DEVELOPMENT

Butta 12 is the first malting barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) released by the University of California to have completed “plant-scale” malting evaluations and to be brewed successfully by scores of craft brewers.

BREEDING HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION

Butta 12 is a two-rowed malting type with a spring growth habit and is intended for November–December sowing in the Central Valley of California.  Data published previously (Hegarty et al., 2018) showed Butta 12 to have a comprehensive grain yield of 4,168 kg per ha; kernel weight of 48.3 mg per hundred kernels; plant height of 89.8 cm, days-to-heading from 1 March of 32.5 days (about 3 days earlier than UC Tahoe); lodging score of 4.04 on a scale of 1–8; and a leaf yellowing rating of 2.1 on a scale of 1–8 for yellow dwarf viruses.

YIELD AND MALTING QUALITY

Butta 12 produces a grain yield similar to UC Tahoe and Full Pint.  UC Tahoe and Butta 12 are similar for malting quality.  Butta 12 malt is capable of producing a wide array of flavors.  For distillers, Butta 12 has an advantage over many cultivars in that it is low in glycosidic nitrile. 

DISEASE RESISTANCE

Butta 12 has effective field resistance to five fungi and two viruses that would otherwise pose a threat to the cultivar in its California Central Valley target environment.

AREA OF ADAPTATION AND PRIMARY USE

Butta 12 is the first two-rowed malting barley released in California to complete robust plant-scale floor malting evaluation and to be accepted by Central Valley and surrounding foothill growers, a commercial maltster, craft brewers, and distillers.

SEED AVAILABILITY

Foundation seed stocks of Butta 12 are available from the UC Davis Foundation Seed Program for production and distribution in accordance with its policies and procedures.