In Fields of Gold

Fergus in the barley

Every year around this time I take a day out and go on a barley walk with Simpsons malt. (Before I go any further I should say hello to Charles Halliwell, who also supplies us with malted barley. I think Charles felt left out when I mentioned Peter Simpson in a previous post so Hi Charles).

I really love this day, it’s a chance for us to talk to the farmers who grow the barley, to the Grain merchants who buy it and to the Maltsters who malt it for us. They all have their own take on how the season is going, how the lack or abundance of rain or sunshine is affecting the crop, and usually a bit of banter about who’s robbing who. It gives us some clues to what the malted barley we will use next year might be like, we find out a bit more about malting barleys place in the crop rotation and whether it is being supplanted by other more valuable crops. We get to know the farmers who grow it for us and hopefully we get to understand each other a bit more.

You might be thinking that this sounds all well and good and may be useful but hardly a reason to love this walk in a field and the truth is you’re right, these aren’t the reasons that I love it.

You’ll remember me when the west wind moves
Among the fields of barley
You can tell the sun in his jealous sky
When we walked in fields of gold

What I love about the day is that it connects me with our raw material and the idea of brewing as a craft rather than an industrial process. It reminds me that I can attempt to control as much as I like at the brewery but nature will always have it’s say.

I grew up on a farm so I suppose it also feels a little like coming home when I’m walking through the field with the heads of barley brushing the palms of my hands.

The song, ‘Fields of Gold’ always gets stuck in my head the day of the walk, which would be fine if I actually remembered the words and not just “among the fields of barley” in a seemingly endless loop.

We went to Somerleyton estate where Chris Lockhart showed us around several fields. The barley was looking good but was a bit dry in places. It was the first year in many years that Chris has had to irrigate his barley and we could plainly see which fields had been irrigated and those that hadn’t. Those that were well watered were taller and the grains were plumper which should mean better yields. There are several weeks between now and harvest but Chris is praying for a little rain (but not too much) over the next week or two. If you pass by the brewery and you see me dancing around in a circle and waving my hands about then you know what I’m doing.

Thanks to Peter and Trevor from Simpsons, Cyril and Chris from Adams & Howlett and Chris from Somerleyton for organising the day, and to the Dukes Head for a great lunch.