It's like I say about Maris Otter...there are differences in barley varieties, but it's what the maltster does that really makes the difference.
Yep. Both barley and maltster matter. The local malthouse I'm currently gaga about is using Ohio-grown KWS Scala. It's some of the best malt I've ever had, surpassed only, possibly, by an import or two, but nothing domestic in my experience (I haven't tried either of the two in question here.) OTOH I had previously tried some malts from another startup in the area, using the exact same barley variety also Ohio grown, and you couldn't pay me to use their malt again. Another surprise is that the good maltster is using a modern, automated, German drum malting system, and the one with such poor results is doing "traditional," manual floor malting. Then again, the one maltster went to school in Germany to learn the trade, and the artisanal guy is self taught. Anyway, seeing a particular variety advertised, or tags like "floor malted," doesn't mean a lot. You have to try the product to find out how it performs. A good maltster will get the most out of any raw material, and the finest barley can be sub-optimally processed.