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BEER STUFF MADE SIMPLE - MALT

Malt. It sounds yum and you know it goes in beer. But what even is malt? Let’s find out, together, step by step, hand in hand, in the latest edition of the Beer Stuff Made Simple series. 

Almost any kind of grain can go in beer, from oats to wheat. Yet when we use the term ‘malt’, this generally refers to malted barley. The name comes from the malting process. This is where, after being harvested and dried, grain like barley is briefly germinated. 


Germination essentially begins the growth process in a controlled way. Grain is soaked to get it growing, which activates enzymes that help convert starches into sugars. These sugars are what fuels the fermentation, as yeast eats the sugar and converts it to alcohol, farting out a bunch of carbon dioxide meanwhile. But we digress… 


Returning to germination, just as the wet grain starts to sprout, the growth is rapidly halted by raising the temperature to shock the grain. By heating the grain further, this toasting (or ‘kilning’) creates new malt varieties. The more caramel coloured often appears in beers like red ales (think our old favourite, the Horse’s Head) and even darker tones lead to wintery numbers, such as our classic oatmeal stout: the Omen. 

The darker the malt, the less fermentable sugars will be present for the yeast to eat and turn into alcohol. So, with darker beers some of the sugars remain even after fermentation, because the yeast can’t break it down. This explains why our Omen has an almost chocolate milkshake character; those sugars that the yeast can’t ferment provide added sweetness and a creamier body. 


On the other end of the spectrum, lighter malts used in beers like our Lager and XPA give the beer a crisper, drier finish. This is because the majority of the sugars have been consumed by the yeast in fermentation. 


There’s plenty more we could say. But without overloading you with detail, that’s the basics of malt – made simple and digestible as a sip from your favourite TGBC brew. 


Why not see the difference that malt makes for yourself by heading to our online shop to build yourself a mixed case? You could start with the XPA and Lager to get a taste of what lighter malts have to offer, then compare this with the rich, dark malt found in the Old Panther or Omen. 

MALT BRINGS THE SOUL TO BEER, ADDING SWEETNESS, RICH CARAMEL, AND TOASTY NOTES THAT BALANCE THE BITTERNESS.

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