From barley to malt

From barley to malt

The malting process is mainly divided into three steps: steeping, germinating, and Kilning, which is the process of making barley into brewing raw materials in order to provide the necessary natural nutrients for yeast fermentation. As the seeds germinate, the internal composition of the barley begins to change, the associated enzymes are produced, and the opal begins to break down.

Step one : Steeping

The first step is steeping, soaking the barley. The main purpose is to further wash the barley and raise its moisture. The barley received by the malting plant generally has a moisture content of about 12%. Maceration increases the moisture content of the barley to 43%-48% and the volume expands by 40%. The steeping process can vary with grain type and size but typically occurs over a period of 24-48 hours. The maceration time can be shortened in summer, as higher temperatures speed up the metabolism of the barley.

Step two: Germinating

The second step is germination process. This process typically takes 4-5 days and results in what is called “Green Malt”. From the outside of the grain, rootlets emerge from the kernel, and within the outer husk a shoot. Moisture and ventilation control during germination is very important. The ventilation needs to be humidified first to prevent the barley from losing water. The temperature of the wheat layer is also controlled by ventilation. To avoid grain clumping, non-uniform heating, and varying rates of germination, the grains are separated by rotating the drum periodically.

Step three: Kilning

The third step in the malting process is kilning, the main purpose is to remove moisture from the grain to prevent further Germinating. Kilning is divided into two stages, withering and roasting.

Finally, the malt is rooted and packaged. Ship to brewing customers.

Our Drum malting system is fully automatic, state-of-the-art and is specifically designed for the Maltsters, Brewers, Distillers, Bakers, Farmers, and Millers. A germination-kilning COMBO drum for the automated production of malt will help you to be able to produce highly consistent products. It will allow you to collaborate with brewers/distillers and store “recipes” specific to their requirements. It allows for full clean out weekly enabling you to change your batch characteristics quickly and to maximize the diversity of your products.