Dr. Eric Stockinger

I've been home brewing beer as a hobby since 1988. Plus I have had a long standing interest in understanding genetic research methods. This led me to eventually settle on barley for the focus of my lab because of its good genetics. I thought it was odd, winter barley was used as a malting barley in the UK, but not here in the U.S. so now we're developing barley varieties for the craft brewing industry here in Ohio.

Barley Variety Development

We're working on barley variety development (malting quality is a complex trait). We're targeting for genetic traits that lead to high yield in both the brewhouse & the field. We're also trying to identify lines that are prone to diseases that render the grain unsellable. These are long-term goals with real world applications. 

Pre-Harvest Sprouting

Currently looking into dealing with pre-harvest sprouting (grain can germinate on the plant, if field conditions are too wet, resulting in unsellable crops).

I simply followed my interests & curiosity to end up where I am today.

I've publish papers with colleagues from all over Europe throughout the years. 

The Barley Improvement Conference is dedicated to the research and science but is still collegial. It’s a small friendly group where you get the chance to know everyone plus there's always beer at the meetings. 

Having a new department chair, Dr. Karcher, to steer us in the right direction.

Brewing beer - 501 batches so far. I'm also a hardcore gardener.