Malting barley for brewing

Malt barley is one of the principal ingredients in the manufacture of beer. Brewers can either purchase malt barley to manufacture malt themselves or purchase malt from malting companies.

Malting of the barley grain to produce pale malt involves the imbibing of the barley with water (steeping) to a moisture content of 42–46%, a period of metabolic and physiological activity after germination and finally kilning with increasingly hot air to dry the malt to approximately 5% moisture, thus ceasing metabolic activity.

Malting is defined as the controlled germination of cereals, to ensure a given physical and biochemical change within the grain, which is then stabilized by grain drying. It is a process of forced germination, conducted in order to degrade starch molecules and to obtain certain levels of amylolytic and proteolytic enzymes which are important in brewing.

Three process steps are necessary to ensure that these changes occur:
*Steeping, to ensure good absorption of water by the grain (from 12% to at least 40% of moisture);
*Germination, to maintain embryo growth, enzyme synthesis and a limited endosperm breakdown; and
*Kilning, to ensure product stability.

Malting ensures the accumulation and release of a number of malt enzymes that degrade starch (αamylase, β-amylase, limit dextrinase, and α-glucosidase), cell wall non-starch polysaccharides (β-glucanase and xylanases), lipids (lipase and lipoxygenase), and enzymes that degrade and release proteins (endo-proteinases and exo-proteinases).
Malting barley for brewing

Barley malt

Barley is a member of the Gramineae. It is cultivated primarily for its grain which is used for human and animal food.

Malted barley has been extensively used for brewing purposes. The first stage in the malting process is to sprout the grain.

Malting is the process which cereal grain, predominantly barley is soaked and germinated under controlled conditions to activate the natural amylase of the grain. This in turn hydrolyses the starch producing mainly the disaccharide sugar maltose with some dextrins and other sugar.

After barley is malted, it is coarsely ground then extracted with hot water. This step is called mashing, where the ground malt is mixed with water and heated to about 70° C.

Syrups of barley malt extract are deliciously flavored and sweet as well as being enormously nutritious. Barley malt extracts are rich in soluble fiber in the form of gummy beta-glucans, which offers many health benefits.

They are sweet with malt sugar derived from the starch by the enzymes.

Barley malt is the most important grain product used by brewers worldwide, and many countries import virtually all of this ingredient need for their beer production.
Barley malt