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R&B Distillers undertakes second barley trial
R&B Distillers has launched its second barley growth trial on the Isle of Raasay, Scotland, as it aims to grow enough barley on the island to produce at least one batch of Scotch whisky a year.
R&D Distillers will grow four different barley varieties on the Isle of Raasay, Scotland
Following a successful barley trial in 2017, Isle of Raasay Distillery will attempt to grow four further strains of the grain on the island in order to determine which varieties grow and ripen on Raasay.
To conduct the trials, the Scotch whisky producer will work with Peter Martin, director of the Agronomy Institute at the University of the Highlands and Islands, and local farmer Andrew Gillies.
The island distillery will this year cultivate four varieties of barley, including Icelandic strain, Iskria; Golden Promise, a UK malting variety; Anneli, a Swedish variety; and Brage, a Norwegian barley strain.
Raasay Distillery hopes that this year’s trials will show an improved yield and will help it identify one suitable barley strain to grow on the island in the future.
The first barley trial on Raasay commenced in April 2017 and saw five varieties grown on the island. The distillery discovered that Bere, Iskria and Kannas barley ripened successfully and it harvested these grains in August last year.
The distillery plans to use the successfully grown barley to make a special batch of Raasay whisky and will produce the mash for this expression during an open day at the distillery on 2 August.
At the open day, Martin will introduce the barley varieties and will discuss the challenges that have been encountered while growing the grains on Raasay.
Co-founder of Raasay Distillery, Alasdair Day, will also discuss the background and future of the project, while Hugh Alexander from Curio Group, the company which malted the barley harvested last year, will explain the processes involved in micro-malting the Raasay barley.
The distillery will also offer free distillery tours during the open day.
Last year, R&B Distillers confirmed that Isle of Raasay Distillery is aiming to release its first Scotch whisky in 2020.