Barley Men

Bere stalks

NPS Graphic / GM Spoto

This summer, the historic garden will be growing bere (pronounced "bear"), a type of barley from the Orkney Islands of Scotland also grown in the states. A barley that grows well in colder climates near large masses of water, its rapid growth lends itself perfectly to the long hours of sunlight and short growing season of Grand Portage summers.

Bere traces its origins to the fertile crescent of Egypt and Mesopotamia, and is mentioned in the Bible more than other grains, possibly for the barley's many healthful qualities. Roman gladiators were known as “barley men,” strengthened by a diet of this nutritious seed. The name bere is the Scottish word for barley; the Latin name is Hordeum vulgare. Viking farmers brought the ancient grain to the British Isles in the ninth century where generations of farmers produced a crop perfectly adapted to the climate and soil there.

Today only a few farmers still raise bere. It has been superseded by modern, higher-yielding varieties. Traditionally bere was baked into bread, biscuits, and bannock, and provided animal feed and thatch. Additionally, bere has a long history as a malting grain to produce beer and whisky.

A spring planted, hulled, six-row barley, bere has a higher protein content than two-row barley. Rows refer to how kernels form – six-row barley has extra rows forming between the central rows. Two-row barley has a higher carbohydrate content, more suited to malting for beer and whisky.

Grand Portage staff hopes to be grinding some of our own bere into meal/flour for baking. Other possibilties include a traditional beverage, a sort of lemonade made with boiled and strained barley water, and porridge. Also, trading posts served barley broth, another food from this versatile crop.