Production malting

There are two general means by which starch and proteins are solubilized (hydrolyzed) for the purpose of fermentation. These are by the action of suitable enzymes or by treatment with acids. Of these the former is much more common in the liquor industry. For the production of suitable enzymes the natural changes which occur in the sprouting of seeds are used. The employment of this natural chemical process is called malting, and the product, malt. 

Approximately 95% of the malt produced is used to make beet while small amounts are used as distillers and food malts. Distillers malt, which is used to convert starch-containing grains into fermentable sugars, is prepared almost exclusively for its enzymes, especially a-amylase (see Beverage SPIRITS, distilled). Food malts are sold for their davor and/or enzyme contribution to food products. 

Malt Production and Producers. World and U.S. beer and malt production are shown in Figure 6. Because approximately 95% of malt manufactured is used to make beer, malt production follows trends in beer production. World brewers malt and beer production in 1992 was approximately 13 million tons and 1.2 biUion hectoHters and was growing at 3% per year. U.S. brewers malt and beer production in 1992 was 2.2 million tons and 240 million hectoHters, but demand has been stagnant since 1982. Distillers and food malts account for approximately 5% of the U.S. and world malt production. 

Fig. 6. Malt and beer production A, world malt B, U.S. malt C, world beer and D, U.S. beer (5,39—44 and Bio-Technical Resources files).

A wide variety of special malts are produced which impart different flavor characteristics to beers. These malts are made from green (malt that has not been dried) or finished malts by roasting at elevated temperatures or by adjusting temperature profiles during kilning. A partial Hst of specialty malts includes standard malts, ie, standard brewers, lager, ale, Vienna, and wheat caramelized malts, ie, Munich, caramel, and dextrine and roasted products, ie, amber, chocolate, black, and roasted barley. 

Malt symps, which are extracts of conventional or specialty malts, are produced by three companies in the United States Breiss Malting Co., Malt Products Corp., and Crompton Knowles Corp. Malt extracts are used in a variety of food appHcations and by microbrewers and home brewers. 

The main by-products from the malting industry are malt sprouts, cleanout material, and small-kernel barley. Malt sprouts are primarily dried malt rootiets, containing 24—26% protein, 2—3% fat, and 12—14% fiber. Since the protein is readily available, malt sprouts are used in various animal feed blends. Occasionally, malt hulls and barley chaff are blended with malt sprouts. The remainder of the cleanout material and small kernel barley is sold as feed. 

Quality Malting Parley Production in the Midwest, American Malting Barley Association, Inc., Milwaukee, Wis., 1986. 

Wodd malt production figures, John Barth and Son, Nuremberg, Germany. 

Dimethyl sulfoxide occurs widely at levels of <3 ppm. It has been isolated from spearmint oil, com, barley, malt, alfalfa, beets, cabbage, cucumbers, oats, onion, Swiss chard, tomatoes, raspberries, beer, coffee, milk, and tea (5). It is a common constituent of natural waters, and it occurs in seawater in the 2one of light penetration where it may represent a product of algal metaboHsm (6). Its occurrence in rainwater may result from oxidation of atmospheric dimethyl sulfide, which occurs as part of the natural transfer of sulfur of biological origin (7,8). 

As a coen2yme component in tissue oxidation—reduction and respiration, riboflavin is distributed in some degree in virtually aU naturally occurring foods. Liver, heart, kidney, milk, eggs, lean meats, malted barley, and fresh leafy vegetables are particularly good sources of riboflavin (see Table 1). It does not seem to have long stabiUty in food products (8). 

The basic raw materials for the production of beer are sweet worts formed by en2ymatic hydrolysis of cereal starches. The principal cereal is barley which, after malting, is also the source of en2ymes that hydroly2e starches, glucans, and proteins. In some countries, eg, Germany, the mash biH consists... 

Long before the concept of pH, influences of minerals in water were empirically demonstrated in the various methods of production of both malt and beer. Water with a large carbonate content, as found in Munich and Copenhagen, demands long-grown and highly dried malt together with slow... 

Upon mashing, small amounts of tannin go into the solution from the malt, and later, during the boiling with hops, more tannin goes into the wort. Tannins from both barley and hops are leucoanthocyanin stmctures, in some cases they are derivatives of quercetin [117-39-5], cathechins are not found. The turbidities in beer, rich in leucoanthocyanins, are composed of peptones, peptides, and condensation products of the tannins of malts and hops. 

Low Wines. Low wines is the term for the initial product obtained by separating (in a pot or Coffey stiU) the beverage spirits and congeners from the wash. Low wines are subjected to at least one more pot stiU distiUation to attain a greater degree of refinement in the malt whiskey. 

Whole grains means grains of cereals from which no part has been intentionally removed. The unique taste characteristics and smokey flavor of Scotch is developed from peat used in the whisky production process. The character and amount of peat used in malting the barley have a critical affect on the flavor intensity of the final product. The aroma of the burning peat is absorbed by the barley malt and is carried through the distillation process. 

The dried malted barley is ground and mashed in a tub, after which the Hquid portion is drained off, cooled, and placed in the fermentor. After fermentation, a batch distillation system is usually used to separate the whisky from the fermented wort. The stiU consists of a copper ketde with a spiral tube or "worm" leading from the top. The dimensions and shape of the stills have a critical effect on the character of the whisky. The product taken off in the first part of the distillation is called foreshots (heads). The middle portion is the high wines and the last portion is the feints (tails). The middle portion is redistilled at the 140—160° proof (70—80%) range and matured in used oak cooperage. 

Irish Whiskey. Irish whiskeys are blends of grain and malt spirits three or more years of age that are produced in either the RepubHc of Ireland or Northern Ireland and comply with the respective laws regulating their manufacture. Since no peat is used in the malting process, Irish whiskey lacks the smokey character of Scotch. In the manufacturing process, the malt is soaked in water and milled to produce the wort. The fermentation usually takes about 60 hours. The first distillation in a pot stiU yields a 22—23% alcohol product. A second pot stiU distiUation produces a product that is 45—46% alcohol. This is foUowed by a third distiUation in another pot stiU to yield the Irish whiskey of about 68—70% alcohol. 

Some bourbon distillers use gibbereUin-treated malt along with glucoamylase to reduce by 50% the amount of malt in their grain bills and thereby lower production costs. 

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