Alexander Alusheff

Lansing State Journal

LANSING – By the end of the year, you will be able to drink beer made from the century-old-but-recently-resurrected Spartan barley in the Lansing area.

The grain, developed in 1916 at Michigan State College, was one of the more popular malting barleys in the beer industry for 30 years before being replaced by modern varieties in the 1960s. It was thought to have disappeared from the state decades later.

Michigan State University researchers were able to revive Spartan barley in 2014. This summer, 5,000 pounds were malted to be made into beer.

New Holland Brewing Co. will be brewing the first batch in November at its pub in Holland.

“I feel confident that it will taste just fine flavor wise,” said Steve Berthel, head brewer at New Holland’s Pub on 8th.

Berthel plans on making a pre-prohibition-style lager out of the roughly 1,500 pounds pilsner malt the pub bought. Brew day is on Nov. 9, and it should be on tap in December. The brewery will make about 10 barrels, 310 gallons, and plans on distributing the beer so it could be in the Lansing-area by Christmas, he said.

RELATED:MSU’s century-old barley revived to make Michigan beer

Berthel said the beer will be about 6% alcohol. It will have a rich, malty taste balanced by spicy, Michigan-grown hops.

“I’m interested to see how it will taste in a beer,” said Ashley McFarland, director of MSU’s Upper Peninsula Research and Extension Center in Chatham, who oversaw the project to revive the barley. “It's an exciting opportunity."

MSU acquired the barley from a U.S. Department of Agriculture gene bank in Utah in 2014. The seeds were shipped to the main campus and grown there for a short time before being shipped to Chatam in 2015. This year, a few acres of the crop were grown at MSU’s Kellogg Biological Station in Hickory Corners, northwest of Battle Creek.

Spartan was revived because modern barley grown in Michigan originates from the dry climate of North Dakota and is susceptible to the wet, humid climate here. Spartan barley was developed for this climate, therefore less prone to disease and less likely to sprout before it can be properly malted.

But it's not yet perfect.

The optimal protein level for malting barley between 9% and 12%. Spartan measured at 16% this year. Levels that are too high leave too little sugar available for fermentation, affecting the alcohol content. Levels that are too low affect the flavor and color.

It wasn't a major problem, but one that required a closer eye on temperature control during germination, said maltster Ryan Hamilton of Pilot Malt House in Byron Center.

"It was quite a challenge with a high protein level," Hamilton said of making the malt. "It's very unique; it has a great flavor and color. There's been a lot of excitement surrounding the product."

Because New Holland Brewing was the first to express interest in Spartan barley, it gets to brew the first batch of beer with it before Pilot will sell the malt to other breweries. Hamilton said there has been interest from Lansing-area breweries in the limited amount of malt.

"I'm considering purchasing it if I can get my hands on some," said Sawyer Stevens, head brewer at Lansing Brewing Co. "I'm interested to see how the beer turns out."

If the malt and beer are successful, McFarland said MSU will grow more acres of Spartan barely this spring. The plan is to get the seeds certified so they can be sold to farmers to grow in 2018.

"This brings attention to a crop that's pretty small in Michigan," McFarland said.

Alexander Alusheff is a reporter at the Lansing State Journal. Contact him at (517) 388-5973 or aalusheff@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexalusheff.