Malt - what is this product? You will learn the answer to this question from the materials of the presented article.
General information
Malt is a product that is obtained from germinated cereal seeds, mainly barley. As you know, this ingredient acts as the basis of the entire brewing industry. If barley malt is not grown, then there will be no foamy drink. What is the reason for this? The fact is that during the germination of this cereal crop, a diastase enzyme is formed in it, which, in fact, turns starch into malt sugar, that is, maltose. Under the action of the presented substance, the mash is saccharified, and then turns into a must. In turn, it is fermented and becomes a young beer.
Getting Malt
What needs to be done to get barley malt? The production process of this product involves two stages: soaking and germination of seeds. These steps are necessary in order to cause chemical reactions in the cereal culture, which contribute to the appearance of the necessary substances responsible for the formation of a delicious foamy drink.
In order to better understand how barley malting is obtained, the mentioned stages of its production should be described in more detail.
Soaking process
The purpose of soaking is the swelling of dry grain. At the same time, the processes of chemical changes begin immediately. This can be seen from the respiration of seeds, which manifests itself in the formation of carbonic acid and diastase.
Thus, water is poured into a wooden tub or stainless steel tank and allowed to stand for 3 days. After this time, the grain is gradually poured into the same container and mixed thoroughly. After 3 hours, litter and seeds that have surfaced on the surface are removed using a slotted spoon. After that, the excess water is drained, leaving only a layer of liquid of 10-15 centimeters above the barley.
In the process of soaking, the grains are cleaned of dirt, as well as of some substances in the husk, which can give the drink an unpleasant taste and smell. In this form, barley malt is kept for about 5 days, until it is completely swollen. In this case, it is required to regularly change dirty water to clean.
Germination process
After the soaking process is completed, germination of the grain begins, which on average lasts about 7 days. During this process, barley should be periodically moistened and gently mixed. As a rule, already on the 2nd or 3rd day sprouts begin to appear in the grains. After a week of exposure, their length often reaches 1.6 the length of barley itself.
Freshly grown barley malt can be stored for no more than 2-3 days. That is why it is often dried for 17 hours at a temperature of + 45-55 degrees. With proper drying, such a product has a light shade.
Application methods
As mentioned above, malt is most often used in brewing and distilleries. In the latter case, it is used to dissolve and saccharify starch of other ingredients. As for the first, during the manufacture of the foamy drink, only malt is used, which is subsequently fermented.
In addition to the presented productions, this product is also used in the manufacturing process of the extract. By the way, barley malt for whiskey is just as actively used.
Brewing companies most commonly use barley and wheat to make malt. As for distillery, it often uses oats, rye and maize. It should also be noted that, depending on whether the raw materials are used fresh or dried, green and dry malt are distinguished, respectively.
Types of Malt
Depending on how cereal grains are soaked and grown, malt is divided into different types:
- Sour It is obtained from dry light malt, which is soaked in water at a temperature of +45 degrees and soaked for so long that the lactic acid microorganisms do not form more than 1% lactic acid. After that, the malt is dried.
- Wheat Make from wheat grain, which is soaked to a moisture content of 40%. After drying at a temperature of + 40-60 degrees get light or dark malt, which is used to produce exclusively dark wheat beer.
- Burnt . Such malt is most often used to make rather dark beer. Add it is recommended no more than 1%. Otherwise, the foamy drink will get an unpleasant burnt aftertaste.
- Stewed . It is made from barley with a humidity of 50%, and then the grain is dried and dried for 4 hours. Such a product is often added to light or dark raw materials in order to improve its aroma and give a pleasant shade.
- Caramel Get it from dried malt, which is brought to a moisture content of 45%. Caramel malt is saccharified by frying drums at a temperature of +70 degrees. After that, different types of malt are obtained. For example, it is made transparent by drying, light by heating, and dark by evaporation of excess moisture.