On this Wikipedia the bere bannock links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Field of ready-to-harvest bere, with plots of other varieties still green. Bere, pronounced “bear,” is a six-row barley currently cultivated mainly on 5-15 hectares of land in Orkney, Scotland.

Bere is a landrace adapted to growing on soils of a low pH and to a short growing season with long hours of daylight, as found in the high latitudes of northern Scotland. It is sown in the spring and harvested in the summer. Because of its very rapid growth rate it is sown late but is often the first crop to be harvested. It is known locally as “the 90-day barley. Originally bere or beir or bear is a generic Scots word for barley of any kind, from Old English bere, “barley”, and was used throughout the country. Bere is a very old grain that may have been grown in Britain since neolithic times.

Another early term for it was “bygge” or “big,” probably originating from bygg, the Old Norse term for barley. It became well-adapted to the far north of Britain as successive generations of farmers grew it, selecting each year’s seeds from the best plants of the previous year. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, bere was an important crop in the Highlands and Islands region of Scotland, providing grain for milling and malting and straw for thatching and animal bedding. The Agronomy Institute at Orkney College UHI in Scotland has had a research programme on Bere since 2002.

The programme is aimed at developing new markets for the crop and developing best practices for growing it more easily and with increased yield. Bere has a long history of use in making alcoholic beverages. Historical accounts from the 15th century onward show that Orkney produced large amounts of malt and beer, most of it probably from bere. An ancient tradition of making bere-based homebrew survives until this day on the island. Bere Whisky: rediscovering the spirit of an old barley”.

Chapter 14: A Detailed Review of the Contribution Made to Biodiversity by Scots Bere”. Archived from the original on 2011-05-26. Bere barley – a living link with 8th Century? Understanding the living heritage of bere barley for a more sustainable future”. University of the Highlands and Islands. Bere and Beer: Growing old cereals on northern islands”. The Scotsman article on beremeal bannocks et al.