A local barley for a local beer

Huw McConochie

Pipkin, an award winning variety of winter malting barley developed in Aberystwyth in the 1970s, is being grown once more on an Aberystwyth University farm and used for brewing by Llanarth based Penlon Cottage Brewery.

Over the past two years the University has adopted a sustainability agenda by sourcing more and more food from local suppliers and its own farms. Food miles have been significantly reduced with the University's home reared lamb, a winner at the 2008/9 True Taste Wales Food & Drink Awards, and beef clocking up as little as 40 miles from the farm gate to plate.

This latest development means that the barley used by the Penlon Cottage Brewery to produce its newly launched best bitter ‘Cardi-bay' travels less than 10 miles before brewing.

Awarded the Perpetual Cup for the outstanding new variety in 1978 by the Institute of Brewing, Pipkin remained a top malting variety throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s before declining in popularity.

It was originally bred at the Welsh Plant Breeding Station which subsequently became part of the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, and which is now part of the University’s Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences – IBERS.

Under the direction of University Farms Manager Huw McConochie the variety has been regenerated by propagating farm scale quantities of seed from stored genetic stocks. Test production of about 10 tons was grown during 2007-2008 on the University farm at Morfa near Aberaeron, Ceredigion.

The initiative to offer more of the University’s own produce at its TaMed Da restaurant on the Penglais campus has been developed by Huw and Kevan Downing, Head of Hospitality, and
has won the support of both the senior management of the University and the farming unions.

“The success of the venture is a result of the hard work and dedication of the hospitality department and farm staff”, said Huw.

Penlon Cottage Brewery was established 5 years ago by Penny and Steffan Samociuk.

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