MANY OF its predecessors have been written off – it’s come close to it, itself, on a few occasions – but the spring barley variety, Optic, celebrated 15 years as a Recommended List variety this past year.

First recommended in 1995, it combined high yield with top-notch grain quality for malting. Then, in 2002, it went on to win the prestigious NIAB Cereals Cup for the variety that contributed the most technical advance toward improving UK farm profitability the previous year.

Despite some presssure, most notably for this coming season, it remains Britain’s most popular spring malting barley variety, says its breeder, Syngenta Seeds. At its peak, it produced three-quarters of all spring malting barley purchased in England and two-thirds in Scotland.

It remains the longest-listed variety on the current HGCA Recommended List of spring barleys and also a firm favourite for Scottish distilling. “Optic still accounted for 40% of the spring malting barley purchased in Scotland in 2008, which is the most recent year we have figures for,” says Mr Phillips. “Indeed, it actually saw an increase in purchases as some newer varieties saw a decline.

“Ultimately, I only hope that its successor – whether Publican, Forensic or another distilling variety – is able to serve the industry as well,” he added.