The hot new varieties for brewing and distilling - jump on the opportunity to get Foundation seed!

GN0-Vivar 
Lontra 
Top Shelf 
 

OSU varieties and germplasms. Welcome to the shifting landscape of availability!

We are permitted to supply small amounts of all our barleys (licensed varieties, public varieties, and germplasms). Commercial production of licensed varieties requires ...a license! For licensing, please contact Denis Sather, Senior IP & Licensing Manager,  541-737-8806; denis.d.sather@oregonstate.edu.

Growing Barley at Home

Barley is a beautiful and productive plant. Grow a few plants in pots for striking conversation pieces, a swath in a garden border, or devote a full garden bed. Follow this link for detailed instructions

 

 

Variety or germplasm Release status Seed source Spike type Growth habit Hull type Awn type Principal end use(s)
Order indicates priority
Comments More info
Alba Public variety (2012)

OSU Barley Project

Washington State Crop Improvement Association

6 row winter covered awned Feed, malt, food Resistant to stripe rust and scald. Watch out for leaf rust and BYDV. Plump seed and high test weight. Very well adapted to high rainfall areas of the Pacific Northwest. Successfully malted by Skagit Malting and brewed at leading Seattle breweries. Successful organic feed production by Hummingbird Wholesale.

Journal of Plant Registrations

BSR-27

Germplasm 

(2024)

OSU Barley Project  6 row  spring covered hooded  stripe rust resistant forage  A solid parent for spring hooded barley development.  Germplasm release
Buck Public variety (2015)

OSU Barley Project

Washington State Crop Improvement Association

6 row winter naked awned Food, malt, feed A pure line successor to #STRKR, with better threshability. Resistant to stripe rust and leaf rust. Watch out for scald and BYDV.

Journal of Plant Registrations

Flex (TM)

Non-exclusive license

(2023)

OSU Barley Project 2-row facultative covered awned Malt A facultative GN zero first!!!! Variety release
Full Pint Public variety (2014)

OSU Barley Project

Territorial Seeds

Washington State Crop Improvement Association

2 row spring covered awned Malt, feed, food First released as germplasm BCD47, PI 659444. Later released as the variety Full Pint - short as a half pint, but who want a half pint when you can have a full pint? A barley that may contribute to beer flavor. Resistant to stripe rust and most races of leaf rust. Watch out for mildew. Scald and BYDV usually not issues in spring-planted barley. Semi-dwarf, lodging resistant. Suitable for irrigated/ high rainfall areas. Malts, beers, and whiskeys available available from quality purveyors. An Epiheterodendrin non-producer = GN 0.

Variety release

GN0-Vivar (TM)

Non-exclusive license

(2024)

OSU Barley Project

Washington State Crop Improvement Association

2 row winter  covered  awned Malt  THE GN0 choice for pot distillers Variety release 
Lightning (TM)

Non-exclusive license (2021)

OSU Barley Project

Washington State Crop Improvement Association

2 row facultative covered awned Malt, feed, food High yielding and resistant to stripe rust, scald, and pre-harvest sprouting. Winterhardiness = winter checks. Can make great malt - IF grain dormancy and water sensitivity can be dealt with. Journal of Plant Registrations
Lontra (TM) Non-exclusive license (2023)

OSU Barley Project

Washington State Crop Improvement Association

2 row winter covered awned Malt, feed, food OK - If Maris Otter is a Lutra (Old World Otter) what is a flavorful New World Otter? Hint - Lontra.... Journal of Plant Registrations
Maja Exclusively licensed - AgriSource AgriSource 6 row facultative covered awned Malt, feed, food High yielding and ideally suited for irrigated conditions in the intermountain west, but there are favorable reports from Ohio. Resistant to stripe rust; needs fungicide protection from scald and leaf rust in high rainfall areas. A facultative variety with excellent winterhardiness: plant fall or spring. Was approved for AMBA Plant Scale but never commercialized. Variety release
Oregon Hooded Barley Blend (OHBB) Germplasm (2020) OSU Barley Project 6 row winter covered hooded Forage A blend of hooded doubled haploid and advanced lines from different pedigrees. Germplasm release 
Oregon Promise (TM)

Non-exclusive license (2021)

OSU Barley Project

Washington State Crop Improvement Association

2-row spring covered awned Malt Flavor, flavor, flavor. The best of its parents - Golden Promise and Full Pint. Top-rated for lager beer by OSU consumer panel. GN 0, so imagine the whisk(e)y! Germplasm release

Oregon Naked Barley Blend (ONBB)

Germplasm (2017) OSU Barley Project 2 and 6 row winter, facultative, and spring naked awned and hooded Food, malt, feed If you are interested in food barley, simplified plant breeding, and doubled haploid research/variety development opportunities this could be the resource for you. 753 doubled haploids blended!

Germplasm release

Successor (TM) Non-exclusive license (2023)

OSU Barley Project

Washington State Crop Improvement Association

2-row spring covered awned Feed Beyond herbicide carryover a problem for you? Why merely survive if you could succeed...

Journal of Plant Registrations

2023 data update

#STRKR Germplasm (2014) OSU Barley Project 6 row winter naked awned Food, feed, malt Multi-colored blend of three pure lines. Excellent for whole grain berries, as coarse milled couscous style, and flour. Grain, flour and flakes available from Hummingbird Wholesale - marketed as "Streaker". Resistant to stripe rust. Watch out for all other diseases. Journal of Plant Registrations
Thunder (TM) Non-exclusive license (2019)

OSU Barley Project 

Washington State Crop Improvement Association

2 row  winter covered awned Malt, feed The variety was released based on its malting quality profile and agronomic performance, primarily under irrigated conditions in southern Idaho. The Klamath Basin of Oregon and California is also a potential production area. The variety has potential under dryland conditions in Oregon and Washington. Thunder is on the American Malting Barley Association (AMBA) recommended list. The “Thunder” was chosen based on the enthusiastic response it has elicited from growers and Great Western Malting. Variety release
Top Shelf (TM) Non-exclusive license (2023)

OSU Barley Project 

Washington State Crop Improvement Association

2 row winter covered awned Malt  A winter GN-0 first! Journal of Plant Registrations Stay tuned, and  kick back with Artisan Spirit
Verdant Exclusively licensed to Agri-Source (2012)

OSU Barley Project

Territorial Seeds

Agrisource (Burley, Idaho)

6 row winter covered hooded Forage Made a splash as the winter forage barley. Farmers were "wearing out the gravel roads driving by to see it". Resistant to stripe rust and scald. Successes in Washington, Oklahoma, Texas, and Morocco.

Variety release

Press release

Western Farmer Stockman

Woodies Germplasm (2023) OSU Barley Project 2 row spring covered awned Up to you - quality not so bad! Resistant to every known race of stem rust, including the dreaded UG99 (?) Journal of Plant Registrations