Malt

Base Malts

Barley Malts

Any grain can be malted, but barley is the preferred grain for brewing beer. Malted barley contains a high percentage of starches, enzymes to convert the starches into sugars, and a husk the prevents the grains from compacting into a big sticky mess during mashing. The resulting sweet liquid from the mashing process is called wort. Base malts must be mashed. They can include:

• 2-Row Malt
• 6-Row Malt
• Pale Ale Malt
• Pilsner Malt
• Munich Malt
• Vienna Malt
• Mild Malt
• Brown Malt
• Smoked Malt

Other Grains

Just because barley is the first choice in brewing, doesn't mean that other grain doesn't end up in your beer. Other grains have been used in beer for several reasons. Cost, availability, war, and politics have all played a part in what grains were used for brewing. Today these grains are added by choice and can include:

• Wheat Malt
• Rye Malt
• Rice Malt
• Spelt
• Millet
• Sorghum
• Quinoa

Character Malts

Character malts add colors and flavors to the beer that the base malts can't provide. They are often roasted to varying degrees to give a range of flavors. Character malts can add a little sweetness, caramel flavors, nutty or bready notes, chocolate flavors and aromas, coffee hints and even burnt flavors. These malts can often be steeped in hot water to get these flavors and colors from the grains without needing to be mashed.

• Acid or Acidulated
• Aromatic
• Biscuit
• Black Patent
• Carafa
• Cara- Malts
  • CaraFoam
  • CaraPils
  • CaraVienne
  • CaraMunich
• Chocolate Malt
• Crystal Malts
• Dextrin Malt
• Honey Malt
• Melanoidin
• Peated Malt
• Roasted Barley
• Toasted Malt
• Special B
• Victory

Extracts

Extracts are the result of a wort that has already been produced and concentrated. The manufacturer mashes base malts and often their own blend of character malts to produce a wort that is ready to be fermented into beer. This wort is condenced through heat and evaporation to remove some or nearly all the water leaving a product that is readily fermentable, easy to use and does not require the time, expense, or use of mashing equipment. Extract is added to water to dilute to the strength, or gravity, that the brewer wants and then fermented.

Liquid Malt Extract

Liquid Malt Extract, or LME is the resut of removing some, but not all of the water from the wort. It is a syrup and is available in hopped and unhopped forms. One pound of base malt is equivelant to approximately 0.75 pounds of LME. It can be packaged in cans, plastic containers, or sealed bags. Colors vary from Extra Light to Dark depending on what style of beer is to be made.

Dried Malt Extract

Dried Malt Extract, or DME is the result of removing nearly all of the water from the wort, producing a powdery extract that is easily reconstituted. It is produced by spraying the wort in a fine mist in a heated room with negative air pressure. The water in each droplet almost instantly evaporates, leaving a fine powder that is collected. DME is often refered to "Spray Malt" for this reason. One pound of base malt is equivelant to approximately 0.6 pounds of DME. Colors are usually only seen in the Extra Light, Light, or Pale varities.

Adjuncts

Adjunct Grains

• Corn Grits
• Flaked Grains
  • Flaked Barley
  • Flaked Corn
  • Flaked Oats
  • Flaked Rice
  • Flaked Rye
  • Flaked Wheat
• Rice Hulls
• Torrified Wheat
• Wheat Berries

Other Fermentables

• Candi Sugar
• Corn Sugar
• Honey
• Molasses
• Table Sugar
• Treacle
• Turbano Sugar