Malt – brewemaster’s canvas and colors

A beer drinker knows that beer is made of malt, hops, water, and yeast. If everything is clear with hop and water, then were does the malt grow? Malt is called malted cereals. It is not emphasized that this is malted barley, since ordinary barley is used in brewing. Thus, simply malt. However, separately are talked about rye malt and wheat malt, because they also have an interesting place in brewing.

During the malting, the grains are immersed or steeped in water, are then put to sprout and are dried at the right moment. Mashing allows the enzymes in the malt to break down the starch in the grain into sugars. This is where it gets complicated. Depending on what kind of barley is used, how much, and on what temperature the malt is dried, it is possible to create a whole myriad of different malts. Some maltis made for giving as little color and flavor as possible, while others give the aroma of cookies or bread fresh from the oven. Some malt are roasted black, which give the notes of coffee and chocolate, and with some malts the starch is allowed to turn into sugar before being dried, which gives the nice caramelly character. Oh, and the smoked malt; beech or oak tree smoky? Alternatively, perhaps cherry tree smoky?

If none of this is enough, then the malt with similar features from different manufacturers can give quite a different taste. This is the master brewer’s palette, from which the beer can be put together. Though one thing is sure – it would be a sin to complain about the lack of choice.

Lehe Pruulikoda’s malt will be coming from Weyermann Malting Company in Germany. It is a family business, which is mostly known for the high quality. They have been in the malting business from 19th century; however, the doings of the ancestors are traceable back to the 15th century documents.