The missing link
Does it matter that we can trace the history of our beer? Adrian Tierney Jones weighs up the evidence
We live in a world where children think that chicken nuggets and chips grow on trees, while some adults prefer to gloss over the reality of the shrink-wrapped meat from their local supermarket ie, it is part of a dead animal. So it’s no surprise that similar attitudes can be found in respect to beer.
Some drinkers know it’s made with malt and hops, but many haven’t the foggiest idea about where it all comes from. Farmers are constantly amazed when they discover that few have any idea that barley goes into beer, even though 2,000,000 tonnes of it is grown each year for beer in the United Kingdom alone.
Teddy Maufe is a barley farmer in North Norfolk who wants to change people’s perceptions of their pint, from what goes into it and where it comes from.
He was initially inspired by a family visit to the Napa Valley in California, where the wine industry sets out its stalls in spectacular fashion. There, winegrowing is as much about tourism as it is about the grape in the glass. Eye-catching drives lead all the way up to magnificent houses, set amongst acres of vines. There’s no question about what goes on out here.
On his return home, Maufe wondered why the barley growers in his part of the world couldn’t do a similar thing and lift the image of beer in the process. After all, he believes that North Norfolk is home to some of the best malting barley in the world.
He should know, after all. Out of 2000 acres on his farm, more than a fifth are set aside to grow that Rolls-Roy.....
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By Adrian Tierney-Jones
Section : Beer Issues
Page number : 62
