Malting

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Flow chart for malting and brewing
Germination
Harvest
Malting
Steeping
Kilning
Milling
Mashing
Infusion
Decoction
Boiling
Hops
Lautering
Oxygenation
Pitching
Fermentation
Yeast strain
Lagering
Packaging
Conditioning
Barley and
Malt processes
Wort production
Conversion of
Wort into Beer
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Commercial malting operations
comprise four basic stages
Barley reception: (intake, drying and storage)

Steeping (critical step): even hydration of the
barley kernels is key (oxygen and water
temperature dependent and requires air-
rests)

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Commercial malting operations
comprise four basic stages
Germination: hydrated embryo produces
hormones (gibberelins which help promote
synthesis of enzymes that break down B-glucan in
the endosperm walls, protein and starch) that
migrate to the aleuron to regulate enzyme
synthesis

Kilning: arrest modification of the grain, ensure
survival of enzymes for mashing and introduce
flavor and color characteristics and eliminate
undesirable flavors

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How to Malt
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Floor Malting
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Saladin Box
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Barley 2-row and 6-row
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2-row vs 6-row
2-row: one kernel per node
6-row: three kernels per node (tend to have
higher N content therefore a higher potential
for developing enzymes however their yield of
extract is lower than the 2-row variety and
proportion of husk is greater than its
counterpart
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Anatomy of a Grain of Barley
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Husk: protects the grain and is important to the
brewer for filtration
Endosperm: this is a non-living part of the grain
which stores starch (energy source) for the
growing grain. The starch is embedded in a
protein matrix. There are small and large starch
granules surrounded by cell walls high in -glucan
(a gummy substance which can effect filtration
and haze in beer). Starch consists of long
branched chains of glucose molecules.
Embryo: the baby plant
Anatomy of a Grain of Barley
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Anatomy of a Grain of Barley
Aleuron: generates the enzymes that degrade
the starchy endosperm
Scutellum: The tissue in a grass seed that lies
between the embryo and the endosperm
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Anatomy of a Grain of Barley
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What is Malting?
The controlled germination of cereal grains, in
our case barley
The barley is allowed to germinate (sprout) to
a degree and is then dried

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Unsprouted vs Sprouted Seeds
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What is the Purpose of Malting?
Break down cell walls
Enzyme development
Degradation of protein and
starch(modification)
Maillard products (ie: color and flavor) during
kilning

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This is accomplished industrially by increasing
the water content of the seeds to 40-45% by
soaking them for a period close to 40 hours
The seeds are then drained and held at a
constant temperature (60 F) for close to 5 days
until they starts to sprout
How to Malt?
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How to Malt?
The seeds are then slowly dried in a kiln at
temperatures gradually rising to 122 F for
lighter malts and 220 F for darker malts. This
kiln drying takes about 30 hours
Finally, the rootlets from the partially
germinated seeds are removed
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Physiological Events of Malting
The key physiological event in malting include:
Rapid and uniform germination
The synthesis of hydrolytic enzymes in the
scutellum and aleurone tissues surrounding the
endosperm
The degradation of endosperm cell walls,
described as modification. - Taiz and Zeiger, Plant
Physiology 4
th
ed.
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Physiological Events of Malting
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Germination of the Grain
The germination process converts some
starch, the seed's stored energy, into simpler
sugars used in its initial growing stage.

The conversion is accomplished by starch-
hydrolyzing enzymes (diastase enzymes) that
the seed produces during this process.
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Germination of the Grain
The germination and drying stages capture
fermentable sugars, soluble starch, and the
diastase enzymes for beer brewing.

Malted barley is the eventual source of the
fermentable sugar consumed by the yeast.
Briggs and Hough, Malting and Brewing
Science Vol.1
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Gibberelins
Gibberellin regulates the
physiological events.
It is a plant hormone
produced by the germinating
embryo.
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Amylases ( and amylases): these break
down the starch into simple sugars especially
maltose (2 glucose molecules).
Proteinases: break down the protein matrix
holding the starch granules
-glucanases: break down the -glucans

Important Enzymes Produced During
Malting
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Important Enzymes Produced During
Malting
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Malting
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References
1. Hough, Briggs and Stephen Malting and
Brewing Science vol. 1, 1996
2. O`Rourke The Brewer 1994.
3. Taiz and Zeiger, Plant Physiology 4
th
ed.,
2011
4. Palmer, John.,
http://www.howtobrew.com/
5. Hough,J.S., The Biotechnology of malting
and brewing. 1995


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References
Moesher, Randy., Radical Brewing. 2004
Noonan, Gregory., Brewing Lager Beer.1996
Bamforth, Charles W., Scientific Principles of
Malting and Brewing. 2006
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