Distilling promotion for SY Tennyson offers industry flexibility, says breeder

Promotion of the new high-yielding spring barley variety, SY Tennyson, on the latest Malting Barley Committee (MBC) approved variety list provides both flexibility and  choice for growers and end users, says breeder Syngenta.

SY Tennyson has been promoted to Full Approval for malt distilling and Provisional Approval 2 for brewing on the new MBC approved list for harvest 2025, says Syngenta seeds portfolio marketing manager, Kathryn Hamlen. Meanwhile winter barley SY Vessel has progressed to Special Use Provisional Approval 2 for malt distilling, she adds.

To see the full MBC list for harvest 2025 click here.

“End users have wanted another dual purpose spring malting barley variety to use alongside the popular spring variety Laureate for some time,” says Mrs Hamlen. “This is a perfect opportunity for SY Tennyson, which offers benefits to growers and end users alike.

“For growers, SY Tennyson is a high yielding spring barley with market opportunity for both brewing and malt distilling, and has excellent performance in the North. For end users, it really pushes forward on quality – having the highest predicted spirit yield figure on the 2024 AHDB Spring Barley Recommended List (RL) at 436.8 litres of alcohol per tonne. High spirit yield is a key requirement for malt distilling.

Find out more about SY Tennyson here.

“In addition, it also has the highest hot water extract figure on the 2024 AHDB RL. Hot water extract is important for brewing. Now, SY Tennyson has Provisional Approval 2 for brewing on the MBC List, but with this quality we hope it will gain Full Approval for brewing in the not-too-distant future as well.”

Meanwhile, Mrs Hamlen notes that the non-GN winter barley variety, SY Vessel, is the only winter barley with potential for malt distilling that features on the MBC approved list.

Find out more about Syngenta winter malting barleys here.

“Clearly, spring barley dominates the market for distilling. But having a winter malting barley variety with potential for malt distilling offers both growers and end users flexibility and a way of managing risk if we have a year with a difficult spring barley harvest. So we are excited about SY Vessel’s future,” Mrs Hamlen adds.