A number of Cork farmers were shortlisted for the overall 2022 Irish Malting Barley Excellence Award, at an awards ceremony held in The Guinness Storehouse, Dublin late last week.
Boortmalt and Diageo, the largest producer of malted barley in the world and the largest purchaser of malted barley in Ireland respectively, announced Paul Delaney from Portlaoise as overall prize winner, receiving the Guinness Perpetual Cup for Malting Barley Excellence at last Friday’s ceremony, which brought together the best of the over 900 growers from the main barley supply regions of Ireland and the best seed producers.
Regional growers from Cork shortlisted for the overall award were John Lombard from Mallow, along with Brian Crowley from Cloyne. The annual awards acknowledge excellence in malting barley production as well as promoting sustainability in the supply chain.
‘FANTASTIC BOOST’
Commenting on the win, Paul Delaney said: “It is a huge honour to win the Guinness Perpetual Cup. For those of us who grow and malt barley, this is the highest accolade that we can receive and it means so much to us to see our work and craft recognized in this manner.
“After the recent challenging years, this provides us with a fantastic boost and encouragement to continue our work and keep supplying the high-quality product that we are able to produce.”
Diageo uses more than 130,000 tonnes of barley each year at St. James’s Gate and 300 tonnes every day to brew Guinness.
Guest of honour at the awards was Pippa Hackett, Minister of State for Land Use and Biodiversity.
