Malting Barley

[Dave]

I am currently having a go at making my own wort for a brew. I'm doing a small test batch at the moment, I've left a small bowl of barley soaking with the intention of malting it. Has anyone done this from home as I am pretty much playing it by ear with really vague guidelines from an old brewing book.

[Gretskie]

Errm never had the nerve to try it at home.

It's quite a complicated task I get the impression that you have to pick the correct timing to activate the enzymes just the right amount as to not go too far. The theory goes (as you probably know):

1. soak the barley till it's absorbed water. (I think it's weight should increase by 40%, this should take 72 hrs)
2. germinate the barley in the warm.
3. dry the barley down to about 5% water not using a heat above 80 degrees C (this I think I'm getting right but I'd need to check)
4. Voila Malted barley (well I get the idea that there's maybe a whole heap of skill that I'm not mentioning)

One thing you could do is to just germinate the barley and make the beer from the green malt (apparently the Egyptians used to bake the green malt into loaves and then brew with that. They used to get quite a sour brew, but i have seen you drink Kronanberg so you shouldn't mind).

Anyway the end result may be dubious in is sugar making potential. Saying all this I hope it's a flying sucess (If you've got a hydrometer then you can do a test to find out how much malt you'll need in your brew, it's dead simple).

Me I'm experimenting with oats (as there a dam site cheaper than barley) in me mash. Hope to have it ready by the 19th!.

[judyofthewoods]

I don't know anything about brewing, but a fair bit about sprouting, which is after all what germinating is. Most barley sold in healthfood shops is somewhat processed (like oat groats), i.e. the tough husks have been removed, and often the process damages the germ and all you get when attempting to sprout is a smelly mess. In brewing you probably discard the mush and it doesn't matter if you have tough husks on the barley, but make sure it is whole barley, definetly not what you get from the healthfood shop. Your best source is probably an organic bulk seed merchant for crop growers. Problem there is, is it suitable for consumption? Even if organic, it may be a lower grade due to inclusions like dust, stones, rodent droppings and insects. I know that in Germany you can buy specially bred barley and oats (organic) which have the tough husk bred out of them, and are specially sold as sprouting or, as they call them 'naked' barley and oats. I have tried a year or two ago to obtain same in this country but without success. Maybe anyone knows a source now? If not, and if someone would be willing to buy it in bulk, perhaps to sell on in smaller quantities, I can dig out the details of the German supplier. Failing that, you should be able to obtain smaller quantities in healthfood shops if you do go to Germany.
If you want to do any serious sprouting the best site I have seen on it is http://eatsprouts.com , though a lot of the best info on how to build a sprouter is only by paid access (about $10 - little over £5). If you are serious about raw food and sprouting it is well worth the money, and will probably save you when building one, rather than bothering with tichy little things you get in healthfood shops - they are most likely going to put you off sprouting forever.
Good luck with your brew.

[gretskie]

Sorry you should not use a heat over 35 degrees C to dry it or you'll bugger up the enzymes!
Sorry

[Dave]

Thanks for the advice, the process seems quite complicated to do it at home. I ended up with a soggy mess of barley that was growing fur- not nice. I think I'm going to wait until the spring and the house is a little less humid from the central heating before I try again. I let you know if I have any success.
Looking forward to your oat brew Paul - I hope it's better than the molasis beer.

[Wombat]

G'Day Dave,

This is not really my area because I don't drink beer, but I remeber reading in a book years ago about someone making up frames with timber and then stretching fabric (hessian?) over the top, then putting the barley on that and keeping in moist. the frames were stored one above the other in a cupboard-like structure.

I didn't buy the book so I don't have thye details to refer to, sorry

Nev

[Dave]

Cheers Nev, that's at least a good starting point, I'll look in to it.

[judyofthewoods]

These are some I prepared earlier.....
I made some mesh frames to sprout grains for either grass (juicing) or to make essene bread with just sprouted grains. Got some s/s wire mesh and made some frames with the plastic edging you can buy from DIY shops. The frames are suspended over a tray if grown for grass, or go into a rack, as Dave mentioned, for just sprouting. I am experimenting with various frames, and racks, and one day it'll all go on my site. S/s mesh ain't cheap, I bought mine from the manufacturer, but had to buy at least £100 worth (+p&p and VAT), if I remember rightly, and that was for approx. 4-5 meters at about 3 feet wide. It comes in various grades. Might consider selling it in small quantities, when I get around pricing it, but if you are impatient and want to buy some, this is the company www.wiremesh.co.uk. For hydroponic grass growing the wire mesh is necessary, but for just sprouting a few days (before the roots go into the mesh) you could try stretching plain nylon net curtain over some frame. Charity shops abound with net curtains, look for one with only a patterned border, and plain mesh across most. Best way to water the sprouts is with a spray bottle, a few times a day.

Oops, just noticed I can't post pictures, at least not in the normal way. I will try to post the picture as an avatar for the a while. Meantime I will try and get it onto my website.

[judyofthewoods]

Couldn't load it as avatar, but created a page on my site, where you can see the photo
http://www.judyofthewoods.com/mesh_flats.html

[maltman]

May I make a stupid suggestions
Visit a malsters i.e Tuckers maltings ( who do tours)or Warminster malting's ( who are friendly and will show you around)and have a look at the process.(assuming a UK connection)
The time of germination is critical as if the thing actually sprouts it a no no.
Drying times and temperature are also critical.
Oz craftbrew have some good guidelines as does uk homebrew.
Your local homebrew shops sell at £25+ for 25kg and your local micro will probably let you have it for £10 -£12.
So many different malts to choose from .
Marris otter,caramalt,crystal malt,chocolate/dark,carahells,carapils,lager ,pilsner,pipkin,optic.plumage anchor etc etc etc.
Good luck