Malt
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{{For|the biological tissue|Mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue}}
[[Image:Sjb whiskey malt.jpg|thumb|Malted barley]]
'''Malting''' is a process applied to [[cereal]] grains, in which the grains are made to [[germinate]] (by soaking them in water <ref>[http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter3.html "How to brew"-manual by John Palmer]</ref>) and are then quickly halted from germinating further (by drying/[[heating]] it with hot air before the plant develops).<ref name='oregon'>{{cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=Quality Factors for Malting, Brewing and other End-uses | date= | publisher=Oregon State University | url =http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/css/330/five/BarleyOverview.htm#BarleyMaltingQuality | work = | pages = | accessdate = 2007-04-13 | language = }}</ref><ref>[http://www.howtobrew.com/section2/chapter12.html What is malting?]</ref> Malting is thus a combination of two processes; notably the [[sprouting]] process and the [[kiln|kiln-drying]] process. These latter terms are often preferred when referring to the stadium of brewing for batches of beer (or other beverage) are in (this, as they provide more in-depth information).
The term malt refers to several products of the process:
* The grains to which this process has been applied, for example malted [[barley]];
* The [[sugar]] derived from such grains which is heavy in [[maltose]], such as baker's malt used in cereals such as [[Rice Krispies]].
*A product, based on [[malted milk]], similar to a malted [[milkshake]] (i.e., "malts").
* [[whisky]] or [[beer]] can also be called malt as in [[Alfred Edward Housman]]'s [[aphorism]] "malt does more than [[John Milton|Milton]] can, to justify [[God]]'s ways to Man."
==Uses==
[[Image:Homebrew Malt Extract.jpg|thumb|[[Homebrewing]] malt extracts: liquid in a can and [[Spray drying|spray dried]].]]
Malted grain is used to make [[beer]], [[whisky]], and malt [[vinegar]]. Malting grains develops the [[enzyme]]s that are required to modify the grain's [[starch]]es into sugars, including [[monosaccharides]] ([[glucose]], [[fructose]], etc.) and [[disaccharides]] ([[sucrose]], etc.). It also develops other enzymes, such as proteases which break down the proteins in the grain into forms which can be utilized by yeast. [[Barley]] is the most commonly malted grain in part because of its high [[diastatic power]] or [[enzyme]] content. Also very important is the retention of the grain's [[husk]] even after threshing, unlike the bare seeds of threshed wheat or rye. This protects the growing [[acrospire]] (developing plant [[embryo]]) from damage during malting, which can easily lead to mold growth. It also allows the mash of converted grain to create a filter bed during [[sparging]] (see [[brewing]]). Other grains may be malted, although the resulting malt may not have sufficient enzymatic content to convert its own [[starch]] content fully and efficiently and may create a "stuck sparge" .
==Malting==
[[Image:Eesthuis in Kent.jpg|thumb|A oast house in Kent]]
[[Image:Rookkanaal.jpg|thumb|A smoke channel in a oast house]]
A '''malting''', sometimes called ''maltings'', ''malthouse'', ''[[Oast_house|oast house]]'' or ''malting floor'', is a building that houses the process of converting [[barley]] into malt, for use in the [[brewing]] or [[distilling]] process. This is done by [[kiln]]-drying the sprouted barley. This is usually done by spreading the sprouted barley on a perforated wooden floor. Smoke, coming from a oasting [[fireplace]] (via smoke channels) is then used to heat the wooden floor (and thus, the sprouted grain with it). The temperature thus employed is usually around 55° Celsius. A typical floor maltings is a long, single-story building with a floor that slopes slightly from one end of the building to the other. There are a number of maltings buildings still in existence, and a handful are still operational. Floor maltings began to be phased out from the 1940's in favour of 'pneumatic plants'. Here large industrial fans are used to blow air through the germinating grain beds and to pass hot air through the malt being [[kiln]]ed. Like floor maltings these pneumatic plants are batch processes but of considerably greater size, typically 100 tonne batches compared with 20 tonne batches for a floor maltings.
==Mashing==
It is to be noted that malt is often divided into two categories by brewers; notably those that need [[mashing]] and those that don't need mashing.<ref>[http://www.howtobrew.com/section2/chapter12.html Malt division by mashing and not mashing]</ref> Light colored malts such as pale ale malt, pilsener malt and malted wheat need to be mashed to convert the starches into fermentable sugars. Pre-converted -or "speciality"- malts (caramel or crystal malts) don't need to be mashed.
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{refbegin}}
*[http://byo.com/feature/284.html Make Your Own Malt], ''Brew Your Own'' magazine (ISSN 1081-826X ), August 1997, pp. 32-36.
*[http://www.ukmalt.com UK Malt] The website of The Maltsters' Association of Great Britain. UK Malting Barley information and malt images.
{{refend}}
==See also==
{{Wiktionarypar|malt}}
* [[Mash ingredients]]
* [[Beer style]]
*[[Malta (soft drink)]]
* [[Malt beverage]]
* [[Malt liquor]]
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