Barley Tincture & Alcohol-Free Extract

Barley (Hordeum vulgare) is an annual cereal of the grass family, Poaceae, domesticated some 10,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent and now grown in cooler regions on every continent, from Scandinavia and Tibet to the northern US plains. It grows 60 to 120 centimeters with hollow, jointed stems, flat, bluish-green leaves, and a dense flower spike in which each grain carries a long, stiff awn, giving the ripe head its bearded look. Young barley grass is cut before the stem forms; sprouted grain, with a short white rootlet pushed out, is the malt of brewing and baking. We extract the dried grass and sprout separately.