Barley contracts for malt whisky

Malt whisky has one raw material

A single malt is made only from malted barley, water and yeast. No other grain can step in if barley runs short or comes in poor. That makes barley supply a strategic question for any malt distillery, not a routine purchase.

Most distilleries do not malt their own barley. They buy malt from a maltster, who buys barley from farmers or traders, steeps it, germinates it and dries it in a kiln. So there are usually two contracts in the chain: the distiller's malt contract with the maltster and the maltster's barley contracts with growers.

India grows mostly six-row barley

Barley in India is a rabi, or winter, crop. It is sown around October and November and harvested around March and April, mainly in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh. Most of it is six-row barley, named after the six rows of kernels on each ear.

Compared with the two-row barley common in Europe, six-row barley usually has smaller kernels, more husk, more protein and more enzyme power. It gives somewhat less extract per tonne. Two-row malting varieties are also grown in north India, often under contract. Several Indian single malts are made from Indian six-row barley and some blend in two-row. Our guide to Indian six-row barley for malt whisky covers the flavour side.

The specs that decide whether barley is accepted

• Germination. Barley must be alive to malt. Maltsters typically want germination well above 95%. Grain damaged by heat or sprouting in the field fails this test.
• Protein. For distilling, lower protein usually means more starch and more alcohol per tonne. Distillers generally prefer lower protein barley than many brewers do.
• Moisture. Barley stored too wet heats and spoils. It is usually dried to around 12% or below for safe storage.
• Kernel size and screenings. Small, thin kernels give less extract. Contracts set a limit on the share that passes through a sieve.
• Variety. Many contracts name approved varieties, because malting behaviour differs between them.

The malt contract is about alcohol, not tonnes

When a distiller buys malt, the most important number on the specification is the predicted spirit yield: the litres of pure alcohol a tonne of malt should give under standard laboratory conditions. Moisture, friability (how easily the malt crumbles in the mill) and, for peated whisky, the phenol level in parts per million are also specified. Our guide to predicted spirit yield explains how it is measured.

A malt that is cheaper per tonne but gives fewer litres of alcohol per tonne can cost more per litre of whisky. Good contracts specify a minimum yield and what happens if a delivery falls short.

Common contract structures

• Fixed price, fixed volume. The distiller agrees a price and a tonnage for the season. Simple, but one side loses if the market moves sharply.
• Price linked to a market reference. The price moves with a published market or government reference, plus an agreed premium for malting quality.
• Grower contracts. The maltster, or sometimes the distiller, contracts farmers before sowing. The buyer may supply seed of an approved variety and agree to buy the crop if it meets spec. Farmers get a guaranteed outlet. The buyer gets the varieties it needs.
• Multi-year agreements. Longer agreements with a maltster give both sides time to plan capacity, with prices reviewed each season.

Contract details are commercial and legal matters. Procurement teams agree them with their own legal and finance advisers.

Peated malt is a separate supply chain

Peated whisky needs malt dried over peat smoke, which carries smoky phenols into the grain. The level is measured in parts per million of phenols in the malt. Heavily peated malt can be several times the level of a lightly peated one. Only part of the phenol in the malt survives into the new make spirit.

India has no tradition of peat-smoked malting, so Indian distillers making peated whisky usually import peated malt or blend imported peated malt with local unpeated malt. That brings foreign currency pricing, shipping lead times and the need to store imported malt in Indian heat and humidity without it picking up moisture. The contract for peated malt usually specifies the phenol level with a tolerance either side, because the distillery's house style depends on it. Our guide to phenol levels explains the numbers.

The risks are the weather and the calendar

One harvest a year means one chance to get it right. In north India, unseasonal rain or hail around harvest time in March and April can damage barley standing in the field, causing grain to sprout or discolour. Heat during grain filling can shrink kernels. Either can cut the share of the crop that meets malting spec.

The floor detail the distillery feels months later is in the mash tun. Malt from a difficult harvest can mill poorly, convert unevenly and give less alcohol per tonne. Teams that keep a buffer of good malt and test each delivery for spec get through a bad year with far fewer surprises. A useful first step is to line up last season's malt deliveries against the yield the distillery actually achieved from each one.

Common questions

Does Indian single malt use Indian barley?

Many Indian single malts use Indian six-row barley, often grown in Rajasthan and neighbouring states. Some also use two-row barley, grown in India or imported.

Why do distillers prefer low protein barley?

Lower protein generally means more starch per tonne and therefore more alcohol. Brewers sometimes accept higher protein because it helps foam and body in beer.

What is predicted spirit yield?

The litres of pure alcohol a tonne of malt should produce under standard laboratory conditions. It is the key number in a distilling malt contract.