The Beginners Brewpot

by Richard Grzelak

March 94

Introduction to Malt

Of all the ingredients that may be used in the production of beer, perhaps none is more important as a defining characteristic than the use of malt as the key fermentable material. In fact, the use of malted grain as the base fermentable is, arguably, the key ingredient in beer. Wines may have herbs, and meads may have hops, but all beers have malted grain.

Unprocessed (raw) grain is unfermentable as it is mainly starch. Matting Is the process by which the starch in the raw grain is converted into fermentable sugars. The first step in the process, generally done by the maltster, and rarely done by the homebrewer, is to partially germinate the grain in a controlled environment. After the germinated grain reaches the desired level, it is dried, and further processing determines what characteristics the malt will have.

The most common grain used in beer is barley, however, corn, rice, wheat, oats, and rye are also commonly used, mostly as adjuncts. Corn and rice are almost exclusively used to boost alcohol content, as they are nearly 100 percent fermentable. They are generally used in lagers, and the sweeter dark beers.

Wheat malt, in addition to promoting head retention, also adds a spiciness to the beer, and is a key ingredient in specialty beers such as Belgian White beers, Weiss Biers, and Lambics.

The use of oats and rye are far less common, however oats are used in the production of oatmeal stouts.

Malt is commonly available in three basic forms, each of which represents an increasing degree of processing. Its most basic form is that of grain, and the fermentable sugars must be extracted by the brewer through the process of mashing. Sprayed malt is simply the dried malt sugar available in powdered form. It is generally available in three forms:
Light, Amber, and Dark. The darker the powder, the darker the beer, and the greater the degree to which different malt types are mixed. The third form is malt extract, which is available in cans, and it is basically concentrated wort. It is available both hopped and unhopped.

Generally speaking, the more primitive the form of the base malt, the greater degree of freedom given to the brewer. In recent years, most of the award winning beers have been whole grain. Sprayed malt can be used as a base to which specialty malts may be added. Extract or beer kits have been improved over the years, and can be used to make acceptable and tasty beer with very little effort on the brewers part.

There are many different specialty malts available, and as the popularity of home brewing as a hobby expanded, so, too has the variety. Although there may be many subcategories, specialty malts may generally be classified as follows:

Roasted Barley - an unmalted grain, which darkens and imparts a coffee-like flavor to the beer. Generally used in stouts. Because it is not malted, it does not contribute any fermentables.

Black Malt - adds color and a small degree of bitterness. It retains some malt sugars and adds a richness to the beer. Generally used in stouts, porters, and dark lagers.

Chocolate Malt - Given its name by the color of the grain. It, too, darkens the beer, but adds a greater degree of sweetness, as well as having some nut-like overtones.

Crystal or Caramel Malt - A green, that is, unroasted malt which has not been kiln dried. It is mainly used to give the beer a sweet and nutty characteristic. It is useful in ales, bocks, and test beers.

Pale Malt - Primarily used as the base for beers, it is kiln dried, but not roasted.

Malto-dextrin - flour like, it adds body to the beer.

As a general rule, the darker the grain, the lesser amount needed to impart a given characteristic to the beer, and, the addition of even a small amount of specialty grains can be used to greatly improve a kit beer.