In recent years, Matís ohf has been responsible for projects on the value chain of grain from grain cutting to food production. Most of these projects have dealt with Icelandic barley, its quality, chemical content and value added through food production.
It has been shown both in projects and in companies that Icelandic barley can be used for the production of alcoholic beverages. The production of alcoholic beverages in Iceland has increased significantly in recent years. There are now about 22 craft breweries in the country as well as two large producers of beer. Whiskey is increasingly produced in Iceland. In most cases, imported barley is used for production.
In Matís' projects, the focus has increasingly been on sustainability. One of the results of a recent grain project is a chapter on the sustainability of beer production in the book Case studies in the Beer Sector which was published this September by the book publisher Elsevier. The book covers many areas of beer production, such as the development of the beer market, innovation and marketing. A promising methodology for marketing is suggested and how beer is related to regional food and tourism. The conflict between environmental and economic sustainability is discussed and it is concluded that sustainability needs to be discussed with the government and municipalities.
It is expected that Icelandic beer producers will be able to download many ideas for the book, which can be ordered on Elsevier's website: elsevier.com.
It should also be mentioned that Matís was involved in a scientific article on the value chain from barley to beer, but it is in open access here.