MALTING & BEER INGREDIENTS
Malting is the process of getting the barley ready for brewing. Each step of the malting process unlocks the starches hidden in the barley.
(Step 1) Steeping:
The grain is added to a vat along with water and allowed to soak for about 40 hours.
(Step 2) Germination:
The grain is then spread out on the floor of the germination room for about five days where rootlets begin to form. The goal of germination is for the starches within the grain to break down into shorter lengths. At the end of this step, the grain is called green malt.
(Step 3) Kilning:
The green malt now goes through a high temperature drying in a kiln. It is important that temperature increases are gradual so that the enzymes in the grain are not damaged.
After kilning, the result is a finished malt. There are different types of malts: pale malts are dried at a low temperature; mild ale malts are kilned to a slightly higher temperature and produce a deeper color in the final beer. The highest temperatures are used to produce very flavorful and aromatic malts. Some other malts are caramel, dark, crystal, black patent, smoked, light, Vienna, Marris Otter, and many other malts. The different malts impart different colors, flavors, sweetness, mouth feel, and after taste.
Each beer starts with a base malt and usually accounts for a large percent of the total grain bill, with darker-colored specialty malts accounting for 10 to 25% of the grain bill. The only exception is wheat malt, which can make up to 100% of the total grain bill in brewing wheat beers. Base malts and, to some extent, light-colored specialty malts provide most of the enzymatic (diastatic) power to convert starches into fermentable sugars.
The base malts provide the highest extract potential. Dark-colored specialty malts, caramelized malts, roasted malts, unmalted barely, and other malted grains are added in smaller quantities to obtain darker colors and to enhance flavor characteristics. Depending on the style of beer brewed, the brewer may use only one or two types of barley malts, or as many as seven or eight. Other grains used in brewing include corn, rye, and oats.
