The Goodness of Malt Elspeth Payne BJCP Class March 10, 2013.

The Goodness of Malt

Elspeth Payne

BJCP Class

March 10, 2013

What is Malt?

• Grain that has been– Soaked– Sprouted– Dried– Kilned

The goal is to convert insoluble starch chains within the grain into water soluble starches available to the fermentation process

About Barley

2-row barley– Lower nitrogen/protein– Lower husk content for

filtering/lautering bed– Bigger kernels– Imparts less of a grainy

taste

6-row barley: more enzymes, good when lots of adjuncts, extra husk content

Why Barley?

Barley has a good balance of starches, sugars, and proteins for brewing.

Beer is made from other grains, but for western standards of body, clarity, flavor balance, barley works best

About 70% of the world production of malt is barley malt

Adjuncts

• Any unmalted source of fermentables in brewing:

• Whole maize or grits• Oatmeal• Corn starch• Rice or rice grits• Flaked barley• Flaked rye

Adjuncts are also…

• Honey• Sorghum• Caramel• Molasses• Maple syrup• They tend to offer starches but little protein• They tend to contribute less body

How is Malt Made?

Choose grains with intact kernels that are about the same size, moisture

content, and variety

Making Malt

Soak the grain until it begins to sprout (without drowning it)

Germinate the grain:

Acrospire: the new growth out one end of rootlets and a bit up the back

Modified, under modified, over modified?

Making Malt

• Kiln the grain

Dry it out! Roast it for color! Here’s where the art really comes in.

Then shake off the acrospire

The Modern Malting Tower

Older malting kilns…

And the modern malting floor

A short diversionto Nottingham…

Where they malting old school

Malt requires regular turning while

it’s drying

What else does malt do for beer?

• Malt adds color!

• Important characteristic of any style

• Color is mostly from malt, but also from intensity and length of boil

SRM color scale in U.S.EBC color scale in Europe

Or, if you prefer to think of it this way…

MALT!