Alexis is a two-row, spring sown variety of

barley Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...

commonly used in the production of

malt Malt is any cereal grain that has been made to germinate by soaking in water and then stopped from germinating further by drying with hot air, a process known as "malting". Malted grain is used to make beer, whisky, malted milk, malt vinegar, ...

for the

brewing Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and #Fermenting, fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with Yeast#Beer, yeast. It may be done in a brewery ...

industry.

Development

The variety originated from a cross of Br 1622d54 * Trumpf, done in 1975 by Josef Breun. It was introduced in Germany in 1986 and quickly became the dominant variety until 2006 in whole Europe. Due to its mildew resistance (''Erysiphe graminis'' ssp. ''hordei'') based on the mlo-9 mutation, induced in the variety Diamant, and the ''denso'' dwarfing gene combined with an excellent brewing quality Alexis has been a milestone in malting barley breeding. The pedigree: Besides

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, Alexis was listed in

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und

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Mainly in Germany Alexis has been the dominant malting barley for more than a decade. There it had been the main source for malt for most of the - small or big - breweries. Its peak was in 1992 when she had 9048 ha of multiplication area. Alexis has been so far the variety with the highest multiplication area in Germany over the last 30 years.{{citation, surname1=Bundessortenamt, periodical=Beschreibende Sortenliste, title=Sommergerste - zweizeilig, date=1986–2006, language=German It has been supplanted by newer varieties with better agronomics, but it is in growing demand for premium products. It is one of the few barley malts marketed today by variety. Alexis is popular both in

homebrewing Homebrewing is the brewing of beer or other alcoholic beverages on a small scale for personal, non-commercial purposes. Supplies, such as kits and fermentation tanks, can be purchased locally at specialty stores or online. Beer was brewed dom ...

circles and among traditional real ale breweries, many of whom note their exclusive use of Alexis in their promotional literature. It carries a price premium to most other varieties. Due to its broad acceptance and its consistently good results Alexis is one of the varieties most often used in modern pedigrees. Alexis can be rightly considered as a " founder" of the current genetic in malting barley.

References

Barley cultivars