About Malted Barley    Barley is the principle source of fermentable sugar in making beer.  Other sugars derived from corn, rice and wheat are used but they are considered to be adjuncts or additives to the barley base.  The barley plant comes in two types; two row and six row.  These terms refer to the number of individual grains on each barley stalk.  Two row barley tends to have plumper grains and less husk per weight of starch.  Six row barley, because of the lower starch to husk ratio will yield less sweet extract per pound of grain, but is preferred for some beer styles for technical reasons.  Brewing Ingredients MALTED BARLEY MALT EXTRACTS HOPS BREWERS YEAST HERBS SPICES ADJUNCT SUGAR FINING AGENTS How Malted Barley is Made    Malted barley is a naturally processed form of barley.  The grain is steeped in water and allowed to begin sprouting.  This germination creates enzymes which are required to convert starch to fermentable sugar later in the brewing process.  The extent of germination is referred to as modifying.  The longer the germination the higher the modification.  Germination is stopped by drying the grain.  There are a variety of malting and drying methods used.  Each lends it's own characteristics to the final malted barley.  They range from complete to light air dried to roasted.  The combining of different malt varieties into formulas or recipes is where brewing begins.  These formulas are called grain bills.  The grain bill will determine three important factors, for the finished beer among others.  Color, potential alcohol and sweetness.  Sample Grain Bill for a 5 gallon batch 8 LB. American 2 Row Pale Malt  2 LB. American Crystal 40 Lovibond  ½ LB. English Chocolate Malt     Steeping malted grain is the simplest way to improve an extract based beer.  While malt extracts make homebrewing easy, the processing necessary to produce them unavoidably causes some character loss in the malt.  By adding crushed grains to the brew pot some of that character is restored.  Steeping grain also provides certain yeast nutrients which are important to fermentation.  A disposable steeping bag is the easiest way to add grain to the brew pot without creating a mess.  Place the grain into the bag and tie off the open end.  Place the grain into the brew pot when you turn on the heat.  Give it a few pokes with your brew spoon to help wet the grain.  Occasionally push the grain around gently as the pot heats up.  It is very important that you do not allow the water to boil with the grain in it.  Watch the pot, and just before boiling breaks out remove the grain bag with a strainer and allow it to drain back into the pot.  Do not squeeze the bag.  All we want is the free flowing water.  copyright 2007 J.R.Leverentz HOME  |  WHAT'S NEW  |  ABOUT US  |  POLICIES  |  CONTACT US  |  SITE MAP  |  SHOPPING CART

Dry Malting?      Have you ever spent time and money preparing a brew with specialty malt only to be disappointed with the end results? Dry malting ( for lack of another name) may be the answer.      For this years winter warmer I wanted to brew the ultimate dessert beer. I started with a Nut Brown Ale recipe and began my adjustments. I was inspired by the last Long Shot Competition winner 'Hazelnut Brown'. If you remember, it was rich with caramel character and had a hint of nut in the finish. I thought the finish could also use a little chocolate. Recipe: 1/2# Dextrin 1/2# Biscuit 1/4# Special B 1/4# Aromatic 1/4# Wheat 1/2# Chocolate Mash 45 min. in 1 gl. of 155oF water. Sparge with ½ gl. boiling water. 6.6# John Bull Hopped Amber Extract 2.5# Munton's Plain Light DME 1# Clover Honey 1/2# Malta Dextrin 1/2oz Crystal Hop Pellets 30 min. 1/2oz Liberty Hop Pellets 15 min. 1/2oz. Liberty Hop Pellets 5 min. Ale Yeast Total boil 60 minutes.      At the racking I was amazed to find that the brew tasted like Harvey's Bristle Cream Sherry! The chocolate was there but not strong enough to really identify. That's when the idea of adding more malt flavor came to me.      Dry Malting: I mashed 1/4 pound of English Chocolate Malt in one pint of 160 degree water for 30 minutes. Next I sparged the sweat liquor then used 1 cup of boiling water. The collected run off was then passed through a paper coffee filter. The fined liquor was then boiled and reduced to 8 ounces. I cooled it and added it directly to the secondary fermenter.      One Hazelnut Liqueur Essence kit was added at bottling time. Well, what started out as a Hazelnut Chocolate Brown became Hazelnut Chocolate Fudge Brownies! At 8%abv it is truly a winter warmer and the best serving suggestion can only be described as no dessert required! OG: 1.085 FG:1.024 8%abv STARTER KITS BREWERY KITS RECIPE KITS CANNED KITS EQUIPMENT BREW KETTLES WORT CHILLERS BOILING BAGS FERMENTERS GLASS CARBOYS AIR LOCKS STOPPERS SPOONS FUNNELS SIPHON AIDS LAB EQUIPMENT BOTTLE SUPPLIES CLEANING BEER BOTTLES CAPS & CAPPERS KEGS & DRAFT BEER HOMEBREW KEG DRAFT BEER KEG HOW TO INFORMATION HOW TO BREW ABOUT BARLEY USING EXTRACT ABOUT HOPS CHILLING WORT EQUIPMENT BOTTLING BEER WHAT'S WRONG BETTER MR.BEER DRINKING BEER BEER RECIPES   copyright 2004 J.R.Leverentz