MALT

Malt comes from barley which has been soaked, allowing germination and then heat is applied to stop this process. The length of time and temperature given to the malt depends on what flavour malt is required, for instance a lightly-roasted malt will create a very pale beer and a dark-roasted malt will produce a dark, caramel beer.

Malt is added to hot water and then ‘mashed’ (steeped whilst being pumped around) for around 60–90 minutes depending on recipe, allowing the starches to be converted to sugar. The malt is then ‘sparged’ or ‘washed’ with more hot water and then drained and thrown away. The liquid is now called Wort and is very sweet to taste and is not yet alcoholic. It is now time to flavour the beers with hops.

Various types of roasted malt