How is Malt made?

Malting is the controlled germination of cereals, followed by a termination of this natural

process by the application of heat. Further heat is then applied to 'kiln' the grain and produce
the required flavour and colour. A basic rule is that for malt to be made, the barley must
be capable of germination, so maltsters' source their barley with a minimum germination of
98%.

Barley image 1 before steeping

Barley image 2 after steeping with the root chit just showing.

Barley image 3 with germination almost completed, showing the green malt with its
longer root growth.

A simple way to consider it is that a barley kernel is composed of three parts:

Dorsal Cross section

through a barley
grain, with the
embryo stained red
by tetrazolium dye,
showing that it is
capable of full
germination.
a) The embryo, or germ, which will eventually grow into the roots and shoots of the new
plant.

b) The endosperm, comprising of hard insoluble starch, which is the food reserve to be used
by the growing germ of the grain. The embryo produces enzymes which travel into the starch,
breaking down the starch walls and changing the condition of the starch from insoluble to
soluble. This change is called the "modification" of the barley corn. The process must be
controlled by the maltster, otherwise the enzymic conversion will continue, and the soluble
stach will be further converted to sugars, to feed the growing barley plant. This must be
avoided, to prevent loss of useful brewing extract.

c) The husk, formed by two overlapping halves, which cover the grain surface, to protect the
germ and endosperm.
The maltster's task is to get the endosperm modification to a certain point, and then stop the
process, "locking it up" by the use of heat. The brewer will then "unlock" the process when
he mashes his milled malt, and completes the conversion to sugars which will feed the yeast
to produce alcohol, whilst other characteristics in the malt produce strong contributions to the
quality of the final beer.

It is very likely that malting, as part of a brewing operation, was the first use of
biotechnology by man. The development of brewing cannot be factually dated, but it is likely
that the earliest process was the fermentation of raw grain, an accidental discovery. The next
discovery was likely to have been the use of bread to produce a fermentable drink. Dr Briggs
in "Malts and Malting" cites a Sumerian reference to kilning malt for brewing, which has
been dated to around 2500 BC. We can therefore be reasonable sure that some form of
malting was in use four thousand five hundred years ago, and that the basic process is
relatively unchanged.

Although the use of the natural process of change within the grain, which is the basis of
malting, has a very long history, only in the last fifty years have maltsters' gradually taken
complete control.

That change has been brought about by the breeding and selection of the barleys best suited
to produce malt, the knowledge of the physical and chemical changes that take place during
the malting process, and the development of techniques for their most effective control.

The modern maltster is able to source the correct malting barley, and with a skilful use of
water, air, heat and time can produce a wide range of malts which can differ in flavour,
colour and many other parameters as specified by the maltster's customer.

In the UK most of the grain used for malting is barley, but a small quantity of wheat is also
malted for specific purposes. For the purpose of this explanatory note all references will be to
the malting of barley.

In the UK the significant stages of a maltsters' operations can be identified as follows:

1)Intake of the grain from the grower to the maltsters' facilities, after a careful evaluation of
each load.

2)Prompt drying of the intake grain to a safe storage moisture, of below 14%.

3)Storage of the dried grain, for at least a sufficient length of time to allow it to overcome,
after drying, the natural condition of germ dormancy, (perhaps six weeks plus).

4)Screening of the barley to produce an even size corn, and to remove dust etc.

A Steep 5) Two or three immersions under water (or 'steeping') of the evenly sized
filling grain, followed by drainage of the water, and a rest in air, to take place over a
with period of two to three days. This simple process is where the Maltster's skill comes
grain. into play. The correct combinations of water/air/water/etc must be given to result
in the moisture content of the grain being raised to the required level of around
46%, and without 'drowning' it! At around 35% moisture content the embryo
within each kernel of barley will start to germinate, but this is insufficient moisture to allow
the complete the modification of the starchy endosperm that the maltster desires.
The starch content of the original dry grain is about 80% of its weight. Germina
6)The germination process commences during the air rests towards the end of the tion
steeping stage, and when the moisture is raised to the figure the maltster has underwa
predetermined, the steeped grain is transferred to a germination vessel. In y in a
traditional maltings this was the 'germination floor', where the grain was turned by Saladin
shovel to prevent heat build up. Modern maltings use a range of vessel designs, Box
which allow air to be blown through the grain bed from the underside. Often the
air is humidified to help with temperature control, and to ensure that the grain does
not dry out. The modern vessels will also incorporate a gentle mechanical turner,
to keep the germinating grain loose, which at this point is called 'green malt'. This
stage of the process can last between four to six days, depending on the final malt
type. Once sufficient enzymes have been produced within the grain to allow
breakdown of the cell walls of the starch and its modification, but before the
endosperm can be converted into a food source for the awakening roots and shoot
that will form the new barley plant, the maltster's stops the modification by
applying heat.
Empty Germination Vessel showing
turners.
A loaded
7)The Kiln is where the modified green Germina
malt is transferred to, when the maltster tion
considers the process of germination Vessel
should be terminated. In the past this which
decision would have been taken whenever also is a
the malt was ready, but in modern malting kiln.
regimes these cycles are predetermined, A Kiln being Loaded.
and the great skill of the maltster is correctly steeping the barley, so that it always is ready to
load to kiln at the correct cycle time.

On the kiln the malt is first dried, and then 'cured', the latter taking place at a higher
temperature, which stops all changes within the grain. Kilning is a complex procedure, which
only uses variable combinations of air-flow and heat, but under very tight control. The
temperature/air flow profile varies depending on the malt being made, and would be quite
different, for example, for a lager malt compared to an ale malt. Kilning is still a high energy
user. Historically, in traditional floor maltings with no energy saving devices, it could take as
much energy to make a tonne of malt as it took to make a tonne of steel! Modern malting
plant technology has reduced that to less than
half.

The maltster's kilning expertise produces the

final components that have been specified by
the customer, the simplest of which is the
colour of the malt.

The kilned product is now called malt, and

is now in a stable form, with a moisture
content of between 3% to 6%, dependent on
its use. However, it cannot be used straight
from the kiln. The Finished Kiln.
8)Malt from the kiln is put through a machine known as a deculmer, to remove the 'culm' or
small rootlets that have emerged from each kernel during germination. Malt culm is a co-
product for the maltster, which can be sold as an animal feed, as it has a higher protein
content by weight than the original barley.

9)The malt is then put into store for a specified period before being screened and then sent to
the customer.

UK maltsters' have spent considerable time and effort in ensuring that their malt production is
carried out to a very high standard, which is auditable. They have in place their own
documented system of control, or are registered under the ISO 9000 scheme.

Risk analysis well understood, and the MAGB has drawn up a Hazard Analysis Critical
Control Code of Practice Click here to load an Adobe Acrobat version of the guide

A glimpse of some of the changes in malting technology...Click Here to see both a traditional
floor and a modern tower maltings