Concept to Creation: Operations & Production (The Malt Whisperer: Chronicles from Red Shed)

Driving up from the main road we are presented with a crisp, clean and uncluttered yard.  Moving towards the back of the property is a rather imposing ‘red’ building with the highly noticeable logo which is famous for Red Shed Malting @redshedmalting.com.  Approaching the main building it is inescapable to notice how well kept the exterior of the building and surrounding grounds are.  Neat and tidy which screams great attitude and the fastidious nature in which the Hamill’s believe the business should look and be run.  As we saw from the assessment of the food safety side of the business, Jan Landry Jan Landry found that the facility had excellent hygiene and hygiene practices.  Both the inside and the outside of the production and operations areas were ‘spit spot’.  From an outsider looking in (maltster to maltster), this is a gold standard that needs to be maintained to ensure no contamination to ingoing materials or outgoing production.

Off the office entrance we were met with a small warehousing area in which differing product types (25 kg bags) were neatly stacked and stored on pallets in the pallet racks.  On one wall there was the omnipresent bagging machine that had been newly renovated and waiting for the next production run.  

Quality in the bag

Separation of raw grains and finished malt are well handled at Red Shed with outside bins handling each product separately with separate conveyors.  Any cross contamination is eliminated with standard flushing procedures if required.

Busy days

Production procedures and protocols have been thoroughly vetted and documented, and the start of a batch is quick and efficient.  Hence, water uptake is quick and homogenous, setting up each batch for good uniformity.  Joe has been instrumental in developing a customized batch system that tracks all the inputs and outputs of the system from start to finish which makes for an excellent traceability tool.  The start of the malting process (steeping) runs seamlessly in the background from conveyors connected to exterior bins that have been tested and specifications rigorously checked and verified by in-house testing.   Steeped barley is transferred pneumatically to a 10 metric tonne, stainless steel germination vessel whereby the grains germinate under temperature and humidity control having a unique mixing feature which is specific to their equipment (Laizhou Yingtai Machinery Co., Ltd., promalting.com).

steeping

Joe and Matt in the malt house

Joe at the control center

As the system is a GKV style, there is no need to move the product to another vessel (great for keeping better integrity of finished product due to less movement, less damage).  The equipment comes with a control system that handles all grain movements, water and water temperature, transfers, vessel temperatures, humidity and kilning from one screen making the operation simple, safe and easy to maintain.  Finished malt is shuttled to conveyors or moved to the roasting facility (yes, there is a roaster too! – what fun) and then eventually either temporarily stored or goes to bagging immediately.

Joe checking malting conditions

As I started with this post, I will finish it the same way.  The Red Shed facility is clean, uncluttered, has good sanitation, well organized and they know what they are doing and how to do it.  Their selection of excellent and varied products is a testimony to passion and an eye for quality in the malting business.

Contributors:

Jan Landry Jan Landry . Jan is a reliable, dedicated and solution-oriented Food Safety Auditor with 25+ years of progressive experience in consistently meeting or exceeding food safety standards, utilizing in-depth knowledge of government and industry safety regulations to inspect and audit food processing sites across North America. She is skilled in identifying risks, conducting investigations, maintaining detailed records, and implementing pro-active solutions. A personable leader and team player that is passionate about building relationships with clients and third parties and maintaining open lines of communication.

Fang So (ahfang3316@hotmail.com). Fang’s versatility has been demonstrated in the malting industry in both technical and practical aspects.  His understanding of the malting process, barley and malt analyses, in addition to food safety, during his earlier career has helped him to expand his ability to conduct a commercial role in sensible and profitable ways.  His 30 plus years of experience in the industry has allowed him to recognize and minimize potential risk. He demonstrates his values of solid and long-term relationships with his team, suppliers and customers by being open, fair and straightforward.

Dr Rich Joy, B.Sc., Ph.D. Rich Joy . Rich is an accomplished Manager and academic with over 20 years of lab experience. Over twenty years of business experience in both domestic and international malting and brewing markets. Quality and results-oriented with proven success in technology development, international product management, and operations. Impeccable communication and interpersonal skills in dealing with a highly varied customer base. Hands-on-style with excellent problem solving and multi-tasking capabilities. Strong customer service orientation.