Malt Specialty Products Group

Question
Great site! I am trying to work my way through the technical information, but I was wondering if you could give me a rough answer to a question - I am thinking of trying to grow barley on a smallholding for my own use. In order to plan the land use, I need to know how much weight does barley lose or gain in the malting? My home experiments say that crushed malt is about 75% of the weight of an equal volume of barley, and you mention in one of the answers here that 6,000 bushels of barley have a finished result of 7,000 bushels of malt. This would seem to imply that a kilo of barley results in a slightly larger volume of malt that weighs about 850g. Is that right?
Posed by Meredith Robbins, UK on October 9, 2000

Answer
Correct. The barley will pick up a percentage of moisture in the malting process.

Question
I would like more information on the Manley and Stratus barley varieties,in particular their husk seperation characteristics and any additional information.
Posed by Greg Browne, Lincolnshire Illinois USA on August 23, 2000

Answer
Both the Manley and Stratus have better husk adherence than Harrington.

The Manley has greater Diastatic Power (DP) than Harrington while the Stratus is slightly lower.

Beta-Glucan levels for the Manley and Stratus are similar, both a little higher than Harrington.

Both the Manley and Stratus produce higher extract than Harrington, by about one percent, ASBC.

Stratus gives lower final attenuation, possibly due to the fact that it contains lower levels of the essential amino acids. This is seen if the variety is used as 100% of the malt bill. In a blend with other varieties this effect may not be seen.

Question
I just did a experiment on determining the amylase activity in germinating barley. This is done by measuring the rate of starch hydrolysis.
My problem is that I do not know how to get the rate.
The only thing is given is the concentration of the starch, the time take to reach achromic point and the volume of diluted amylase extract added to the buffer and starch solution.
So, I hope that you sir, can provide an answer to my question, cause I have looked everywhere for answer. Thank you
Posed by Tommy, Selangor Malaysia on August 7, 2000

Answer
When we analyze alpha-amylase activity in malt, we use the ASBC (American Society of Brewing Chemists) iodine based test.

We first use a sample with a known alpha value (usually an industry calibration). This sample would be dilluted and a series of samples of varying concentrations would be prepared. A given amount of each would be added to a flask of starch and reacted for the same amount of time (this varies depending on the calibration alpha value).

The amount of starch left is measured via a spectrophotometer. The darker the color, the lower the alpha activity and the lower the percentage transmittance.

We calculate a regression standard curve based on this data. We then run our unknown samples and determine the percentage transmittance. The regression is used to determine alpha value.

So, what you could do is run some kind of a standard calibration line where a linear regression could be determined. You could then plug your unkown values into the equation to determine the alpha value.

Question
I was reading an article in the online Brewers Market Guide by Neil Gudmestad, Raymond Taylor, and Paul Schwarz on the topic of Fusarium infections. They warn that brewers using European malts should be especially cautious of this.

What steps, if any, is DeWolf-Cosyns taking to ensure that the grain they supply is free of Fusarium?
Posed by Brian Lundeen, Winnipeg MB Canada on July 11, 2000

Answer
To my knowledge, Fusarium has been a North America isolated problem. Much has been done since the writing of this article to combat the outspread of this barley disease.

Question
First of all your web page is really interesting.
I have a laboratory of testing seed. I want to know, which technique do you use to identify the diferents varieties a sample of malt has.
I use electrophoresis of hordein proteins for barley, to verify the variety, but I do not have good results in malt.Can you help me?
Posed by Marta Alvarez, Bahía Blanca Buenos Aires Argentina on June 21, 2000

Answer
The standard procedure for the identification of malting barley varieties is sodium dodecylsulfide polyacrilamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-page for short)of the hordein proteins.

However, it is not all inclusive. It really can only sort the pattern of bands into one of perhaps 20 patterns. So, for example, this technique cannot differentiate Stander from Robust.

Another technique, SDS-page of the esterase enzymes, can differentiate Stander and Robust.

Question
Dear Sir
My question is related to the time it takes for newly harvested barley to be used in an end product food that uses barley malt.
1) What is the normal shortest time from harvest to use by an end user?
2) What is an average time delay?

How do these time delays differ by application such as beer, cereal flavoring, and malted barley flour added to wheat baking flour?

Thank you for your help.

Stephen Herman
Posed by Stephen Herman, Briarcliff Manor NY USA on June 5, 2000

Answer
For brewers malt you have to wait for the barley to break dormancy, which can take two to three months depending on the crop and harvest conditions. The malt is then aged for a month.

Normally the food/cereal malt is made from "C" garde barley removed in the cleaning process from brewers malt. Aging would be slightly longer before the barley was processed as malt.

Question
dear sir,
i am working on the project physical treatments on fusarium infected barley.so in this regard i need literature concerning" fungi responsible for creating problems in malting process."
yours truly,
balasubrahmanyam.k
Posed by kottapalli balasubrahmanyam, fargo north dakota u.s. on February 15, 2000

Answer
I suggest you contact AMBA, the American Malting Barely Association in Milwaukee, WI. They will have a much better perspective on this subject.

You can find their web site at www.ambainc.org or e-mail at info@ambainc.org

Question
How is it that malt remains consistent over different growing seasons? The alpha content of hops is constantly changing so how is it that malt can deliver about the same extract year after year? Why did I just ask the same question twice?
Posed by Shawn Duncan, Bar Harbor Maine usa on February 9, 2000

Answer
Great question. Actually this a problem that the maltster and our barley buyer have to deal with every year.

Each year brings a new crop and with it a whole new set of challenges. With this in mind, the maltster is able to manipulate the barley in the malt house to meet the customer's exacting requirements.

The elevator manager also plays an important role in creating a "blend" from several different production pieces of malt in order to meet these specifications.

Question
I've been hearing things in the news about
farmers growing genetically-altered corn
and having companies (including 2 Japanese
breweries) refusing to buy them. These corn
crops, which produce their own toxins to ward
off certain harmful insects, might not be
totally safe for human consumption, or that's
what some "experts" are saying.

Does Schreier (or any other malting company
that you know of) use genetically-altered
barley?
Posed by Claude Zientek, Hoffman Estates IL USA on August 29, 1999

Answer
Some work has been done to help promote healthier, disease resistent barley in the field.

However, I am not clear on whether or not these new varieties are in use.

You may wish to contact the American Malting Barley Association (AMBA) for greater clarification at www.ambainc.org

Question
I am interested in finding out about Moravian III barley. A book on VMO (Law & Law) mentions it as the superior barley for making Vienna lagers. I know ideal malt for Vienna's is different than pale malt, but I would be thrilled to try either in my Vienna lager.

Thank You in advance
JJ Hantsch, Urban Knaves of Grain
(west suburban Chicago homebrew club)
Posed by JJ Hantsch, Indianapolis IN USA on May 17, 1999

Answer
Unfortunately, little or none of the Moravian III variety makes its way into the commercial market.

The vast majority of this malt is contract farmed for the Adolph Coors brewery of Golden, Colorado.

Question
Hello, I´m wondering if you can give me information regarding the storage conditions of wheat malt and other hints of it´s difference with the usual barley malt.
Considering the lack of husk on wheat malt, what´s the average time of storage in good conditions?
Posed by Eugenio de la Mora Miquel, Mexico City D.F. Mexico on October 29, 1998

Answer
I have not experienced a significant difference in storing malted wheat vs. barley.

As a general rule of thumb, malted barley and wheat can be stored for as long as six months under ideal conditions i.e., a cool, dry place free of insects and rodents.

Additionally, because wheat is a "naked" grain it is more readily harmed than normal husked barley by mechanical handling.

Question
In the brewing industry I often hear of hop growers trying to develop better hop cultivars. Is there something similar happening for malting barley?
Posed by Todd Ashman, Flossmoor IL USA on May 13, 1998

Answer
Yes. Through the efforts of organizations such as AMBA, (the American Malting Barley Association) improvements are being made in barley crop yield, disease resistance, and other agronomic concerns. For additional information on this subject you may access the AMBA web site at: ambainc.org