How to make barley malt at home

The peoples of Mesopotamia learned how to make something similar to beer long before our era. Even then, the principle of preparing alcoholic beverages from starch-containing raw materials became clear to mankind. The key role here is still occupied by malt, which our moonshiners have recently preferred to make at home.

A bit of theory. Alcohol is formed as a result of the vital activity of yeast cultures. Alcohol, carbon dioxide and heat are the waste products of this life, the result of the processing of simple sugars. Starch is a polysaccharide, a “complex sugar”, and as one experienced homedistiller says: “…it’s too much sugar to keep yeast in your mouth.” Therefore, nothing stronger than paste can be cooked from starch. But it can be saccharified, that is, break the polysaccharide chain into monosaccharides tasty for yeast. Malt will help us with this.

Malt is artificially germinated grains of cereals (barley, rye, wheat, oats, millet, etc.). As a result of germination (also “malting”, “saccharification”) of grains, enzymes appear in them that break down polysaccharides into monosaccharides. Also, in the process of saccharification, the cell membrane, in which starch is securely “packed”, is destroyed and the contents of the cell become available for enzymes.

If we talk about the scope of malt, then it is quite extensive. If you are not new to the topic of eau de vie, then you should certainly know that whiskey is made from barley malt (and not only). Also, malt is a key component in the preparation of beer, kvass and others like them. But for us, “hereditary moonshiners”, malt enzymes are of a different value – they allow you to quickly and at minimal cost saccharify starch-containing raw materials, and then ferment it and make delicious moonshine. Cheap moonshine.

They do the same with homemade bourbon, and Sutton’s “Popcorn” did the same. Today we will talk more about green malt, that is, freshly germinated and requiring quick use. Green malt is the most active and we will consider its ability to saccharify starch as 100%. From it, you can easily get the so-called light (white, aka diafarin) malt, the activity of which drops slightly – up to 80%. Diafarin is stored for 1 year or more.

With proper germination, 1 kg of dry grain gives a sufficient amount of green malt to saccharify 6 kg of starch-containing raw materials.

I repeat once again: we germinate malt to a large extent for the saccharification of starch-containing raw materials, for its further fermentation and distillation. For the production of beer and kvass, a slightly different malt is used, although the technology for its production is very similar to that described below. The technology for preparing beer malt (including for kvass), as well as barley malt for making whiskey, I will definitely describe in the following articles. So, let’s move on to practice.

Selection of grain for germination

This is a very important stage, since it is good grain that produces high-quality malt, which is what we are striving for. First of all, you need to decide on the culture. For home germination, wheat and rye are ideal – these are naked crops, so they germinate quickly enough and are easily crushed. Barley malt also germinates well, but the process is longer. On average, green barley malt is obtained in 9-10 days, 5-6 days – rye, 7-8 days – wheat, 8-9 days – oat.

Fresh, freshly harvested grain is not suitable – it has very poor germination (germination ability). From the moment of harvesting, at least 2 months must pass, but not more than 1 year. The grains should be fully ripe, full, heavy, and light yellow in color. Inside: loose, white and mealy. When immersed in water, full-bodied grains sink. Of course, the raw materials must be well sifted, without impurities of weeds.

Germination of grain can be checked independently. To do this, select 100 large grains and place them in a glass of water. Remove the floating ones and replace them with the same number of full-bodied ones that sink. Then the grains should be laid out on a saucer, covered with a damp cloth and left in a warm, dark place. If necessary, the fabric must be moistened. After 2-3 days, we check the germination – we count the number of unsprouted grains, we get a percentage. A good raw material for obtaining any malt is grain, which has a germination capacity of at least 90-92%.

Grain cleaning and disinfection, soaking

Pour clean, sifted grain into a suitable container and fill it with water. We remove floating, hollow cereals and debris. We rinse a couple more times until we get clear water. Pour water again, so that it covers the cereals by 3-5 cm, and leave for 6-8 hours, no more. With this method, germination takes a minimum of time (“torrential method”). In the traditional malting technology, the grain is soaked until its moisture content reaches 40% – the shell is easily separated from the pulp, the grain does not break when bent, a sprout is indicated. With this method, the water in the hot season should be changed every 6 hours, in the cold – every 12 hours. It takes 24 hours or more.

The following procedure is optional, but highly recommended. After soaking, the grain must be washed again and poured with a weak solution of potassium permanganate or iodine for disinfection (per 10 liters of potassium permanganate water at the tip of a knife or 30-40 drops of iodine). If this is not done, then putrefactive bacteria can develop in the grain during growth. We wait 15-20 minutes, drain the solution, wash the grain again and send it for germination.

Important! Water must be drained completely. The grain should be moist, but not wet. The main thing is to prevent a white liquid from escaping when the grain is broken – this is a sign that the grain has been overexposed in water and is not suitable for making malt.

Malt growing

There are two fundamentally different ways of grain germination: “drenching” and growing without watering. Let’s start with a simple, often described in the literature method of germinating malt without watering.

Growing malt without irrigation

After soaking, and in this case it is a long process for 24 hours or more, the grain should breathe. Wet grain after disinfection should be distributed in boxes with a layer of 5 cm for 6-8 hours. Every 2-3 hours, the grain must be stirred, raised above the box, blowing it through in this way and reducing the amount of carbon dioxide. Then the “breathed” grain should be poured into boxes / basins of 10 cm layers and left for 8-12 hours in a well-ventilated area. To even out the growth, the top of the boxes can be covered with a damp cloth.

Important! During the growth of grain in the room, it is very desirable to maintain a temperature in the region of 17-18 ^оC. If the temperature is lower, grain growth will slow down. If higher, there is a risk of rotting and mold.

Further, the procedure is reduced to the constant ventilation and moistening of the mass. After the first 8-12 hours, the grain must be turned, lifting it with your hands above the boxes, blowing through. Also, during the growth, it is necessary to maintain the moisture content of the grain in the region of 40%, so dry grain (determined by eye) must be sprayed with water, but not abundantly – for 5 kg of dry grain no more than 50-70 ml of water per spraying.

Every 6-8 hours of germination, the grain must be turned and sprayed.

In case of accumulation of moisture at the bottom of the box, if it is not perforated, it must be removed and the grain dried – a lot of moisture is bad for growth. The first 3-5 days of growing grain (in this case, we mean barley, respectively, and long periods) must be well and regularly ventilated. At the second stage, it is better to limit the air flow – this reduces the loss of starch, etc. At home, this is not necessary to do, this is how they do it in production.

When tedding the grain, do not be afraid to break the sprouts or roots, as the biological processes inside the grain will still continue and the enzymes will be synthesized further. On the 2-3rd day of growth inside the grain mass, the temperature will begin to rise to 20-24 ^оC, and the mass itself will begin to increase. Here it is important to prevent the “sweating” of the grain, therefore, during this period it is necessary to stir it especially often, and if necessary, reduce the layer to 5 cm.

The malt is ready when the sprout reaches the length of the grain itself or a little more. For example, a barley sprout reaches a length of 5-6 mm. Do not confuse sprouts with roots. The latter are longer and thinner than the sprout (in barley they reach 12-15 mm).

Other signs of green malt readiness: the grain has become sweet, has lost its floury taste, and crunches when biting; malt has a pleasant cucumber smell; the roots are intertwined, it is difficult to take one grain separately.

Growing malt in a “drip” way

After disinfection and ventilation, the grain is loaded into any perforated container – basins with small holes, boxes with a sieve at the bottom, etc. At least twice a day, the grain should be watered abundantly with water, for example, from the shower, for about a minute. If you want to accelerate growth – pour warm water, slow down – cold. It is advisable to do the strait 4-5 times a day. This is more necessary to flush out bacteria. Twice a day it is desirable to change the top and bottom (boxes with a sieve from below and from above are ideal for this). The readiness of malt is determined by the signs described above.

Drying green malt

After germination, the malt must be disinfected. To do this, it needs to be soaked for 30-60 minutes in a weak solution of potassium permanganate or iodine. You can speed up the process up to 15-20 minutes using a strong solution of potassium permanganate – 0,2-0,3 g / l. Green malt can also be washed with a 1% sulfuric acid solution.

Green barley and any other malt should be put into production as soon as possible. At this stage, it is an ideal breeding ground for various bacteria and fungi that can seriously compete with yeast in the mash. Of course, before using green malt, it must be crushed. An ordinary meat grinder or special malt grinders, which today can be easily bought in beer stores, are ideal for this. If you didn’t manage to use the malt right away, put it on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator in a rag bag – there it will last another 3 days.

But it is better to dry the green malt. This will give you a pale malt or diafarine that can be kept in a jar for more than a year, which is very convenient. Drying is carried out at a temperature not exceeding 40 ^оC – higher, means the enzymes are destroyed. Drying should be fast, vigorous, with intensive ventilation and a constant temperature. In everyday life, underfloor heating in a well-ventilated room is ideal for this. In general, special drying cabinets are used for this. You can get by with a free room with a wind heater. You can dry the malt on the battery in winter or on the balcony in summer. If you have a private house and you make malt in the summer, you can dry it on a hot day in the attic.

After drying, the malt should have a moisture content of about 3-3,5%. Signs: grains are dry to the touch, have a sweet taste, roots and sprouts are easily separated by rubbing in the hands. “White” malt has a fairly high activity of enzymes – about 80% of 100% green.

Grinding it is a little more difficult: here you will need the millstones of a malt crusher or coffee grinder. 1 kg of diafarin saccharifies 4-5 kg ​​of raw materials, which, in my opinion, is a good indicator. True, the drying process needs to be well thought out and done correctly.

Malt storage

Before packing the “white” malt, you need to get rid of the sprouts and roots that are still on the grain. To do this, grind the malt with your hands or put it in a bag and roll it until the sprouts separate themselves. After that, the malt must be sieved in the wind or in front of a fan. It must be stored in a dry place in a closed container. The resulting malt can saccharify almost any starch-containing raw material: rice, wheat, barley, millet, peas, rye, corn, oats and even potatoes.

True, different cereals give slightly different enzymes, so for the preparation of malted milk (a mixture of malt and water), a mixture of malts should be used. It is not recommended to use malt for saccharification of raw materials from which it is made. For reflection, the composition of malt for saccharification of wheat and rye:

Wheat:

• 50% barley, 25% oat, 25% rye malt.
• 50/50 mix of rye and barley or 50/50 barley and millet.

Rye:

• 50% wheat, 25% barley, 25% oat malt.
• 50% wheat, 40% barley, 10% oat malt.
• 50/50 barley and oats.

Our germinated malt is not suitable for making whiskey, beer and kvass. This also applies to “white” malt. These drinks require a different drying regime with more intense heat treatment.

In future articles with recipes for drinks from starchy raw materials, including beer and kvass, we will give the recommended composition of the mash. If self-germination of malt seemed to you a complicated and time-consuming process, just buy ready-made and do not fool yourself. But process control at all stages of the production of alcoholic beverages … in general, this should be strived for. At least it’s interesting!

Video instruction of an interesting person: