Malting of Barley ->

2-row malt has a fuller, maltier flavor while 6-row produces a grainier flavor. 6-row typically has more protein and enzyme content than 2-row, which is thinner, and contains less carbohydrates.

Day 1 – 1st Soak

Put one cup of Barley in a 32oz mason jar, rinse the Barley several times with water to get rid of any mold spores. Put the Barley in the mason jar full of water. Skim off all the floating particles because these are dead and might have mold growing on them. You are starting with a mosture content in the Barley of 6 to 9 percent.

Soak Barley in water for 8 hours. Put a screen on the top of the mason jar.

Open Air

Strain out the Barley from the water. Discard the water. Let the Barley sit in the open air for 8 hours still in the mason jar with the screen on top (turn it upside down but at a slant to drain any water). Ideal temperature is between between 50F to 65F. If your environment is warmer then the sprouting will be faster.

Let the Barley set without water for 8 hours. The seeds respire taking in O2 and giving off CO2 generating slight heat. This is the resting phase where the Barley has about 25% moisture and starts to dry out. The Barley want to germinate and gets thirsty.

2nd Soak

This is is the point where you soak the Barley again for 8 hours. When the seeds get to 33% mosture the germination is in full effect. The kernal softens and two things emerge; a root and a shoot (acrospire). The shoot is the above ground plant that is starting to form.

Take the Barley out of the water. Discard the water. Rinse the Barley.

Day 2 – Tray Spread

Lay Barley flat in pan 3mm to 5mm thick. Keep it moist all the time with a spray bottle. Spray until you can see the water on the seeds reflecting the light. Cover it with a cloth. From the humidified air the Barley is taking in O2 and giving off CO2. Keep temperature constant. After a day or two the Barley will start to germinate with a small white sprout starting called a “chit.”

Day 4

At day 4 there will be small roots and a stem (the above ground start of a plant). The sprout stems will be about 2 to 3 cm long. If it’s 75% of the seed length it is slightly under what it should be. It should be the length of the seed and is then called “green malt.” At this point, all the starches in the seed has been converted to amylase. The moisture content should be around 42%.

Chapon Test

You can do a “chapon test” where you take a few seeds and boil them in water then cut them open down the middle where you can see the inside. If it is translucient then it is fully hydrated. All the seeds will not be at the mature translucient point. Some will only have a chit. These will contain some enzymes but mostly starches and will be converted to sugars.

Dry Out

Dry out the Barley in oven at 110F until dry. Stir every 5 minutes. The goal of this drying stage is to get the mosture content down to 10%. Best drying is done at a low temperature, like room temperature with a fan blowing.

Dehydrate

When Barley is dry, roast Barley at 125F in oven for two hours. A food dehydrator is best. If using an oven stir often so it won’t burn. Then cool to room temperature. The malt should have about 4% mosture called a “base malt.”

Do not go higher in roasting temperature because you will denature or kill the enzymes. Killing enzymes occures at 185F where it will be incapable of converting any starches to sugars. When Barley is deliberately roasted at high temperatures in order to denature the enzymes it is then used for taste and color only.

Winnow the Chaff

Remove the roots and sprouts and any husks using a strainer. Move the Barley around with your hand so the roots and stems break off. This step is called “Winnow the Chaff.”

Now the Barley has the enzymes and is ready to use to break down chained sugars found in grains. It can now be stored. Keep in mind that the efficiency of malter barley is 85%. So use this efficiency amount when calculating the amountof barley added to other grains to break down in order to break down their starches to sugars.

Malting Other Grains

Other grains can be malted: wheat, rice, rye, corn, etc. The enzyme efficiency varies. Barley has the most enzymes.