Malting

Why Malting?

Malting is the process in which raw barley or another grain is made ready to become the main ingredient in the brewing process. One of the key functions of malting is to degrade the grain's proteins and to create the enzymes (mainly β-amylases and α-amylases) and modify the starches (located inside a part called the endosperm) needed for the brewing process.

Malt is often referred to as "the soul of beer" and dates back over 4,000 years. Malt is one of four essential ingredients used in producing craft beer. It is malt that provides color, aroma, flavor, and body to every ale and lager, and can set each beer apart. Although a variety of grains have been used for brewing, barley is the preferred grain for beer. Barley itself can’t be fermented into alcohol, and so it is converted to malted barley, or malt, in a process called malting.

Malting aims to convert or modify the physical structure of the barley grain and allow synthesis or activation of a series of enzymes such that the final product, malt, is more readily used in the subsequent stages of brewing, distilling, or food manufacture.

Barley is the most common cereal used for the production of malt for brewing since it has a high starch-to-protein ratio and adhering husk that contribute to the economic yield and ease of processing in brewing and produces the characteristic flavors associated with malt for this purpose.