FUN FACTS HISTORY OF MALTING SERIES PART TWO:

THE MALTHOUSE AND GERMINATION

 By: Living a Stout Life

 

Beer and malting date back centuries ago, long before recorded history. And barley could very well have been the king of malts that entire time. Today, it’s the preferred grain to make our beloved beer. But barley all on its own can’t create alcohol. It needs to change its identity from barley to malt like a superhero in disguise. Clark Kent is just barley. Superman is malted barley!

 

This is the second in a series of fun facts highlighting the history of malting. Click here to read the first, The Ancient Malting Process.

 

Now that you have a basic understanding of the ancient malting process, it’s time to take a tour of the ancient malthouse.

 

As the people’s love of beer increased, so did the means for creating more malts efficiently. This meant having a bit more control than simply relying on Mother Nature. She may have initially been the superpower behind the transition of barley to malted barley, but she just wasn’t reliable enough.

 

Enter the Malthouse

Well, not what we have today, exactly. But the building was created to give some control over the drying process was better than just laying out the grains in the sun and waiting on Mother Nature. Built out of gigantic stone walls, these primitive malthouses gave early maltsters a great deal more control than they had in the past.

 

Taking advantage of gravity and cool water, they were strategically built at the bottom of a hill next to a stream. The only ventilation came from a few small windows and the opening at the top. Although the top opening was specifically made for easy access to drop the barley into deep cisterns below meant for steeping. No more wicker baskets.

 

Once steeping was complete, the stone floor began to serve its purpose, a place for germination. The grains were laid out on the stone floor in stages, resulting in various intervals of the germination process all across the floor. This created an efficient system that allowed steeping and germinating to occur at the same time, all the while making room for more grains to continue their journey from Clark Kent to Superman.

 

As heating and cooling was necessary, workers shoveled the grains from one section of the flooring to the next, tossing them into the air so that they fell in dispersed layers allowing them to cool further. If more moisture was needed, a sprinkling can did the job quite nicely.

 

Once the malts made it to the front of the floor, germination was complete. From there, they were shoveled through a trap door landing into wheelbarrows below, ready to be transported to the kiln.

 

But that’s a fun fact for another day.

 

Next up in the Fun Facts History of Malting Series – the Kiln.

 

 Hieronymus, S. (2014, April 24). History of Malting. Pro Brewer. Retrieved December 15, 2021, from https://www.probrewer.com/library/malt/history-of-malting/