Continuing the discussion of the different elements involved in brewing your favourite pint, beginning with the different ingredients. In this article, Belgian beer expert Steve Mitchell writes about another of the important components of your pint:
In former times the trade of the maltster was delicate, demanding and at times dangerous. He had to take into account the seasons: too low temperature curbed germination whilst hot summer periods made this too rapid. Careless turning of the barley by the malt shovellers caused the grains to be crushed and resulted in mildew. Even more tiresome was the kilning, where workers had to turn the malt on floors at temperature around 120 C. Heating by open flame of course caused many a serious outbreak of fire!
The development of modern techniques have remedied all this, the processes are now carried out automatically, and man hardly has to intervene at all.
It is the cereal barley which transformed into malt. The two great species used in brewing are two row common barley, such as 'Prisma' and 'Triumph', and six row winter barley with names including as 'Halcyon' 'Pipkin', and of course 'Maris Otter'
The work of the malster begins with the barley being soaked or 'steeped' in water. This affects the structure of the grain and starts to promote the proteins. This soaked grain is then spread on a 'malting' floor where the second stage, germination, takes place. The grain is kept at a constant humid temperature until the grain germinates - a small shoot which would become a root appears on each grain. The grain is turned several times daily, until germination is complete. During germination unwanted proteins are converted into starch, and the result is known "green malt".
In the third stage, the green malt is layered on a metal floor and subjected to kiln-drying. Blasts of hot air dry the green malt, reduce the level of humidity, and stop the germination Between 2 to 4 hours later the process is complete. The final temperature and length of kilning time determine the colour and aroma of the malt, and controls the levels of starch and amino acids - from pale malt for fermentation to crystal and chocolate malt for colour.
The malt is now ready for the brewer.