new malting barley.
The name Maris Otter comes from a street in Trumpington, a village outside of Cambridge, England, named Maris Lane. As Dr. GDH Bell and his team were working on crossbreeding barley each strain was named after an animal. The strain that became popular was Maris Otter.
Characteristics of Maris Otter Barley
Regarded as one of the best brewing barleys in the world, Maris Otter Barley has a more biscuity and creamier flavor than other varieties and has a softer, rounder, and fuller character than other heirloom malts.
These characteristics are backed by victories in the Campaign for Real Ale’s Champion Beer of Britain competition with 11 of the last 15 winners having been made with Maris Otter.
The Decline and Revival of Maris Otter Barley
Maris Otter Barley’s popularity continued through the 70’s and early 80’s but reached problems during the late 80’s. Over time the quality of the barley had declined due to compromised genetic purity caused by cross-pollination and an inability to compete with other modern high-yield varieties that were more resistant to disease.
In 1990 the protections that made Maris Otter a proprietary variety expired which gave seed companies less reason to carry it. Many believed the barley would fade away completely.
In 1992 H Banham Ltd & Robin Appel Ltd, a consortium of grain merchants, purchased the sole right to market Maris Otter and in 2002 bought all rights outright including the registered trademark to save and revive Maris Otter Barley.
After diligently going through the process of reselection to revive Maris Otter Barley to its original unadulterated variety the two companies were successful in saving Maris Otter Barley. They have received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the All Party Parliamentary Beer Group.
Get Your Maris Otter Barley from Valley Today
Looking for Maris Otter? At Valley, we stock Paul’s Maris Otter Malt in both whole kernel and pre-milled to be able to accommodate all our brewery customers. Click here to learn more!
