Sunday, September 13, 2009

Malt


Malting is a process applied to cereal grains, in which the grains are made to germinate by soaking in water and are then quickly halted from germinating further by drying/heating with hot air. Thus, malting is a combination of two processes: the sprouting process and the kiln-drying process. These latter terms are often preferred when referring to the field of brewing for batches of beer or other beverages as they provide more specific information.
The term "malt" refers to several products of the process:
the grains to which this process has been applied, for example malted barley;
the sugar, heavy in maltose, derived from such grains, such as the baker's malt used in various cereals; or
a product based on malted milk, similar to a malted milkshake (i.e., "malts").
Whisky or beer made from malted barley or rye can also be called malt, as in Alfred Edward Housman's aphorism "malt does more than Milton can, to justify God's ways to Man."

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