07/31/07

I received many emails about where I got my malt. I bought it from a home-brew supply shop. I bought 2 types of barley malt, one in its original form and the other was already in powder form. The only reason why I bought the barley malt was just to satisfy my curiosity. In a way, I regretted buying such a huge quantity of it and it would take me some time to finish it.

Surprisingly, it is very easy to make malt. The two types are diastatic malt which is enzyme active. The other type is non-diastatic malt. The enzymes in non-diastatic are no longer active as they the sprouts have been subjected to a higher temperature.

Since it is difficult to find intact barley in Singapore, I decided to make wheat malt instead. The barley available here has already been de-husked and can no longer sprout. Sprouting occurs when the wheat berry is in contact with moisture. When this happens, the bio-chemical magic begins and enzymes that break down starch and produce sugars are created.

To make diastatic malt, the sprouts must be dried out at a lower temperature, typically between 50-70 deg C. For non-diastatic malt, the drying temperature is around 150-180 deg C.

The wheat berries are steeped in cool water. After a while, bubbles start appearing. This activity is the result of yeast in the berries feeding on starch and is one way of creating a sourdough starter.

The berries are spread out on kitchen towel paper to dry. After one day, the sprouting begins.

When the sprouts are the same length as the berry, it is time to kiln them gently in the oven. The lowest setting in my oven was 60 deg C. I want to make some diastatic malt to see how they perform. If I want some malt flavor, I can always kiln them at a higher temperature.