to allow clear sugary liquid to come through. It’s as if barley was born for brewing; it has literally shaped itself to be as helpful as possible for the process.
It would be remiss not to mention the other grains involved in brewing, so props to wheat for your sweet, full body; rye for your tangy bite; and buckwheat for letting coeliacs live a little for once. Oh, and screw you, maize. Stop ruining our lagers.
We’ll be making references to all these grains during this chapter, but before we do we need to explain why it’s called malt rather than grain because it’s fundamental to how beer is made and why it tastes like it does.
THE MALTING PROCESS
There are two main kinds of barley used for malting – two-row and six-row. This refers to the number of kernels growing adjacent to each other on the ear. Two-row is best because the proteins and starch are more evenly distributed, making it a more predictable grain to malt and brew with. Six-row is just cheaper, so a good brewer wouldn’t touch it and neither will we.
Grains like barley are full of starch, a form of energy that yeast can’t ferment, so we “malt” it to make it easy for them. First, the grain is steeped in tepid water to hydrate the starch and activate the enzymes – the perfect state to sprout shoots and grow.
The process of shooting is known as germination. The seeds are left to germinate on giant, humidified warehouse floors. During this time, the tough starches break down into powdery mill that will turn to sugar during the mash. The grain is then kilned to dry it out and stop it growing into full-on barley before we can brew with it.
So far, so flavourless. It’s when we get kilning that malt gets exciting. As well as preserving the enzymes and sugar for the mash, maltsters can add colour and flavour in the kiln. The characteristics it picks up during this process play a huge part in defining a beer’s style. What follows is a simple breakdown of the malts you’ll find in a beer. It’s not a comprehensive list – there are books on the stuff – but all the other kinds are simply regional variations on these themes.
The first two are known as base malts – lighter grains that make up the majority of any malt bill. This is because they provide all the sugars and enzymes for the mash, and it only takes a tiny amount of dark malt to totally change a beer.
PILSNER MALT
Used mostly for – you guessed it – lagers, pilsner malt is the lightest of the malts because it has been kilned at such a low temperature (70-80ºC or 160ºF) that very little colour is added to the grain. Think of it like being put into stasis – nothing has really changed, and nothing will until water is reintroduced during the mash to get the chemical processes going again. Pilsner malt is bready, sweet and slightly honey-like when it’s really good stuff.
PALE ALE
Pale malt is the tiniest shade darker, thanks to being kilned a little hotter, and is the base for most modern ales including the famous American IPA. That hotter oven makes it more biscuity, though it remains sweet and pale like pilsner.
VIENNA
The malt that gives Vienna lager its name, Vienna is the first so-called “coloured” malt. It’s not too far off pale ale malt, but it’s been roasted quicker at around 110ºC (230ºF). Usually it’s used sparingly to add some toastiness, but when used in larger quantities it makes for a much darker beer – like Brooklyn Lager.
MUNICH
Munich malt is slightly unusual in that it involves the extra step of “stewing.” The grains are slowly cooked in water for around two hours at 40ºC (105ºF) to make more sugar available. It’s then quickly kilned, so the sugar caramelizes. Slightly darker than the base malts, Munich malt forms the bulk of Bocks, Märzens and many lagers where the brewer wants a little more colour and a fuller, malty flavour. Munich is also what gives ESBs their rich mouthfeel and depth. It’s not sweeter, but it’s somehow richer.
CRYSTAL
Crystal malt is made in the same way as Munich but at 60ºC (140ºF) with the malt in full-on starch-to-sugar conversion. It’s then kilned at a higher temperature to imbue the malt with a sweet, toffee-like flavour. It’s commonly used in American IPAs to balance out all the hop bitterness.
ACIDULATED MALT
Another strange one, acidulated malt is used to help turn a beer sour or lower the pH of a beer (we’ll explain why you’d want that soon). It’s made in the same way as all the other malts, except that it is either sprayed or naturally coated with lactic acid to lower its pH and taste more tart.
AMBER
You’re going to feel silly for even reading this one, but amber malt is a more toasted version of the pale ale that is used to give beers an amber hue and notes of slightly burnt toast and caramel.
BROWN
Now we’re getting into the dark malts. Brown malts are roasted to the colour of tree bark, to add a nuttiness and earthiness to beer while retaining a slight caramel note. Brown malts are used to add depth to porters, and, obviously, in brown ales.
SMOKED (Rauchmalz)
Smoked malts were made famous by the truly amazing Schlenkerla brewpub in Bamberg, Germany. Instead of kilning, producers of Rauchmalz smoke the grains over an open flame until they are dark and toasted. The best way to describe the resulting aroma is like bacon being cooked over a campfire.
CHOCOLATE
No need to tell you what colour or flavour this imparts in a beer, except to add that it can also imbue a complex coffee aroma, too. It’s not sweet at all because we reach the point of literally burning the sugar. In fact, it can add to the perceived bitterness of a beer, so you have to hop carefully after using this malt.
BLACK
Well the maltster just went and burnt it, didn’t he? I like to think this was invented when the guy in charge of the furnace got distracted (or went off for a beer). Anyway, black malt is roasted to the point of carbonising, so it adds an ashy, burnt coffee edge to the beer. It’s only ever used in tiny quantities to dry out the finish of a beer and create that sexy black colour.
THE OTHER GRAINS
Barley isn’t the only grain used in beer, and some others are malted, too. Here are the other common brewing grains and how they are used.
WHEAT
Easily the most common after barley, wheat is used to give beers more body and a subtle sweetness. You can tell it’s there by its lighter aroma and signature haze. It’s so obvious in beer that it has come to define most of the ones it is used in, such as Wits, Weissbiers and Berlinerweisses. It’s also often used in East Coast IPAs and low ABV hoppy beers to give them more body.
RYE
Imagine eating a slice of rye bread. That’s what this grain does to beer on a
