DIY caramel malt. Learn more about Specialty Malts: Caramel Malt. We select high quality grain

Traditionally, spirits have been made from a variety of grains, and now you can make bourbon, corn or barley whiskey, respectively, at little cost. But in order to get moonshine from cereals, more precisely from malt, it must be prepared, and for this you need to know how to make malt.

Why do you need malt

At its core, malt is a grain sprouted and prepared using a special technology. Sprouted cereals contain a number of natural enzymes capable of breaking down the complex polysaccharide molecule in starch into simpler sugars, which are converted into alcohol as a result of fermentation.

What malt can be made from

The technological scheme for the production of malt or malting is quite simple, but it requires compliance with certain conditions to maintain the maximum amount of required enzymes. You can make homemade malt from almost any grain. But practice has shown that it is best to use barley or rye for cultivation.

The use of corn also gives good results, but keep in mind that to obtain high-quality raw materials, it is worth using exclusively its white varieties. Yellow kernels are high in oil, which can negatively affect the quality of corn malt.

Technology and stages of malt production at home

The whole process can be set up at home; you don't need any special equipment for malt production. It is enough to get a container of a suitable size (a regular 20 liter bucket), a flat box in which barley will be germinated for malt, and simple drying equipment (a fan heater is quite suitable). Using these simple items, you can make rye, barley, wheat, corn malt with your own hands.

We select high quality grain

Homemade malt should only be made using quality raw materials. Otherwise, the yield of the required product will be small, that is, you will waste your time.

How to choose the right seeds for germination:

Use barley or rye that was harvested 2 or more months ago, but remember, the total shelf life should not exceed 1 year
A preliminary test for germination will not be superfluous. To do this, pre-soak 100 grains from different batches. The number of shoots received will give you the average germination percentage. Practice has shown that it is best to use rye and barley with an indicator of at least 90%
If you are going to make corn malt, take corn intended for food, feed varieties should be abandoned, their quality is much worse

Soak

Before germinating a grain, it must be soaked in water at normal room temperature.

We pour the prepared material into a container and fill it with plain water (temperature is about 25-35 degrees). The liquid should cover the grain by at least 5-6 cm. Mix thoroughly and let the bulk settle.
We remove floating grains from the surface (they will not sprout because they are empty) and other debris, and then drain the water.
Re-fill the raw materials using cooler water (no more than 20 degrees). We repeat the operation to remove unnecessary debris until the grain is clean without impurities.
The next stage is disinfection. This stage is important, it is not recommended to abandon it, since even with the simplest processing, sprouted barley will be more resistant to the effects of fungus, mold and pathogens. Iodine or ordinary potassium permanganate is used as an antiseptic (30 drops or 2-3 grams per 10 liters, respectively). The solution is poured into a container with grain and kept for 3 hours.

One of the secrets of how to make malt lies in the correct steeping time. The duration of this stage should be 36-48 hours. During this time, it is necessary to change the water every 6-12 hours and remove residual debris. This will completely cleanse the raw materials and start the processes required for successful germination.

Sprouting malt

At this stage, you will learn how to make green malt at home, which can already be successfully used for moonshine, but we will do a complete technological process for germinating barley for malt, using this technology you can germinate any other grain.

The soaked grain is spread on the bottom of a special tray or flat box, in a layer no more than 5-6 cm.
To maintain moisture, the surface is covered with a cotton cloth, which will not allow excess water to evaporate, but will not interfere with ventilation. For this purpose, you can use a stretch film cut every 10 cm, the disadvantage of this method is that it is impossible to provide access to the grain without removing the film.
The germination process should take place at a temperature of about 15 degrees and it is necessary to stir the grain every day.
Under such conditions, rye will germinate in 4-5 days, and for barley it will take 6-7 days. The process is considered complete when the rye sprout has reached the grain size, and the barley sprout exceeds it by 1.5-2 times.

The resulting raw materials are ready-made green malt, from which you can make grain moonshine (for example) or use it to saccharify grain or any other starch-containing raw materials. Remember that the pot life of this malt is only 1-3 days, which confirms the advisability of further drying.

Drying malt and removing sprouts

Dry malt has a much better shelf life and therefore needs to be dried. In addition, by adjusting and changing the drying phase (temperature and duration), you can get raw materials that give the alcoholic beverage a unique taste and color. This is the advantage of dry malt over green malt.

In order not to destroy the enzymes obtained as a result of germination, at the first stage it is required to dry the malt at a temperature not higher than 40C. Previously, the whole process was carried out in natural conditions (attic, special awnings). But this method is time consuming. Therefore, to maintain the optimal room temperature and remove moisture, it is advisable to use a conventional fan heater.

After you have finished drying, you need to clean it from the remaining sprouts, after which you can use it.

Place the dried malt in a barrel of a suitable size, it all depends on the volume of raw materials
Take a construction mixer and thoroughly mix the contents of the barrel with it, thereby all the sprouts will separate from the grain, do this until all the sprouts fly off
You need to wind the grain in the wind or with the help of a fan, simply pouring the grain in the wind, light shoots will fly off, and heavy grains will fall on the prepared surface

It should be noted that for the preparation of certain alcoholic beverages, such as dark or caramel beer, you will need to use burnt or caramel malt. To obtain it, additional frying or simmering at a certain temperature is required.

Perform all such processing in a conventional oven, below are the exposure parameters to obtain various degrees of caramelization.

For dark Munich malt used in the production of beer, a 2-hour exposure at 110 degrees is required.
Chocolate can be obtained by special roasting (2000C) for an hour.
Amber is also cooked for 1 hour, but at a temperature of 140 degrees.

Malt application

The resulting malt can be used for the production of single malt whiskey; for this, only malt is used without the addition of unmalted grain (see and) or with the help of it saccharifice any other starch-containing raw materials: grain, flour, etc.

In order to ensure maximum saccharification of starch, never mash with one type of grain. If you do, you will need to use barley or rye malt and vice versa.

As you can see, making malt at home is not as difficult as it sounds, although it does take a long time. Therefore, if you are interested in getting a quality alcoholic drink, try recipes using different types of malt, you will definitely like it.

Roasting malt at home

Hops, yeast and malt all have the same ability to change the flavor of a beer. But we are usually pretty limited in the choice of the first two components for cooking. Hop varieties are extremely varied, although not always available. And yet this diversity pales with the world of brewer's (and not so) yeast. Hundreds of aromas, depending on the fermentation conditions, cannot leave anyone indifferent. But in fact, there is also malt, which brewers undeservedly forget, limiting themselves to five standard varieties: wheat, pils, muenich, caramel, burnt. In fact, the world of malt and unmalted raw materials is big! But the main thing is that you can not just buy a certain type of malt somewhere; this world expands indefinitely with the possibility of roasting malt. Most of these flavors are for dark beers, but some are used for light beers as well.

About the process
The fermentation process is mainly influenced by melanoidins - a reaction product between proteins and carbohydrates. This process is ongoing: it is common knowledge that malt extract darkens over time. High temperatures speed up the reaction - as it is said in the special literature, every 10 ° C increases the reaction rate by 2-4 times (Van't Hoff's rule). By roasting malt, we speed up the reaction and achieve the desired flavor. In addition, melanoidins improve the biological stability of the beer. The sugaramine reaction produces many other volatile compounds that form the malt aroma. Characteristically, when roasting malt, similar flavor and aroma compounds are obtained as when roasting coffee and cocoa. These aromas quickly leave the finished product, but we have a chance to make a very tasty and aromatic beer by "catching" everything in a bottle, and such beer will delight us with a rich bouquet for another 2-3 months, until the aroma gradually becomes relatively pale and neutral ... Trust me, this little concern is worth the effort!

Baked malts
There are 2 terms in the English language literature: rosted and toasted malt. Both terms are very ambiguous. T.V. Meledina in her book "Raw materials and auxiliary materials in brewing" talks about semi-dark, dark, melanoidin and stewed malts. In fact, this group includes all 10-50 EBC malts. These malts are cooked at a temperature of 100-110 ° C for five hours. The malt is mixed every 15-30 minutes. A richer flavor can be obtained by moistening the malt to about 70%, adding 500-700 grams of water per kg of malt. When malt is languishing, honey notes appear in the aroma.

Amber and brown malt plays an intermediate role. First, you should pause for an hour at 110 ° C, then bake it at 130-140 ° C for several hours. At home, you cannot give an exact recipe for the cooking time of all malts. The speed at which malt darkens depends on many factors, so you need to rely on yourself and check the color only by your own feelings. These malts impart a mild nutty flavor to beers and are used in brown ales and porters.

Roasted malts
Roasted or roasted malts begin with chocolate malt. This name is justified: indeed, when roasting, malt at some point acquires the aroma (and even taste) of roasted coffee beans and cocoa beans. During cooking, it also goes through the previous two hour breaks at 110 ° C and 140 ° C, but there are more. Sometimes you can raise the temperature up to 170 ° C and for a short time up to 200 ° C, but here you need to be very careful and not let the malt burn. This malt is used in brown ales, stouts, porters.

Further heat treatment produces black, or roasted malt. Roasting such malt at home without the necessary equipment is not recommended due to the pungent burning smell. For such frying, you need to get an airtight container for sterilizing medical instruments, in case of incomplete tightness of the lid, lay it with foil. This is the only way to avoid burning to the maximum. Since the malt in our case is closed, it is prepared according to a similar principle to activated carbon. Fry it at 240 ° C for about two hours. Used for stouts, porters and beer tint.

Caramel malts
The preparation of caramel malt is fundamentally different from the methods described above. In caramel malt, all of the starch should ideally be converted to sugars. To do this, light malt is soaked for several hours so that the endosperm forms a gruel when the grain is crushed. After that, the malt is aged for 3-5 hours at a temperature of 70-90 ° C, preferably while maintaining moisture. At this time, the same process of saccharification is going on in the grain, as during mashing. After that, the grain is dried and baked (fried) to the required state.

So carapils (dextrin malt) is easy enough to dry. Its fermentation must be carried out at 90-100 ° C to obtain non-fermentable sugars. Plain caramel malts cook at 110-140 ° C, darker ones (e.g. Special B) at 170-200 ° C.

Thus, any malt can be made from regular pale malt. But it will not be possible to completely copy commercial varieties, and is it necessary? Repeatability of results will not be easy.

Based on materials from open sources

The correct preparation of malt is a complex, lengthy and laborious process. If there is no cheap grain, in most cases it is easier to buy a finished product made by professionals in a malt house than to do it yourself. For enthusiasts who decide to try their hand, I propose to study the repeatedly proven recipe and technology for making malt at home.

Theory. Malt is a sprouted grain of cereals (barley, wheat, rye, etc.), in which, under the influence of enzymes, starch is converted into the sugar needed to obtain alcohol. In dry grain, vital activity is minimal, but the ingress of moisture activates enzymes that start the growth and breakdown of starch.

At the right time, the growth is stopped by drying so that the germinated grain does not have time to use up the entire supply of nutrients. Without malt, it is impossible to make spirits such as beer, whiskey (bourbon) and grain moonshine.

Only whole grains with a high germination capacity (90% or more) are suitable for making malt. You cannot take recently harvested barley or rye, since this percentage is much lower. At least 2 months must pass from the date of collection. Choose the same grain size whenever possible, this will simplify future work.

An important role is played by the quality of water, which needs a lot. Spring (from a well), filtered or settled water is suitable. At high concentrations of chlorine or heavy metals, grains germinate very poorly.

To check the quality of the selected cereals, I first recommend making a germination test. To do this, it is enough to wet 100-200 grains in water and after 2-3 days see how many have sprouted. If ninety or more have sprouted out of a hundred, it means that the germination is good and you can make homemade malt. Otherwise, it is better to use raw materials for other needs.

You will need:

grain (barley, wheat or rye) - 5-10 kg;
water - the amount depends on the size of the container and raw materials;
iodine or potassium permanganate - for grain disinfection.

Malt Recipe (Rye and Barley)

1. Cleaning and disinfection. At this stage, we remove all the debris that interferes with germination and kill pathogenic microorganisms that can spoil the raw materials.

In a large saucepan or bucket, pour the barley (rye) with warm water 35-40 ° C. The water layer should overlap the grains by 5-6 cm. After 5 minutes, stir the contents of the container, then remove the floating debris from the surface. Drain off dirty water.

Pour cold water 10-16 ° C over cereals, stir and leave for 60-80 minutes. Then remove the debris from the surface and drain the water. Pour a fresh portion of water into which add a disinfectant solution at the rate of 30 drops of iodine or 2-3 grams of potassium permanganate (at the tip of a knife) per 10 liters of water. Drain off the water after 3 hours.

Disinfection is optional, but highly desirable, otherwise mold may develop.

Floated grains are removed

2. Soaking. We saturate the future malt with moisture and oxygen, preparing it for germination.

For a day and a half, alternately every 6 hours, leave the grain with and without water. That is, first we pour water with a temperature of 10-16 ° C 2-3 cm above the grain level, wait 6 hours, remove the floating debris, drain the water, stir it, wait 6 hours and fill it with water again. Soaking should be done in a dark and cool place (basement).

3. Germination. We start biological processes that break down starch into sugar.

Pour the grain in an even layer of 2-5 cm on a tray or baking sheet, cover with a cotton cloth on top, which will absorb excess moisture, and, if necessary, give back to the cereals.

The optimum room temperature is 12-15 ° C, otherwise the grains will not germinate well. For better air access, the room must be well ventilated. Once a day, cereals must be mixed and sprayed with water.

Well sprouted malt

Duration of germination of barley - 6-7 days, rye - 4-5 days (on the last day, rye is not watered). Readiness is determined by the size of the sprout (root). For rye malt, the sprout length should not exceed the length of the grain; for barley malt, the root is considered the norm, which is one and a half to two times longer than the grain. Also, the grain should taste sweet and smell like a cucumber.

Sprouted barley (6th day)

The result is the so-called "green malt", which can be used in home brewing (for saccharification of raw materials), and in some cases for making whiskey. The disadvantage is that this type of malt is stored no longer than 3 days.

4. Drying. We prepare malt for long-term storage and brewing.

Remove residual water from the sprouted grain tray and transfer to a room with a high temperature. In summer, it can be an attic or a roof on a hot sunny day. In winter, the malt is dried on a heating battery. 3-4 days is enough.

Another method is to place the sprouted grain in a 40 ° C oven for 25-30 hours and stir every 2-3 hours.

Further technology depends on the purpose for which the malt will be used.

To make homemade light beer or whiskey, the malt must be additionally dried in the oven at 80 ° C, gradually raising the temperature over the first 30-40 minutes. For dark beers, the malt is dried in the same way for 4 hours at 105 ° C. In the latter case, the grains are actually roasted.

It remains to separate the grains from the roots

5. Separation of sprouts and aging. We get rid of unnecessary things.

Mash the malt with your hands, removing the roots, or transfer to a bag and roll until the dry sprouts separate themselves. Then blow in the wind or under a fan.

Put the prepared malt in bags and keep it in a warm dry place for at least 30-40 days before preparing alcoholic beverages. The yield of homemade barley malt is 76-79% of the initially soaked raw materials, from rye - 75-78%.

Malt ready

The industrial production of beer malt is described in the video.

Whether you're a seasoned brewer or new to this game, finding a way to personalize your beer is half the fun. One of the easiest and most effective ways to personalize your beverage is to roast the malt. You can roast malt at home without any special equipment and achieve interesting flavors, deeper color and intense malt aroma in your beer.

Before you start learning about malt roasting technologies, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with our extensive. Learn about the qualities of a good base malt that can be roasted, and the main specialty and roasted malts for understanding the purpose of this procedure.

Why roast malt

When you roast malt, it undergoes a series of chemical changes known as the Maillard reaction. In the last stages of these complex changes, high molecular weight substances, dark-colored melanoidins, are formed, which give the products a peculiar color, taste and aroma. In the context of brewing, melanoidins also improve the microbiological stability of beer and slow down oxidative processes during aging of the beverage.

Why roast malt at home when our store has a huge selection of specialty and roasted malts? Firstly, some of the specialty malts specified in the recipe are often missing from the range of malt producers. Secondly, it allows you to get a very specific flavor profile in your beer, while still getting the perfect color and flavor for your style. Finally, it is a tremendous pleasure to first smell the bright aroma of roasted malt in the oven and then discover it in the drink you just brew.

Dry and wet roasting

The moisture content of the malt influences its browning process during roasting - moisture enhances and stabilizes the Maillard reaction. It also contributes to the partial conversion of starches to sugars as the grains heat up, resulting in the malt accumulating more pronounced malt and sweet caramel flavors. Wet roasting with preliminary partial mashing of grain is the basis of the technology for producing caramel malt.

You can also soak (30-60 minutes) the malt before roasting it to get new flavors not found in commercial malts. Roasting wet malt introduces a significant proportion of non-fermentable sugars, and the drink acquires pleasant caramel-nut undertones. Dry roasting results in a spicier, roasted flavor and less base sweetness.

Everything you need to roast malt at home

Once you have an oven and some cooking utensils, you're ready to roast the malt. However, you will need:

0.5-1 kg of unmilled light barley malt.

This is the average amount that can be placed on one standard baking sheet. Any high-quality 2-row pale malt will do, be it pale or pilsner, as long as it is intact and not flaky. The husk in this case acts as a protective shell during roasting, the grain is properly browned, and does not burn. Freshly sprouted barley can also be fried right away - this is how modern brown malt is made, for example.

Baking sheet and foil.

For even roasting of malt, any standard baking sheet is suitable, but a sheet with high sides will allow you to work immediately with a sufficiently large amount of grain (on average about 1 kg) and maintain the correct layer thickness. If the baking sheet has been or will be used for other foods, be sure to wrap it in foil. This will keep your malt from coming into contact with fat or oil, which can create unwanted aromas or lead to burning. The foil also adds comfort when pouring malt off the baking sheet - just lift it up along with the roasted beans and roll it into a makeshift funnel.

Oven or airfryer.

Any full-size oven with a reliable thermostat or other more or less accurate temperature control will do. The presence of convection will be a big plus - the constant movement of hot air will ensure a more uniform and faster roasting. All the advantages of convection heating are demonstrated by an airfryer with suitably configured pallets and digital temperature control.

Thermometer.

Not all ovens are equipped with thermometers, even less often these thermometers show correct data. A separate bimetallic oven thermometer with a high grade of accuracy will add control over what is happening. Electronic thermometers with a probe, which allow measuring the temperature directly inside the malt layer, also demonstrate high accuracy.

Special malt preparation technology

The simplest of the specialty malts that can be made at home is the so-called semi-dark malt (also known as “golden”). Lightly browned, it will have a chroma of around 50 EBC and a biscuit-like performance. If you continue to heat the grain, you will be first in amber, then in copper, and finally in brown malt with its expressive roasted aromas.

Approximate roasting times and temperatures for some specialty malts:

Golden malt (up to 50 EBC) with nutty, caramel, not roasted flavors - fry for 1 hour at +120 ° C or 30 minutes at +150 ° C or 20 minutes at +175 ° C. Suitable for preparing light ales.
Amber malt (up to 90 EBC) with toffee, crunchy toast and nutty, malty, lightly roasted half tones - fry for 1.5-2 hours at +120 ° C or 45 minutes at +150 ° C or 30 minutes at +175 ° C. Ideal option for amber lager, and for more intense roasts, red and abbey ales.
Copper malt (up to 265 EBC) with a strong toasted aroma and nutty-coffee notes - roast for 60 minutes at +150 ° C or 45 minutes at +175 ° C or 20-30 minutes at +200 ° C. A store of intense flavors and colors for red ales and altbier.
Brown malt (up to 465 EBC) with a sharp roasted aroma, but a mild taste - fry for 1 hour at +175 o C or 40-50 minutes at +200 o C. The expressiveness and color of this malt is suitable for milk or oatmeal stout.

Modern brown malt, which can be useful for imparting roasted flavors to brown ales or porter, is often made from green, sprouted barley only. To do this, the malt must first be dried for 5 hours at a temperature of +100 o C, and then roasted for 40 minutes at +175 o C.

Do not take these instructions as a definitive guide to action. The result will greatly depend on the quality of the base malt, the type of heating (electricity or gas), the presence or absence of convection (ventilated heating is usually more efficient and roasting is faster) and many other variables. The repeatability of the result is not a strong point of home roasting, but this is not the purpose of this process - the experiment and the individuality of the beer are much more important!

Making special malt at home:

Preheat the oven to the required temperature.
Cover the baking sheet with foil and evenly spread the malt on it in a layer no more than 2.5-3 cm thick.
Place the baking sheet in the oven and fry the grain to the desired condition, stirring it from time to time (every 15-20 minutes).
When the desired browning level has been reached, remove the baking sheet from the oven and allow the malt to cool while continuing to stir.
After cooling down, fold the foil into a makeshift funnel and pour the fried grains into a paper resting bag.

Most brewers who do home-roasting malt recommend letting it rest for a couple of weeks. During this time, harsh fried aromas go away. This aging is more important for heavily roasted malts. Commercial roasted malts are aged for up to 6 weeks before being sold. There is another side of the coin - during aging, malt quickly loses its flavor and aroma, so you shouldn't delay making beer.

After resting in a paper bag, the roasted malt, if it is planned to be stored further, should be poured into an airtight container and stored in a dry place without sudden temperature changes.

Caramel malt preparation technology

Cooking caramel malt differs from roasting other specialty malts in only one simple but very important procedure - partial mashing of the base malt. This enriches the grain with sugars, which caramelize during final roasting. For the procedure itself, you will additionally need a container that can hold 1 kg of high-quality 2-row ale malt, and enough to soak it in water.

In a saucepan of a suitable size, soak about 1 kg of uncrushed light malt in enough water to completely cover the grain plus 2-3 cm on top. Make sure to use distilled, filtered tap water, or spring water. Soak for 3-4 hours (minimum 2 hours and no more than 24 hours).
Throw the soaked grain in a colander and transfer to a baking sheet (or a cast iron skillet with a thick bottom) covered with foil. You don't need to spread the malt evenly yet. Preheat the oven to +68 .. + 71 o C. If your oven does not maintain such a low temperature, set the minimum power and leave the door ajar. If necessary, if the thermometer shows a temperature higher than the set one, open the door a little wider.
Place a baking sheet or skillet in a preheated oven for 1-2 hours. The longer this heating lasts, the sweeter the finished malt will be. If the task is to obtain the so-called transparent caramel malt (Carapils or Dextrin), the "mashing" should be carried out at lower temperatures (+55 .. + 60 о С).
Before roasting the caramel malt, it must first be dried. To do this, partially saccharified grain must be evenly distributed on a baking sheet in a layer 2.5-3 cm thick, and sent for 2 hours (or until dry) in the oven preheated to +100 .. + 120 ° C. Every 15-20 minutes malt need to stir up.
After drying, we obtain a light caramel malt with a color of about 25 EBC. Further roasting will give a darker color: about 150 EBC after 60 minutes, 260 EBC after 90 minutes and about 370 EBC after 120 minutes of roasting.

Freshly roasted caramel malt also needs a two-week rest before use to weather the harsh aromas.

Roasted / Roasted Malt Cooking Technology

It is very difficult to prepare roasted malt without special equipment (drum roaster, emergency grain cooling system, etc.). You will need more heat and temperature control than a conventional oven can provide. Light chocolate malt is arguably the only homemade malt in this category. A typical roasting scheme looks like this:

Soak the lager malt for 30 minutes in clean water, drain the water and send it to the oven for mashing at a temperature of +65 .. + 71 ° C for 2 hours.
Raise the temperature to +120 ° C for 30 minutes for quick drying.
Continue frying for 20 minutes at +150 o C.
Continue frying for 15 minutes at +160 o C.
Final roast with frequent stirring for 1 hour at +200 .. + 220 o C.

This will not be enough to obtain the required color and degree of roasting, but raising the temperature to the required +220 .. + 250 ° C will almost guaranteed to lead to the combustion of grain and the formation of a large amount of smoke. When you feel the slightest hint of smoke, immediately remove the baking sheet from the oven and take it outside, covered with foil on top, and then let the malt cool and pour it into a paper bag for a two-week rest. About 5% of this brown chocolate grain will help make a smooth porter or brown ale, and 10% will make an impenetrable black stout.

Even if you succeed and the malt does not burn, you will appreciate the opportunity to buy roasted malts in our online store.

Making a special malt from base barley is just the beginning. With time, patience, and the right recipes, you will be able to roast a wide variety of grains. Whether you love a creamy English oatmeal stout or are determined to bring the world your first perfect rye ale, roasting malt at home makes it easy and fun to create a distinctive beer that only you can see the taste and color. Good luck!

Malt has been used since ancient times, at the dawn of brewing and distilling. Today the product is also relevant, it is used in cooking, for the production of alcoholic beverages, kvass. Elite alcohol is made from barley malt - whiskey, bourbon. In Russia, bread wine has long been made, which is still popular now, using rye and wheat malt for it. For the production of kvass, rye is mainly used.

Malt - made from wheat, oats, barley, rye, and other cereals. Grain raw materials are pre-germinated, enzymes are formed in it, which convert starch into easily fermentable sugars. Malt production technology is not a simple and time-consuming process that takes a long time. So making malt for whiskey or beer at home is hard work. It is much easier to purchase ready-made malt than to make it yourself.

Nevertheless, despite the difficulties, many brewers and distillers prefer to get by with their own product. Below is the full cycle of wheat malt production, how to make rye and barley malt for beer with your own hands.

Malt preparation technology

The whole process can be divided into several stages:

Selection of grain, germination test;
Cleaning;
Soaking;
Germination;
Drying;
Removal of sprouts;
Storage.

Selection of cereals. The choice of grain is an important stage, the quality of the final product depends on it. First of all, you need to decide which culture to use and for what. At home, the easiest way to get malt is from wheat or rye. These cereals germinate faster and are easier to grind. A little longer to make barley. In terms of time, rye malt takes 5-6 days, from wheat 7-8 days, green malt from barley is obtained in 9-10 days. Young grain cannot be used after harvest, it has poor germination ability. The minimum period of grain after harvest is 2 months, and the maximum is 12 months.

At home, you can conduct an independent germination test. Choose 100 pieces of the largest grains and pour them with water in a glass. Catch the floating grain, instead add the same amount of grains that are sinking. Then put it on a saucer, put a damp cloth on top and leave it in a warm room for 2-4 days. Then count the number of seeds not germinated, each -1 percent. As a result, if the germination rate is more than 90%, then this is a good raw material.

Preparing for soaking. For malt, pure grain is used, sifted, without debris. Pour it into a suitable container and fill with water, remove floating grains, rinse twice. Pour 4-5 cm higher with clean water and leave for 5-7 hours.

Then change the water and rinse the cereals thoroughly again. Carry out the disinfection procedure, for this, pour the grain with a weak solution of potassium permanganate, pour 2-3 grams into 10 liters of water and keep the grain in the solution for 1-2 hours.

Germination. After disinfection, spread the grain mass on pallets with a layer of 4-5 cm, let it breathe for a day, stir periodically after 2-3 hours. Cover with a damp cotton cloth and leave indoors at 15-15 degrees. It is important that there is good air circulation in the room. Every day, cereals must be mixed and moistened with a sprinkler, make sure that the mass does not become waterlogged. Usually use 100-150 ml of water for 10 kilograms of dry grain. After 2-3 days of germination, the temperature inside rises to 20-23 degrees, at this time it is necessary to stir up the grain mass more often in order to prevent the "sweating" of wheat or barley.

When the sprout grows in size one and a half times the length of the grain, then the malt can be considered ready. Green malt tastes sweet and smells like fresh cucumber. Such a product can already be used for saccharification, but its shelf life is very short, only three days. To increase the term, the malt must be dried. Dried malt is suitable for home brewing, whiskey and bourbon can be used to make malt milk.

Drying. To begin with, green malt is disinfected with a solution of potassium permanganate, add 0.3 grams of potassium permanganate to 1 liter of water, soak the malt for 15-20 minutes in this solution. Drying is done at a temperature of 30-40 ° C; at a higher temperature, enzymes may die. At home, drying is done in a room with warm floors, a stream of air from a household fan is sent to the malt. In the warm season, you can dry in the attic, the main thing is to provide good ventilation.

Within 3-4 days, the malt will dry out and you need to remove the roots and sprouts from it. It is easy to do it with your hands, rubbing it in your palms. The obtained light malt has a very high enzyme activity, 1 kg is capable of saccharifying 4-5 kg \u200b\u200bof starch-containing raw materials. It can be used to make homemade beer. The malt is stored in a dry room in linen bags or closed containers. Before making beer or other alcoholic beverages, it is ground in special mills.

Malted milk. It is not advisable to use malt for saccharification, the raw material from which it is obtained. For example, for wheat, you need to use barley, rye and oat malt. Rye is malted with wheat, barley, oat, etc. For better saccharification, make malt milk (a mixture of malt and water).

How to make your own malted milk. First, sterilization is performed, the malt is washed three times with water at a temperature of 65 degrees for 6-10 minutes. Then it is dried and ground in a blender or grain grinder to flour. For 170 grams of malt flour, take 1 liter of water. Pour the flour with warm water 0.5 liters at a temperature of 50 - 55oС, stir thoroughly with a mixer until smooth and leave for an hour. Then add the rest of the water and heat up to 50 - 52oС. This volume of malt milk is designed for saccharification of 2 kg of raw materials.

Homemade caramel malt for brewing beer

The beer contains base malt and special caramel varieties to add flavor, density and aroma to the drink. Caramel is made from fresh white malt by heat treatment. At home, you can cook caramel malt in a regular oven or in a slow cooker.