CRAFT: The established variety choice for the winter malting market
For those winter malting barley growers still to buy their seed there is still time to review their plans and variety choices. While current malting barley premiums are depressed, winter malting barley can still make for a profitable choice on farm as well offering many other benefits within the wider crop rotation.
Variety Choice
Specialist winter varieties for the craft ale sector and malt distilling sector, as well as the established mainstream brewing sector, offer variety choice on farm. Agronomic differences between the varieties can further allow growers to pick the right variety fit for their conditions.
Before deciding which malting variety to grow, it is essential to first to check the availability of local contracts and to ensure you have secured a ‘home’ for your grain at harvest before drilling the crop.
Those malting varieties that have MBC Approval are most likely to be on the list of end-users looking to place contracts for harvest 2026, so it is the logical place to start when considering what varieties to grow.
Source: https://www.ukmalt.com/mbc-press-release-may-2025/
CRAFT
CRAFT has Full MBC Approval for brewing and was the largest single winter variety based on 2024 UK maltster purchases, making up 48.1% of the winter barley grain purchased.
Consistent performance
Since first being added to the AHDB Recommended List in 2016, CRAFT has proven its ability to consistently perform for both growers and end users alike.
The following graph taken from the AHDB Recommended List harvest results demonstrates the consistency of CRAFT and its ability to perform across seasons; even in the extreme dry conditions experienced in 2025 CRAFT performed above its 5 -year mean.
Source: AHDB harvest results 2021 to 2025 https://ahdb.org.uk/knowledge-library/recommended-lists-for-cereals-and-oilseeds-rl-harvest-results
CRAFT also has very consistent performance across all UK regions, with a near identical yield performance (93%) across all regions on the 2025/26 Recommended List.
Agronomically, it has good stiff straw (the best lodging resistance of any winter malting variety) and an overall robust disease resistance package. On grain quality, CRAFT is known for its high specific weight and big, bold grains with low screenings, making it popular on farm and in the maltings.
Securing quality at harvest
Early maturity is highly valued in malting varieties helping to secure quality at harvest.
In unpredictable harvests, even small differences in maturity can easily result in long harvest delays and loss of quality premiums.
With ELECTRUM now losing its MBC Approval status, CRAFT is now the earliest maturing malting variety, while Buccaneer is the latest, and the 3rd latest variety overall on the 2025/26 Winter Barley Recommended List.
To find out more on CRAFT and the what the other Syngenta malting varieties can offer you visit https://www.syngenta.co.uk/varieties/winter-barley