The beer brewing industry continues on a steady pace into 2018, with continued support of small, craft-associated brewers carving their own niches in the industry. And the trade group for small and independent brewers — the Brewers Association — is working to make sure these breweries have the tech and tools they need. The association recently issued 17 grants totaling $432,658 for research work across the country.

The research grant program started in 2015 and has already provided more than $1.2 million in funding for 60 projects, covering a range of topics from public barley and hop variety development to work in hop disease and hop aromas. And the group supports affiliated national- and state-level grower organizations.

In announcing the new grants, Bob Pease, president and CEO, BA, notes that “supporting research that aligns with member priorities ensures a sustainable and profitable future for small and independent U.S. breweries.”

One researcher receiving support, Thomas Shellhammer, Nor’Wester professor of fermentation science, Oregon State University, observed that the grants’ funds “are an important and valuable benefit to the industry. They connect the craft brewing community with world-class research capabilities at Oregon State University to solve technical problems facing the entire brewing industry.”

OSU did receive grants, but so did a wide range of other programs.

Here is a rundown of the 2018 grant recipients:

Barley research
• Creation and Development of Better Germplasm Lines for All-Malt Barley Varieties

Partner: USDA-Agricultural Research Service, Aberdeen, Idaho; Principal: Gongshe Hu

• Breeding for Barley Contributions to Beer Flavor

Partner: Oregon State University; Principal: Pat Hayes

• Stable and Sustainable Dryland Production of High-Quality Malt Barley

Partner: Montana State University; Principal: Jamie Sherman

• Mapping Malt Quality Traits to Facilitate Marker-Assisted Breeding and Development of Winter Malt Barley

Partner: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Principal: Carl Griffey

• Building a Winter Malting Barley Market for the Great Plains

Partner: University of Nebraska; Principal: Stephen Baenziger

• Utilizing a Multi-State Data Set to Support Coordinated Breeding of Local Malting Barley

Partner: University of Minnesota; Principal: Kevin Smith

• Improving Malting Quality in Two-Rowed Barley by Reducing Grain Protein Content Through Marker-Assisted Backcrossing

Partner: University of California, Davis; Principal: Alicia del Blanco

• All-Malt Barley: Nitrogen and Cultivar Management Strategies for Idaho Growers

Partner: University of Idaho; Principal: Christopher Rogers

• Enhancement of Winter-Hardiness in Two-Rowed Barley Varieties for the Craft Brewing Industry

Partner: University of Minnesota; Principal: Brian Steffenson

• Eastern United States Spring Barley Nursery (ESBN)

Partner: North Dakota State University; Principal: Richard Horsley

• Metabolomics of Hot Steep Malt Extracts and Integration with Sensory Data

Partner: Colorado State University; Principal: Adam Heuberger

• Prospects for Breeding Perennial Malting Barley

Partner: N/A; Principal: Colin Curwen-McAdams

Hops research
• Nitrogen Application Timing Effects on Nitrate Accumulation in Hop Cones, Yield and Cone Quality Factors

Partner: USDA Agricultural Research Service, Ore.; Researcher: David Gent

• Assessing the Genomic Impact of Drought and Heat on Hop Growth and Production

Partner: USDA Agricultural Research Service, Ore.; Researcher: John Henning

• Mapping Novel Loci for Powdery Mildew Resistance in Hops

Partner: University of Minnesota; Principal: Gary Muehlbauer

• Developing Economic- and Environmental-Focused Hop Nitrogen Recommendations for Temperate Climates

Partner: University of Vermont; Principal: Heather Darby

• Hop-Derived Dextrin-Reducing Enzymes from Dry-Hopping

Partner: Oregon State University; Researcher: Thomas Shellhammer

Proposals for 2019 funding will be accepted from March 1 to May 31, 2018. More information about the grant program can be found at brewersassociation.org.

Source: Brewers Association