Pale Barley Malt: Steeped, Floored and Kiln-Dried, Ure 1839

Malt is barley made to sprout and then dried: the sprouting turns its starch soft and partly sweet, ready for brewing. Andrew Ure (1839): steep the barley about two days, heap it on a stone floor until it sweats and sprouts, spread and turn it twice a day for about two weeks, then dry it on a gentle kiln. Good malt crumbles to white meal and floats on water. The picture: barley spread on a malting floor.

متوسط

Three weeks

التعليمات

Steep

Pour the barley into a tub of clear water, skim off the light grains that float, and keep the water a few inches over it for 40-48 hours, changing it if it turns sour. It is ready when a grain squeezed between the fingers sheds its flour.

المواد لهذه الخطوة:

حبّ الشعير10 كغ

الأدوات المطلوبة:

حوض خشبي

ماء

مِغرفة مثقّبة

ميزان ذو كفّتين

Couch

Drain it and heap it about 30-40 cm high on a stone floor for a day. It warms and sweats, and the rootlets break out.

الأدوات المطلوبة:

أحجار كبيرة مستوية

مجرفة

ميزان حرارة

Floor

Spread it thinner and turn it twice a day, bringing the inside out, down to about 8-10 cm deep, in a cool even room. Stop when the shoot inside the husk has crept nearly to the end of the grain and the inside crumbles to meal, about two weeks.

الأدوات المطلوبة:

مِشط خشبي

مجرفة

ميزان حرارة

Kiln-dry

When it is dry to the hand, spread it on trays and dry it hard in a gently warm oven (ours for a small batch), never so hot that it browns. Rub off the dry rootlets through a sieve and keep it in a sack. Test: good malt floats; barley sinks.

الأدوات المطلوبة: