What type of beer is made with barley?

November 29, 2025 •

3 min read

Globally, almost 30% of the world's barley harvest is dedicated to brewing, confirming its foundational role in beer production. This versatility allows a vast spectrum of beer styles to be made with barley, ranging from light and refreshing lagers to complex, roasted stouts.

Quick Summary

A diverse range of beer styles, including ales, lagers, and stouts, are made with barley, with the final color and flavor determined by the malting process. Different malting temperatures and barley types are used to achieve distinct characteristics, from light and crisp to dark and roasted.

Key Points

Malting is Essential: Barley is malted through steeping, germinating, and kilning, which activates the enzymes needed to convert starches into fermentable sugars for brewing.
Variety Defines Style: The kilning temperature and duration determine the type of malt, which in turn defines the beer's color, flavor, and style, from light lagers to dark stouts.
Two-Row vs. Six-Row: Brewers choose between two-row barley, prized for its clean, malty flavor, and six-row barley, with its higher protein and enzyme content, suitable for adjunct-heavy recipes.
Specialty Malts Add Complexity: Besides base malts, brewers use specialty malts like caramel, crystal, and roasted barley to add specific flavor notes, body, and color.
Barley's Role is Foundational: While other grains can be used, barley is the most common and versatile base for beer, offering a wide palette of flavors and characteristics.
Unmalted Barley has a Place: Some beer styles, particularly dry stouts like Guinness, utilize roasted unmalted barley to achieve a distinctive flavor profile.

The Foundational Role of Barley in Brewing

At the heart of most beers lies a fundamental ingredient: barley. This cereal grain is central to the brewing process because it contains the starches and enzymes necessary for fermentation. However, simply adding raw barley to a brew isn't enough. The grain must first undergo a transformation called malting, a controlled process that awakens the grain's potential and defines the character of the final beer.

The Malting Process: From Grain to Fermentable Sugar

Malting is a crucial multi-step process that prepares barley for brewing by activating its enzymes. This process consists of three main stages:

Steeping: The barley grain is soaked in water for several days to increase its moisture content and stimulate germination.
Germination: The dampened grain is spread out and allowed to sprout. This action produces the enzymes needed to convert the grain's starches into fermentable sugars.
Kilning: The sprouted grain is dried with heat in a kiln to halt germination and to develop specific flavors and colors. Varying the temperature and duration of kilning is how maltsters create the wide range of malts available to brewers.

The Spectrum of Barley-Based Beer Styles

Different barley malts are fundamental to creating the diverse world of beer styles we know today. The level of roasting applied during kilning is the most significant factor influencing a beer's color, aroma, and flavor.

Light Ales and Lagers

For light, crisp, and clean-tasting beers, brewers rely on pale, lightly kilned barley malts. These include Pilsner malt, Pale Ale malt, and American 2-row malt. Common styles include Pilsners and Pale Ales.

Amber and Red Ales

To achieve richer colors and more complex, caramel-like flavors, brewers use kilned and caramel/crystal malts. Examples include Caramel/Crystal malts with varying notes and Munich and Vienna malts for bready flavors. Amber Ales and Oktoberfest beers are common styles.

Dark Porters and Stouts

Highly roasted barley malts are used for dark beers with notes of coffee and chocolate. Stouts often include roasted, unmalted barley for a dry, distinct coffee flavor. Common malts are Chocolate malt and Black Patent malt. Styles include Stouts and Porters.

Strong Ales and Barleywines

These beers use a large amount of malted barley for high alcohol and rich, fruity flavors. Dark caramel malts can add plum or toffee notes. Barleywines and Old Ales are typical examples.

Barley Variety and Its Impact: 2-Row vs. 6-Row

Beyond malting, the type of barley kernel impacts brewing. Two main types are:

Two-Row Barley: Larger, uniform kernels with lower protein, yielding cleaner, malty beers. Preferred for many European and craft styles.
Six-Row Barley: Smaller kernels with higher protein and enzymes. Used in American lagers, allowing for adjuncts like corn or rice. Can contribute a grainier flavor.

Comparison Table: Barley in Different Beer Styles


Beer Style	Example Beer	Primary Barley Malt Type(s)	Flavor Profile from Barley	Color (SRM)
American Lager	Budweiser	Six-Row Pale Malt	Light, clean, with subtle grainy notes.	2-4
English Pale Ale	Maris Otter varieties	Two-Row Pale Ale Malt, Crystal Malt	Toasty, biscuit, honey, balanced bitterness.	6-18
Irish Stout	Guinness	Roasted Barley, Black Patent Malt	Dry, distinct coffee and roasted notes.	25-40
Barleywine	Sierra Nevada Bigfoot	Two-Row Pale Malt, Crystal 120L	Rich, complex, fruity (raisin, plum), toffee.	11-22
Munich Helles	Maui Brewing Bikini Blonde	Munich Malt, Pilsner Malt	Bready, malty, with a light sweetness.	3-5
Amber Ale	Amstel Light	Caramel Malt (Medium)	Sweet, caramel, toffee notes.	10-18

Conclusion

Barley is the foundation for most beer styles. Its diversity stems from the malting process, where kilning temperatures and barley types like two-row or six-row create a vast spectrum of flavors and characteristics. From light Pilsners to dark stouts, barley provides the versatility for brewers to create diverse beers enjoyed globally. For more on malting, resources like Crisp Malt are available.

Frequently Asked Questions

Barley is the primary grain because it has the ideal balance of starch and enzymes required for brewing. The malting process converts its starches into sugars efficiently, which yeast then ferments into alcohol.

Malted barley has been germinated and heated, activating its enzymes to convert starches into sugar. Unmalted barley has not, so it lacks these active enzymes. It's often used in dark beers like stouts to add a distinctive roasted, grainy flavor.

The longer and hotter the barley is roasted during kilning, the darker the beer's color will be. Lightly kilned malts produce pale beers, while intensely roasted malts create the deep ruby-red or black colors of porters and stouts.

Light lagers typically use pale or Pilsner malts, which are very lightly kilned to produce a clean, crisp flavor with a light body and color. Some American lagers use six-row barley due to its higher diastatic power.

Yes, brewers often combine different barley malts in a 'grain bill' to achieve a desired balance of color, flavor, and aroma. This allows for complex and unique flavor profiles in the finished beer.

No, barley naturally contains gluten. Individuals with celiac disease or gluten intolerance should avoid beers brewed with barley. However, some breweries produce gluten-free beers using alternative grains like sorghum or millet.

Two-row barley is generally associated with a fuller, more rounded malt flavor and is popular with European brewers. Six-row barley tends to have a grainier flavor and higher protein and enzyme content, making it well-suited for brewing with adjuncts like corn or rice.