1. Beer Basics Malt and Adjuncts
June 16, 2007

2. Today’s Topics Introduction Malting Process Malting Steps
Outcome from Malting
Modification and Acrospire Growth
Types of Brewing Malt
Base Malts
Higher Kilned Base Malts
Specialty Malts
Adjuncts
Evaluating Malt
Dry Basis Fine Grind
Dry Basis Coarse Grind
Fine Grind/Coarse Grind Difference
Color
Traditional Lovibond Scale
Standard Reference Method
European Brewing Conference
Diastatic Power
Protein Percent
Soluble Nitrogen/Total Nitrogen Ratio
Mealy Percent
Example - Briess Malt Sheet

3. Introduction
Barley malt is a major component of beer. Malt contributes aroma, flavor, and body to beer. To make great beer, brewers need to understand malting and mashing processes. The first step in this direction is to understand the malts and adjuncts used in brewing

4. Malting Process
Malting is sprouting grains in a controlled environment until a certain level of modification is obtained and then the kernels are dried and kilned until a specific color is achieved.

5. Malting Process Malting Steps
Steep the barley in water at °F for two to three days
Germinate for six to ten days at °F. After six days the length of the acrospire will be ½ the length of the kernel.
After germination, the temperature is slowly raised to 90 °F and held at this temperature for 24 hours to allow enzymes to work

6. Malting Process
Malting Steps 4. The temperature is raised to 120 °F and held for 12 hours to dry the malt 5. The malt is kilned at the prescribed temperature to achieve the correct color

7. Malting Process Outcome From Malting
Develop enzymes that will reduce starches and proteins during malting and mashing
Breakdown grain cell walls to allow enzymes to start modification
Modification, which means appropriate breakdown of starches and proteins in order for the malt to be mashed properly

8. Malting Process Modification and Acrospire Growth
The amount of modification is connected to the growth of the acrospire relative to the kernel.
The malt is fully modified when the acrospire is fully grown, i.e. the acrospire has grown the entire length of the kernel
It is desirable for the acrospire to grow to at least ¾ the length of the kernel for well modified malt

9. Types of Brewing Malt Base Malts
Base malts comprise the majority of the brewing grain bill. Typically, they are lighter in color and provide enough enzymes to convert their own starches and the starch from other malts.
Base malts include:
Two row barley
Six row barley
Lager
Pilsen
Vienna
Munich

10. Base Malts Two Row Barley Malt
Grains only grow on two rows on the ear. Only two of the six flowers are fertile
Typically has lower protein and enzymes than six row barley.
Thinner husk compared to six row barley, which means less tannins that can cause off flavors in beer

11. Base Malts Six Row Barley Malt
Grains grow on six rows on the ear. All six of the flowers are fertile. Yields more per acre than two row barley malt.
High in proteins and enzymes. So good with adjuncts like rice and corn which are weak in proteins and enzymes.
Thick husk and more tannins than two row barley malt.

12. Base Malts
Higher Kilned Base Malts Higher kilned base malts are kilned at a higher temperature than other base malts. As a result, these malts are darker in color and contain fewer enzymes for starch conversion; however, they usually have enough enzymes to convert their own starch

13. Higher Kilned Base Malts
Vienna Malt
Malt dried to 5% moisture and then kilned at 210 to 230 °F for about one hour
Provides sweet toasty malt aroma and flavor
Contributes a golden to amber color in beer (3.5 to 4 degrees Lovibond)
Used in Vienna lager and Oktoberfest

14. Higher Kilned Base Malts
Munich Malt
Kilned at up to 240 °F for darker Munich malt
More aromatic than Vienna malt. It provides a sweet toasty malt aroma and flavor
Also darker than Vienna malt, usually Munich malt is 8 to 10 degrees Lovibond
Used in Vienna, Oktoberfest, Dunkels, and Bocks

15. Types of Brewing Malts Specialty Malts
All malts not included as a base malt. These malts are added to the grain bill to increase flavor, body and beer color.
Usually constitutes a small portion of the total grain bill
Low to no enzymes for converting starches and proteins during the mash.

16. Specialty Malts Crystal and Caramel Malt
Typically sold by Lovibond color rating ranging from 20 to 120 degrees Lovibond
Contains no enzymes
Depending on Lovibond rating, can impart a caramel, toffee or nutty flavor to beer
Fully modified and kilned at 50% moisture content, which mashes the starches into sugars inside the grain husk.

17. Speciality Malts Chocolate Malt
Under modified barley malt dried to 5% moisture and kilned at high temperatures to achieve brownish black color
Contains no enzymes
Imparts a nutty or toasty aroma and flavor
Used in porters, stouts, brown ales and dunkel styles.

18. Specialty Malts Black Malt (Black Patent Malt)
Under modified barley malt dried to 5% moisture and kilned at higher temperature than chocolate malt, which produces darker color compared to chocolate malt
Contains no enzymes
Adds a sharp burnt flavor to beer
Used in porters and stouts and to a lesser degree in Scotch ales
Small amounts can be used for color adjustment

19. Types of Brewing Malts Adjuncts
Adjuncts are unmalted grains that provide additional starch. Examples include rice, corn, barley, wheat, oats, and rye.
The starches in adjuncts must be gelatinized before they are mashed. This gelatinization can be achieved by cooking or by flaking through hot rollers.

20. Adjuncts
Corn and Rice
Used by large American brewers to make Standard American lager.
Corn and rice have low protein levels. Therefore, they are normally used in conjunction with six row barley malt that has high protein levels.
Large brewers use a double mash to gelatinize the starches in the corn and rice.
Corn imparts a sweet flavor while rice is more flavor neutral

21. Adjuncts Oats Used in belgium Wit beers and Oatmeal stouts
Provides a silky creaminess and oiliness.
Unmalted Wheat
Used in belgium Wit beers and Lambics
Imparts a malty spiciness

22. Malt Analysis Moisture Content
It is recommended that malt should have a moisture content less than 6%. The moisture content should be less than 4% for colored malts
High moisture content can lead to mold and to loss of aroma and flavor during storage
For large scale brewers, moisture increases the cost of the malt

23. Malt Analysis Dry Basis Fine Grind (DBFG) Extract Yield
Assumes zero moisture content which is not true in real setting.
Uses ASBC laboratory mash. The grains are crushed on a Buhler-Miag disc mill set to .2 millimeters
Indicates maximum potential yield.
The higher the DBFG yield the better. Malts with a DBFG yield less than 78% are below standard.

24. Malt Analysis Dry Basis Coarse Grind (DBCG) Extract Yield
Assumes zero moisture content which is not true in real setting.
Uses ASBC laboratory mash. The grains are crushed on a Buhler-Miag disc mill set to .7 millimeters
Indicates possible extract yield. However, brew-house yield is always less because of malt moisture content and better efficiency of laboratory mash

25. Malt Analysis Fine Grind/Coarse Grind Difference
The difference between the dry basis fine grind and coarse grind indicates the degree of malt modification. The smaller the difference the more modified the malt
Normally the difference is less than 2%
A DBFG – DBCG up to 2.2% is OK if decoction mash is employed. For infusion mash, the difference should be less than 1.8%

26. Malt Analysis
Color
Traditional Method developed by Lovibond. The scale is implemented by comparing colored slides or glasses to a sample to visually see which slide agreed with the color of the sample
Current standards for measuring color
Standard Reference Method (SRM) developed by American Society of Brewing Chemists (ASBC)
European Brewing Convention (EBC) color rating
The two methods can be compared by the equation
EBC = 1.97 * SRM

27. Malt Analysis Color The current methods use spectrophotometers
All three scales goes from low to high, with lower numbers assigned to light colors
For light colored beers the SRM method is very close to the Lovibond scale

28. Malt Analysis Alpha-amylase (Dextrinizing Units)
ASBC metric that measures dextrin units per 100 grams
Over modified malt normally has lower dextrin units. For less modified malts, the dextrinizing units needs to be greater to apply an infusion mash.
Typical ranges for 100 grams:
Six row malt 35-45
American two row malt 40-50
Pilsener malt 44-48
Vienna malt 40-45

29. Malt Analysis Diastatic Power (Degrees Linter)
Measures the enzyme content of the malt. Specifically, the enzyme strength to convert starch to sugar
Higher diastatic power malts convert starches faster than lower diastatic power malts
Well modified malts with low protein content typically have a diastatic power between 35 and 40. On the other hand, it can be as high as 160 for six row brewers malt.
Diastatic power decreases as malt color increases.

30. Malt Analysis Protein Percent
Equals 6.25 times the total nitrogen content
The protein percent for Barley malt should be 9 to 11%
Enzymes are proteins, so higher protein levels correspond to higher enzymatic strength.

31. Malt Analysis Soluble Nitrogen/Total Nitrogen Ratio
The ratio of soluble nitrogen to total nitrogen is a measure of malt modification. A higher ratio indicates higher malt modification
For lager malts, 30-33% indicates under modification and 37-40% indicates over modification.
For infusion mashing, the ratio should be 38-42%

32. Malt Analysis Mealy Percent
Malt is characterized as mealy, half-glassy, and glassy. Mealy malt is very chewable, whereas, glassy malt is very hard.
Well modified malt is mealy.
For infusion mashing, the malt should be at least 95% mealy. Malt should be at least 92% mealy for decoction and step mashes.

33. Malt Analysis
Example Let’s review a typical malt analysis from Briess Malt and Ingredients Co.