Following this publication, the authorities of a Member State or of a third country, or a natural or legal person having a legitimate interest and established or resident in a third country, may lodge, in accordance with Article 17 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1) an opposition with the Commission within 3 months from the date of this publication.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

’Trnavský slad'

EU No: PGI-SK-02785 – 19.7.2021

PDO ( ) PGI (X)

1.   Name(s) [of PGI]

’Trnavský slad'

2.   Member State or Third Country

Slovak Republic

3.   Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1.   Type of product

Class 1.8. Other products listed in Annex I to the Treaty (spices etc.)

3.2.   Description of the product to which the name in (1) applies

‘Trnavský slad’ is a light pilsner-type food-grade barley malt intended primarily for the production of beer. It is obtained from selectively bred, certified varieties of two-row barley mainly grown on the Trnava plain, which comprises a specific high-quality chernozem with a particular climate influencing the quality of the barley grown there; this barley is thus distinguished by its quality and character. As a result of the area’s warm, dry climate and its soil conditions, the grains are larger, reaching a length of 8-10 mm, a width of 3-4 mm and a thickness of 3-4 mm. Often virtually 100 % of the grains remain over the sieve, they are evenly sized, and they contain more starch (64-66 %) due to the lower amounts of nitrogen in the grain; the optimum level is 10 %, which ensures a higher extractivity in the malt (often exceeding 83 %, and sometimes up to 85 %).

After the grains of barley have been soaked and sprouted, specific malt enzymes are activated and formed in them which are capable of breaking down the polysaccharides they contain into low-molecular-weight, simple, water-soluble saccharides which can be fermented by yeasts into ethyl alcohol. The varieties grown on the Trnava plain are matched particularly well to the specific know-how of the Trnava malting plant, where we are able produce from these soft varieties (very high enzymatic strength – apparent attenuation (AAL) above 83 %) a highly enzymatically broken down malt suitable for infusion brewing of beer. The residual extracts that remain unfermented – the limit extract (LE) – constitute only about 1 %. Other malthouses cannot produce such a highly enzymatically broken down malt.

The guaranteed parameters of ‘Trnavský slad’ are as follows:

(a)	moisture: max. 5 %

(b)	colour: max. 4.5 EBC

(c)	extract yield (dry weight): min. 80 %

(d)	friability: min. 78,5 %

As regards its sensory characteristics, the malt should have a clean, malty aroma, free of odours; the taste should be sweetish and clean. The colour is uniform, light, and without any burnt tips. In terms of appearance, the malt resembles processed barley.

3.3.   Feed (for products of animal origin only) and raw materials (for processed products only)

The raw materials for ‘Trnavský slad’ are two-row malting barleys:

Spring barley varieties: Overture, Kangoo, Sebastian, Marthe, Sunshine, Malz, Laudis, Irina, Soulmate, Tango and Bojos.

Winter barley: Scala, Wintmalt, Casanova and Etincel.

All or just some of the varieties are used in production.

The malting barley parameters, which are prerequisites for producing ‘Trnavský slad’ for brewing, with its rich extract and favourable proteolytic solubility, are as follows:

Moisture: max. 14,5 %

Above 14,5 % is unacceptable

Crude protein: min. 10,0 %, max. 11,5 %

Above 11,5 % is unacceptable

Percentage remaining over a 2,5 mm sieve: min. 90 %

Including mechanically and biologically damaged grains

A premium of 0,5 % of the price for each percentage point between 80 % and 90 %

A reduction of 0,5 % of the price for each percentage point between 80 % and 90 %

Below 80 % is unacceptable

Germination (peroxide method): min. 96 %

Below 96 % is unacceptable

Total waste: max. 3 %

Fall-through below a 2.2 mm sieve including broken grains, green and black grains in the total test portion.

Foreign matter from the total test portion.

A reduction of 1 % of the price for each percentage point of total waste between 3 % and 7 %; above 7 % is unacceptable

Mechanically damaged grains (damaged husks): max. 2 %

A reduction of 1 % of the price for each percentage point between 2 % and 4 %

Above 4 % is unacceptable

Biologically damaged grains (brown tips): max 2 %

A reduction of 1 % of the price for each percentage point between 2 % and 4 %

Above 4 % is unacceptable

Varietal purity: min. 96 %

Malting barley must be healthy, dry, ripe and pest-free, and may not contain germinated grains, grains with fusarium, sunflower seeds or grains with a clearly mouldy husk.

The contracting parties have agreed that the malting barley supplied must comply with standard STN 46 1100-5, methodology EBC 4.22 and Slovak Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Health Decree No 557/1998-100 – the Codex Alimentarius of the Slovak Republic, as well as other legislation of general application in force in the Slovak Republic.

3.4.   Specific steps in production that must take place in the identified geographical area

Although a lot of time has elapsed since the first historical records, the cultivation of malting barley and the production of ‘Trnavský slad’ have been preserved to this day, with technological modifications not affecting the product’s characteristics.

—	Receipt and cleaning of the barley

—

Steeping

—	Germination of the barley

—

Kilning

—	Degermination

—	Dressing and dispatch

3.5.   Specific rules concerning slicing, grating, packaging, etc. of the product the registered name refers to

—

3.6.   Specific rules concerning labelling of the product the registered name refers to

—

4.   Concise definition of the geographical area

The malting barley from which ‘Trnavský slad’ is produced is grown in a geographical area located between the River Váh and the Malé Karpaty mountains in the Danubian Lowlands. The Trnava plain constitutes the north-eastern part of the Danubian Lowlands. The area is bordered to the west by the Malé Karpaty mountains and to the south-east by the River Váh and by the Považský Inovec range.

5.   Link with the geographical area

The application for registration of the geographical indication ‘Trnavský slad’ is based on its quality, which is due to the soil and climate conditions and the history of the region.

The area of the Trnava plain is characterised by gently rolling countryside rising into lowland hills to the north-west. The height above sea level ranges from 150 to 215 m; to the north-west it rises up to the foothills of the Malé Karpaty mountains. The area is in the Váh river basin. The soil cover is made up of chernozem on loess soils and eroded chernozems. Clayey and local clay-loam non-skeletal soils are predominant; these are moderately dry, with high retention capability and medium permeability.

The defined geographical area is warm and dry with mild winters. The average annual air temperature is 9-10 °C. The warmest month is July (20,3 °C) and the coldest month is January (–2,2 °C). As a result of the area’s warm, dry climate and its soil conditions, the grains are larger, reaching a length of 8-10 mm, a width of 3-4 mm and a thickness of 3-4 mm.

‘Trnavský slad’ is a light pilsner-type food-grade barley malt intended primarily for the production of beer. It is obtained from selectively bred, certified varieties of two-row barley mainly grown on the Trnava plain, which comprises a specific high-quality chernozem with a particular climate influencing the quality of the barley grown there; this barley is thus distinguished by its quality and character. Often virtually 100 % of the grains remain over the sieve, they are evenly sized, and they contain more starch (64-66 %) due to the lower amounts of nitrogen in the grain; the optimum level is 10 %, which ensures a higher extractivity in the malt (often exceeding 83 %, and sometimes up to 85 %). Excessive rainfall during the ripening period reduces the grain’s malting quality, as wet weather triggers fermenting agents that break down the starch into sugars and the grain does not sprout well during malting. It is precisely these favourable climatic and soil conditions that produce the specific quality of the barley varieties, unlike the varieties suitable for ‘České pivo’ [Czech beer], which are very hard and suitable for cold and long malting on the production line. In contrast, the varieties grown on the Trnava plain are in the category of soft varieties, which means that they are quickly and easily broken down in hot malting on the production line, thus triggering high enzymatic strength.

The cultivation of malting barley has a long tradition in the defined area. Hand in hand with the cultivation of malting barley, linked to the appropriate soil and climate conditions of the defined geographical area, a processing industry for turning this raw material into malt has also developed. This provides employment for both malting barley growers and malt producers. According to the publication ‘The economic and regional geography of the Slovak Republic’ (Ema Mišúnová, Zdenko Mocko and Viera Vlčková, Ekonomická univerzita, 1994): ‘There are very good climate and soil conditions in the upper Ponitrie region and on the Trnava plain, and these have laid the foundations for growing malting barley. Trnava and Nitra malt is processed by new, large malting plants in Trnava ...’.

The first references to a malthouse in Trnava date back to 1395, when one of the five city gates was named the ‘Malt Gate’. The tradition of beer and malt production in the Trnava region dates back to the 16th century, when Trnava even had two breweries. The 18th century was a very important time for the history of brewing in Trnava. In 1752 the city was authorised by the Royal Chamber to build a new brewery next to the old one, which demand had outgrown. The brewery’s first owners were Jozef Sessler and his sons. Sessler bought the city brewery and, over time, it switched its focus exclusively to malt production. Beer production came to an end in 1867, and this also signalled the end of breweries in Trnava. The malthouse continues to produce malt today.

Another important malthouse in Trnava was the ‘Treumann Malthouse’, an export company established by a Mr Treumann in 1893. Page 81 of the 1988 publication ‘The History of Trnava’ states the following: ‘... malt production in Trnava has a long tradition which has continued to this day.’

The quality of the product, its reputation and associated exports are demonstrated in the article ‘Industry and trade in the Trnava region’ in the publication ‘Sloboda’ from 1947, which states the following: ‘The world-renowned Trnava malt is produced by the companies Prvá trnavská sladovňa Leopolda Sesslera [Leopold Sessler’s First Trnava Malthouse] and Sladovňa, vývozná úč. spol., Treumann [Treumann Export Malthouse Company] in Trnava’.

In his article ‘Taking refuge in a trap’ published in ‘Technické noviny’ in 1983, Rudolf Zelenay states that ‘... in Japan these drinks are mostly of high quality and Trnava malt deserved its gold label here. All around us we could hear how highly it was valued and reputed.’

In an article entitled ‘Writings from the past times of the Trnava brewery about its good reputation and the product’s export to global markets’ in Technické noviny from 1986, Dr Jozef Šimončič writes: ‘ “Trnavský slad” has gradually become a fixture on global markets ...’.

Reference to publication of the specification

https://www.indprop.gov.sk/swift_data/source/pdf/specifikacie_op_oz/Trnavsky_slad.pdf

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(1)  Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 April 2024 on geographical indications for wine, spirit drinks and agricultural products, as well as traditional specialities guaranteed and optional quality terms for agricultural products, amending Regulations (EU) No 1308/2013, (EU) 2019/787 and (EU) 2019/1753 and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 (OJ L, 2024/1143, 23.4.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1143/oj).