Harrington (Barley) is a two-row, malting barley developed at the University of Saskatchewan. It was named after Dr J. B. Harrington, a former barley breeder and department head at the University of Saskatchewan. It was derived from the cross Klages///Gazelle/Betzes//Centennial. At the time of its licensing in 1981 Harrington outperformed the commercially grown varieties Betzes and Klages in almost every aspect. It was higher yielding and stronger strawed than either of the other varieties. It had better root rot resistance but otherwise similar disease resistance, except for the spot form of net blotch, to which it is very susceptible. Harrington had greater kernel plumpness and higher extract than both Klages and Betzes; in addition, its diastatic power and alpha amylase activity were higher than that of Klages and much higher than that of Betzes. The Harrington variety modified 2 days faster than its predecessors and thus added 20% to the capacity of malting plants with no additional capital input. It has no postharvest dormancy, so it can be malted straight from the field, eliminating the need for storage to eliminate dormancy and making storage management easier for the malting industry. See dormancy (of barley). After its release Harrington rapidly dominated the acreage in Canada and the United States and remained the primary two-row variety for over 20 years, before it was replaced by its descendants. At its peak Harrington was sown on over 60% of the barley acreage in western Canada and on over 80% in the province of Saskatchewan. It was even grown in countries where it was clearly out of its area of adaptation, such as South Africa, China, and Australia. Harrington enabled Canada to become a major producer and exporter of two-row malting barley. The variety is particularly suited to high-gravity, high-adjunct brewing, which was growing in popularity at the time of its release. This landmark variety set the international standard for malting and brewing quality in a high-enzyme, two-row barley. It proved very forgiving in the malt house and in the brewery. It gave good color, good brewhouse yield, good flavor, and very good beer shelf life. Harrington has been used in the malt blend to make billions of hectoliters of beer in North America, Japan, China, and a number of other countries. It has also been used in numerous crosses for breeding and genetic studies around the world.

See also adjuncts, alpha amylase, and klages (barley).