My malting procedure

[tubbsy]

I've been malting my own wheat and barley for a little while now and have been asked to post some pictures of my process, so here it is! Began malting some barley today so will post some pictures as they happen during my process. If anyone has some feedback, please share! Just because I know how doesn't mean I'm any good at it!

Step 1- In this picture I have about 6kg of barley. It's only feed grade but has nice consistent size grains and is free from foreign matter. I wash the grain using a handheld water gun on Jet, which gives the grain a good agitation. I'll fill the tray and quickly decant the water off to get any chaff before it sinks. I'll do that 5 or 6 times until the water is pretty clear. I don't worry too much about any remaining chaff as I figure it's not too far removed from the husk. When done I'll fill the tub again with the jet (the jet has the benefit of oxygenating the grains too) till the water is a few inches above the grain.

This will then steep for around 12hours.

 

[kadmium]

Heck yeah this is awesome! Can't wait to see how it progresses!!!!

 

[tubbsy]

It's worth pointing out that I'm not monitoring the moisture content this time around. I did the first few times with a tea-ball, but now just go by the chits. I also don't monitor the temperature. I hope to eventually when I can control it a bit better, but at this stage it steeps in the tap water at around 10-14ºC and will typically stay that temp all night.

The steeping schedule is basically my work/sleep schedule, so hasn't been too consistent, especially if it occurs over a weekend. It got a 13.5 hour steep last night and this morning before work I drained it in a mesh basket. I got these baskets from Bunnings and they work really good as the hole size is perfect for this purpose (and others as you'll eventually see). After tipping the grain into this basket, I then set it back into the plastic tub (it's a snug fit and sits off the bottom), cover loosely, and let rest until I get home from work.

 

[shacked]

This is awesome. Looking forward to the rest of the process!!

 

[tubbsy]

No photo today, because the grain only went back in the tub for another steep. It'll steep for another 14 hours, then rest again for another 9-10 hours tomorrow. We'll see then what more is needed.

 

[tubbsy]

Pic of the chits starting to emerge this morning. Will need more time, with maybe a 4 hour steep this afternoon, but we'll see..

 

[yankinoz]

MYO (malt your own) takes dedication. Good on you and best of luck, but I won't be joining in soon.

 

[tubbsy]

MYO (malt your own) takes dedication. Good on you and best of luck, but I won't be joining in soon.

I've had a few people tell me that, which I find weird given the hobby of the people saying it. I guess it's like people who love cooking, but would rather use packet pasta instead of making it yourself.

The 5-10 minutes per day it requires isn't that much of an imposition and I enjoy the process, which is easier than a lot of people realise (with the right equipment).

 

[MHB]

I think there is only one good reason to make your own malt - because you want to!
Mind you having shipped stuff to the west coast of Tasmania, freight might come into it.

For your other hobby, sure, but for brewing I want a COA on every malt I use, lower protein contents than you will get from feed grade barley.
Most of my brewing is recipe development for commercial brews or finetuning other recipes, to be able to do that effectively I need to know exactly what is going into every brew. Its all about repeatability for me.
I can admire what you're doing, won't be doing it any time soon.
Wish you all the best and happy to cheer from the sidelines.
Mark

 

[tubbsy]

So, not much more to report today. Chits are similar this morning, so it's soaking for another 6 hours. Will strain the grains before bed and rest over night.

 

[tubbsy]

Had a 6 hour soak yesterday evening, then another 8hr rest overnight. The rootlets are starting to emerge, and this is where I've been stopping the steep/rest and begin the germination phase. I germinate the grain in the basket sitting in the tub to allow some air flow through the grain so it doesn't get too hot (temp of grain this morning was 11.2C).

 

[Hangover68]

Well done, as a chef of 35 years i understand your desire to do this.
Looking forward to the end result, what is the cost of feed grade barley anyway ?

 

[tubbsy]

Well done, as a chef of 35 years i understand your desire to do this.
Looking forward to the end result, what is the cost of feed grade barley anyway ?

What I'm using now costs $12/20kg, but could be had cheaper if bought directly from a farmer. Current port prices are around $220-$260 per tonne. Oddly, malt barley is selling for pretty much the same price, probably due to the China situation.

 

[tubbsy]

Germination continues with the rootlets growing some more. Gave the grain a spray from a bottle to moisten while turning it over by hand. Grain temp sitting at 20.1°C.

 

[Feldon]

Oh please God, tell me you're not going to toast those new born babies to death!!
Agghhhhhhh. No!!!!

 

[tubbsy]

Oh please God, tell me you're not going to toast those new born babies to death!!
Agghhhhhhh. No!!!!

What?!?

 

[S.E]

Oh please God, tell me you're not going to toast those new born babies to death!!
Agghhhhhhh. No!!!!

I suspect it could be worst! (arguably). Wouldn’t surprise me if he just lets them dry out slowly laid out in full sun to die!

 

[tubbsy]

More germination today. Still only turning twice a day, but may have to do it more often once the rootlets get a bit longer to prevent matting.

 

[tubbsy]

The importance of turning and not having the bed too thick was evident this morning. Despite an ambient temp of 13°C, the middle of the bed was 26°C.

Also checked the acrospire length today and its not far off. With the grain I'm using I can actually see the acrospire under the husk, but I peeled the husk back to get a better look. I checked 10 grains and all had similar lengths. I reckon it'll be done this afternoon.

 

[MHB]

That one looks ready to kiln. Another day and the first of your Hussars will be showing.
My interest in malting is mostly academic, have studied it and been through a couple of maltings as part of studying brewing, so treat this as observation not criticism.
Everything I can see says you may not have got quite enough moisture into the grain at the start and that its been way too warm.

Looking at yesterdays picks, there is some there that is starting to branch (ty rootlets) and some that is just starting to chitt. There is also a fair fraction that have done diddly.

When barley is classes as malting grade Protein content is one of the main criterion, one of the others is evenness of sprouting, the varieties chosen for malting are selectively breed for this trait. If you can get your hands on malting barley you might get better results.

Uneven hydration will result in uneven sprouting, too warm tends to promote rootlet growth, normally by the time the rootlet is the length of the corn it should have forked and the acrospires should be about 3/4 of the corn length and the goods ready for kilning.
There will be a significant loss of potential from overgrowth.

Anything you can do to measure your moisture uptake (100 corn weight, imbedding some perforated containers with a known mass of grain in the bed...) and being able to control the temperature better should help.
Most malt is cooled has the CO2 content and has the moisture of the bed controlled by forcing air through it, probably need a bit more than a fan.

If you were making malt for another hobby it wouldn't matter but brewing malt, especially if you intend to do isothermal mashing, needs to be very well and evenly modified. What you have there will be inconsistent and I would strongly recommend you either do decoction mashes (the traditional way to cope with under/inconsistently modified malt) or step mashes, should improve your yields and the quality of the wort.
Well simply it would help make better tasting beer - and for me that's the nuts.

Am still following with interest.
Mark