North American Sorghum Cultivars
It's written for this site's process, where external enzymes do the converting, and uses the criteria of Seed Standard 1, the standard we brew to today. The hybrid data comes from single screenings, so it tells you what to trial; the trial makes the choice.
The criteria, most important first
Gates: a lot that fails one is out
| # | Criterion | What it does in a sorghum beer | The line to use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tannin class | Tannin binds the enzymes and adds astringency | Non-tannin (Type I), confirmed. "Pericarp color is not the test" (tannin and non-tannin sorghum) |
| 2 | Gluten status | The claim on the label | A gluten test on each lot, with its method and threshold |
| 3 | Mycotoxins | A lot over the limit can't be corrected afterwards | DON ≤ 0.5 ppm; aflatoxin ≤ 5.0 ppb |
The beer and the mash
| # | Criterion | What it does in a sorghum beer | The line to use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Extract | How much grain the beer needs for its gravity | Higher is better. Compare hybrids within one dataset |
| 5 | Gelatinization temperature | How hard the mash has to work to open the starch | Lower is easier. Sorghum starch gelatinizes across 154–178°F (68–81°C) (gelatinization); the site's 190°F (88°C) liquefaction step clears it, and a cooler mash needs a lower onset |
| 6 | Flavour | The grain character the whole beer is built on | Judged in a trial, in sensory lexicon terms |
| 7 | Protein | "Every point of protein is a point not available as starch" | 9–12% d.b., ideally 9–10.5% |
| 8 | Haze and filtration | How the mash runs off, and how bright the beer can get | A clear wort. Read as a clarity score or, more precisely, as turbidity |
| 9 | FAN | The yeast's food. Too little, and the beer shows stress character | Know the number, and plan the nutrient to cover the gap to the yeast's 130–150 mg/L |
Malting and buying
| # | Criterion | What it does in a sorghum beer | The line to use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Germination | The one property malting can't add | ≥ 85% within 3 days |
| 11 | Grain condition | Sound, dry grain stores and malts evenly | USA No. 1 grade; test weight ≥ 56 lb/bu; moisture ≤ 14% |
| 12 | Colour | Where the base sits before any roast | Paler suits a golden beer; a darker base does part of an amber's work |
| 13 | Identity and supply | Whether you can buy the same grain next year | A named hybrid, identity-preserved, that farmers will keep growing |
The lines come from Seed Standard 1, where each one is sourced.
Weigh them for the beer you're making
The gates don't move. Below them, the weighting shifts with the beer:
- A pale, clear golden beer. Haze and colour weigh more, because there's nowhere to hide either.
- A stronger or darker beer. Extract weighs most. A darker or slightly hazy wort costs less when roast will colour the beer anyway.
- A flavour-led beer. Flavour weighs most, and a trial is how you judge it. Bard's chose its production cultivar on flavour over better starch numbers.
- A cooler mash than 190°F (88°C). Gelatinization weighs more: the lower the onset, the more starch a cooler rest opens.
- A tight nutrient budget. FAN weighs more, since a higher-FAN hybrid needs less added.
The trade-offs you'll meet
No hybrid in the table below leads on every column:
- Extract against clarity. The highest-extract hybrid, x 828, is also the hazy one, with the darkest wort.
- Protein against extract and FAN. The three hybrids in the table inside the ideal protein band, Pioneer 84Y00, 82G63 and 83G66, have the table's three lowest extracts and among its lowest FAN.
- Numbers against flavour. Bard's picked a red, Blue Milo #4, for flavour, where some analyses favoured Ivory 7 on starch or extract.
The candidates, rated
The eleven highest-extract hybrids in the USDA Madison screening at 3-day germination, plus Pioneer 82G63 and 83G66, the two Madison hybrids with a measured gelatinization onset. All 25 are in the full dataset.
| Rating /30 | Cultivar | Extract, % d.b. | Gelatinization onset, °C | Grain protein, % d.b. | Wort clarity | Wort colour | FAN, ppm | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | Fontanelle 5040C | 61.74 | — | 11.88 | 1 | 2.37 | 108.9 | Bard's Ivory 7, roughly fourteen years in production in Craig's account |
| 25 | NC 7W51 | 61.06 | — | 11.36 | 1 | 3.84 | 86.0 | Clear, with a darker wort |
| 25 | Producers 79 | 61.00 | — | 11.23 | 2 | 1.97 | 106.8 | The palest wort in the top four for extract |
| 22 | x 828 | 67.76 | — | 11.92 | 3 | 5.49 | 102.1 | The most extract; hazy at both germination lengths |
| 22 | Pioneer 84100 | 58.22 | — | 11.06 | 1 | 2.81 | 101.1 | |
| 19 | Pioneer 84Y00 | 55.59 | — | 9.33 | 1 | 2.08 | 84.2 | In the ideal protein band |
| 18 | Orbit | 58.13 | — | 12.40 | 2 | 2.31 | 105.5 | Protein above the band |
| 17 | Aggrow Eclipse | 58.36 | — | 12.16 | 2 | 2.25 | 102.6 | Protein just above the band |
| 16 | Pioneer 82G63 | 50.37 | 64.38 | 9.15 | 1 | 1.92 | 85.5 | Red, non-tannin; in the ideal protein band |
| 15 | Pioneer 83G66 | 51.66 | 65.51 | 9.71 | 1 | 2.07 | 78.2 | Red, non-tannin; the higher onset of the two, a significant difference |
| 15 | Fontanelle W1000 | 57.74 | — | 11.76 | 2 | 2.42 | 93.3 | Also screened from farm lots in 2002 and 2003 |
| 15 | Dk44-41 | 56.59 | — | 12.03 | 1 | 2.17 | 102.4 | Protein just above the band |
| 14 | Nct 7w92 | 57.53 | — | 11.64 | 2 | 2.48 | 84.7 |
How the rating works. It scores the four criteria the Madison data measures, weighted by their place in the order above, and adds them up to a maximum of 30:
| Criterion | Weight | Scores 3 | Scores 2 | Scores 1 | Scores 0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extract (#4) | ×4 | ≥ 61% | ≥ 58% | ≥ 55% | below 55% |
| Protein (#7) | ×3 | 9–10.5% | up to 12% | above 12% | |
| Haze: wort clarity (#8) | ×2 | 1 (clear) | 2 | 3 (hazy) | |
| FAN (#9) | ×1 | ≥ 105 ppm | ≥ 100 ppm | ≥ 85 ppm | below 85 ppm |
It leaves out what the data doesn't measure for these hybrids: the three gates, gelatinization for all but two, flavour, germination and grain condition. Colour isn't rated, because the right colour depends on the beer. A high rating earns a hybrid a trial; the gates and the trial decide whether it's used.
Where the numbers come from. Extract, protein, clarity, colour and FAN are from the Madison CSV; clarity is scored 1 (clear) to 3 (hazy), colour is the lab's °SRM-scale wort colour, and protein is the unmalted figure (dataset CSV). The onsets are grain starch by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), from a 2009 Kansas State thesis that also measured two white sorghums, RN315 at 61.75°C and X303 at 63.97°C (Veith 2009, Table 3.6).
Read the extract as a ranking. The Madison lab used standard barley malt methods, and a congress mash "measures what a malt's own enzymes make of its own starch". On sorghum, "extract figures understate the malt's material contribution" (barley-adapted methods). Compare hybrids within this table; with external enzymes, the same malt gives more in the brewhouse.
Every one needs a FAN plan. The candidates run 78–109 ppm against the yeast's 130–150 mg/L (GFB-SDP).
If the explorer does not load, open it directly at the cultivar selector.
Our top three, and why
Fontanelle 5040C (27), NC 7W51 (25) and Producers 79 (25) come out on top because they score well on all four measured criteria at once:
- All three reach 61% extract, the top band, alongside x 828.
- All three sit inside Standard 1's protein band, at 11.2–11.9%: not the ideal 9–10.5%, but well clear of the hybrids above 12%.
- None has a hazy wort. x 828 has more extract than any of them, but its clarity of 3 costs it enough to drop it to 22.
- Two of the three carry the most FAN in the table: Fontanelle 5040C at 108.9 ppm and Producers 79 at 106.8.
Each still has one thing to weigh:
| Cultivar | Where it's strongest | What to weigh |
|---|---|---|
| Fontanelle 5040C | Clear, pale, the most FAN: the most complete of the three | Supply. Bard's used it for roughly fourteen years, and in Craig's account the manufacturer stopped producing it (Blue Milo #4 and Ivory 7). Confirm seed exists before planning around it |
| NC 7W51 | Clear, with high extract | The lowest FAN of the three at 86.0 ppm, and a darker wort at 3.84, which suits an amber better than a golden beer |
| Producers 79 | The palest wort of the three, with high FAN | A clarity of 2, so plan a little more runoff and clarity work |
The rating can't see the gates, gelatinization or flavour for any of the three, so those decide the trial.
If the beer needs something the top three don't lead on:
- The most extract: x 828, if a darker, hazier wort suits the beer.
- Flavour first: put a red in the trial. Bard's chose Blue Milo #4 for flavour; its identity is confidential, so it has no lab values here.
Seed availability
Seed for some of these hybrids is available through sources this site doesn't name. If you're planning a trial, get in touch.
What to ask for that the table doesn't show
The Madison screening behind the table doesn't report tannin class, test weight or grade, grain colour, or mycotoxin and gluten results. The Kansas State thesis records 82G63 and 83G66 as red, non-tannin. For any hybrid you trial, ask for the rest with the order, per Seed Standard 1.
Then trial it
Malt a trial lot, taste a hot steep in sensory lexicon terms, and brew it in your own process. The trial, reject or scale table decides the next move, and Ordering Sorghum Malt turns Seed Standard 1 into an order note.
Related
- Cultivars for Malting: the named-cultivar evidence
- Seed Traits for Malting: the traits to grow for
- Sorghum Base Malt Profiles: choosing the base for the beer
- Sorghum Seed Standard 1 (draft): Today's Process: the criteria behind this page
- USDA Madison Screening: all 25 cultivars, at both germination lengths
- K-State Results