tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756861315815236395.post-21911656697287115072007-07-21T16:13:00.000+02:002007-07-21T16:13:00.000+02:00Hi travis,<BR/><BR/>I very much agree with you. The nuances between most barley varieties are *very* subtle. For a taster to notice the differences the beer will have to be a simple one without hop complexity and specialty malts.<BR/><BR/>Differences in techniques of malting can enhance some of the characteristics of the malt though, but still the variations are fairly small. I'm sure more research can be made by the maltsters to further enhance the flavour profiles.<BR/><BR/>Hops are a much more obvious candidate for looking into the effects of terroir, as the differences in character are much more diverse. The terroir part of this is often (or always?) seen when comparing the same hop being produced in Europe vs. North America (or any other continents). The effects of terroir are quite obvious in this case, much to the same degree as when growing a grape on different continents.<BR/><BR/>Yes, this is definitely food for thought towards a "beer theory". And it is definitely fascinating stuff -- to me at least. :)grovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02090575637277836287noreply@blogger.com