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Barley in its original state cannot be used to make beer, it has to first be malted. The barley is allowed to germinate, or sprout by soaking it water for several days, then draining the water and holding the barley at 15.5 C for six days. During the germination process barley releases enzymes that break down it's natural starches into sugars. Ideally you want to stop the germination process when the barley has just created the enzymes to change starches to sugar but has not yet actually changed them. These sugars will be used to feed the yeast and create the alcohol in the beer. Once the germination process is over the barley is dried and the inensity of the malt flavor all depends on what temperature the barley is dried at. Then it is ready to begin the brewing process. |
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