Inspection And Identification Of Malt As Raw Material Of Craft Beer

In recent years, refined white beer has become more and more popular among people, bringing a strong malt aroma, rich taste and mouthfeel to everyone, subverting the public's perception of traditional beer. According to the different equipment of refined beer, different brewing technology, and different selection of raw materials, the final taste of refined beer is also different. Good wine is the basic truth that everyone knows. Next, let’s talk about the quality detection of malt, the basic raw material for beer brewing.
In beer malt, the sensory requirements for pale malt are stipulated as "light yellow, lustrous, malt aroma, no peculiar smell, and no mold grains".
The color of the malt is the result of the joint action of the original color of the barley and the processing. The natural color of barley is light yellow to golden yellow, soaking the barley during the malting process can partially extract the pigment substances in the barley husk, and the dry malt is generally light yellow. When barley encounters rainfall during the harvest period, it will turn dark yellow and gray depending on the degree, and in severe cases, black hair, mold, and pink fusarium mycelium will appear. Malt made from this barley can also darken or turn gray in color.
Incorrectly colored barley generally lacks luster. Although it is an ordinary color, the old wheat of previous years has also lost its luster. This happens as the moisture becomes high and the resulting malt also lacks luster. If the wheat is not washed thoroughly, the gloss of the malt will also be reduced. Glossy malts that are kept for too long will gradually lose their luster. Sulfur-fumigated malt has a light, but lacklustre appearance and a relatively poor white color.
The aroma components of malt are extremely complex, and the higher the roasting temperature is, the more it will be produced. In addition, the amount of production at the same temperature is positively correlated with moisture. When the moisture in the malt is too low in the roasting period, the aroma will not be obvious even if the temperature is increased. When the original malt is contaminated with mold or stored for too long, the malt will have miscellaneous odors such as mold, dust, and cardboard odor. Improper control of the malting process will bring malt odor, such as too high biological oxygen consumption in the soaking water will cause rancidity; excessive malting and poor ventilation will make the sour taste and smell dull; if it is too soluble, blue odor If the temperature rises too fast during the drying period, there will be a burnt smell, etc.
The tactile quality of malt is not only a superficial problem, the reason behind it is closely related to the quality of beer. Old barley is highly oxidized, which can deteriorate the color of beer. Mold can affect the flavor of beer, causing yeast to settle and beer to spurt. The difference in malt aroma is directly related to the low drying temperature, which may lead to increased DMS, dull and unpleasant beer taste, high solidified nitrogen, and unclear wort.
The following is a simple way to identify malt quality on site:
1. The husk is basically complete, the color is golden, the luster is good, and the color of a grain of wheat is uniform; the quality of earth-colored, blue, and dark-colored malt is slightly poor, and the germ of the wheat kernels does not turn black and burnt.
2. Squeeze a pinch of malt with the palm of your hand, and let it smell kissing for about 1 minute. There is an obvious malt aroma, which means it is of good quality. , Cut from the middle of the malt long axis with the front teeth, it feels very crispy. Observing the section, it is whitish and powdery, and scraped gently with nails, a large amount of fine powder falls off, the quality is good, and the quality of vitreous and semi-vitreous grains is poor. The cutting test is more than 10 grains.
3. According to the size of the wheat grains, if the grains are uniform, full, short and of good quality, the miscellaneous grains should not exceed 1%.
4. Grab 5-7 malts and put them in your mouth to chew. You can feel the burnt grains and good malt aroma. Stay in your mouth for 2-3 minutes, and you will obviously feel that the sweetness is better.
5. Take more than a dozen grains of malt and put them on the ground, and rub them lightly with the soles of your shoes. If not all of them are broken into whole grains, it proves that the dissolution is good.
The above is about the quality inspection and identification methods of malt, the basic raw material for beer brewing. I hope everyone has to help. Be sure to choose the brewing material.