The Duel Dual Dilemna: Distilling, Brewing or Both?

Over the last couple of years there has been a substantial amount of discourse regarding distilling varieties in north America.  This slow, intellectual creep has been precipitated by the steady rise in craft distilling interest (over 300 in Canada alone) and from the knowledge from the UK (Malting Barley Committee (MBC)) that there was only one way to go and was mandated a some time ago.  This is the fact that all UK distilling varieties must be bred as Nul-GN (non-glycosidic nitrile).  Why?  The history and reaction mechanisms in and of their self would make for an interesting post (another time?), however, suffice it to say that any varieties that are used for distilling and not non-GN can produce a carcinogenic compound called ethyl carbamate (EC). 

From a nerds (me) perspective the fascinating journey starts with GN in the grains going into the fermentation process whereupon can be hydrolyzed to HCN (hydrogen cyanide).  HCN reacts with alcohol to form ethyl carbamate (the carcinogen).  There is a lot more to this story than there is space here and better authorities on the subject (Dr. Harmonie Bettenhausen and Dr. Mary-Jane Maurice would be good starting points).

Now, getting to the meat and point of this post:  The Dual Duel Dilemma.  Specifically, and implicitly, this implies that (and is overtly advertised with UK non-GN varieties) that non-GN varieties can be used for BOTH distilling and brewing, hence, the oft-used moniker of ‘dual-purpose’. 

I understand that we are all excited about the first Canadian non-GN variety (AB Dram bred from the Western Crop Innovations group) but we must also ensure that we don’t forget that this variety might also be considered for brewing!  Hence, AB Dram may be a ’dual-purpose’ variety, opening a plethora of additional possibilities?!  Further, and to the direct consideration of the total protein content, let’s not forget the huge potential option of this variety being the first non-GN, bourbon-style distilling malt.  Time will tell; however, north American varieties need to continue to tap niche markets and this is one that is ripe for the opportunity.  Let’s not be too laser-focused and continue to focus on the big picture.