Guinness toasts top barley growers

GUINNESS yesterday toasted the growers of malting barley — a vital raw material for the production of top quality beer.

But the unpredictable weather made their task in harvesting this year's crop more challenging than usual.

Guinness brewery development manager Eddie Bourke said growers showed a tremendous ability to adjust to the conditions and produce top quality grain for the malting industry.

"The breweries have just received their first deliveries of the 2002 crop malt and the quality of the resulting pints is excellent," he said.

He said there were reports of lower yields than previous years, but these were not as bad as some had predicted.

Mr Bourke was speaking at St James' Gate in Dublin during the presentation of awards for the 49th Guinness National Malting Barley competition.

The award winners were:

1 Neville Conroy, Kilcannon House, Eniscorthy, Co Wexford; 2 Jeremy Odlum, Popefield, Athy, Co Kildare; 3 Tom Burke, Clonmahilladuff, Coolbawn, Co Tipperary; 4 Tom Culleton, St Kearns, Slatmills, New Ross, Co Wexford; 5 Sean Keogh, Tinncurry, Enniscorthy; 6 M.J. Scanlon, Ballina, Ballymurrin, Enniscorthy.