GB881248A - Malting technique - Google Patents

Abstract

To decrease the loss due to normal root growth and respiration in malting, barley is steeped in water to raise the moisture content of the grain to at least 30% (e.g. for 12 to 30 hours), the steeped barley is allowed to germinate until the roots have developed to one quarter or up to one half of the extent usual in malting, the germinating barley is steeped in water (e.g. for 8 to 24 hours), is drained and dried in the air (usually for from 2 to 5 days) to allow malting to take place, and the small roots formed are removed. According to an example, 500 grams of barley of moisture content 13% was soaked in water at 14 DEG C. for 30 hours. The grain was allowed to germinate at 14 DEG C. for 48 hours and then was again soaked in water at 18 DEG C. for 24 hours. After a further 3 days in air at 14 DEG C., the germinated grain was dried in air at 70 DEG C. and the rootlets were removed. The resulting malt yielded an extract of 104.2 brewers' pounds per quarter, when analysed by the standard method of the Institute of Brewing, against 102.8 for the same barley malted under conventional conditions; the malting losses were 4.6% and 8.5%, respectively.