{"id":832,"date":"2022-07-13T14:13:24","date_gmt":"2022-07-13T14:13:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.malteuropmaltingco.com\/2022\/07\/13\/3-easy-ways-to-get-the-most-extract-out-of-your-malt\/"},"modified":"2022-07-13T14:13:24","modified_gmt":"2022-07-13T14:13:24","slug":"3-easy-ways-to-get-the-most-extract-out-of-your-malt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.malteuropmaltingco.com\/en\/news\/3-easy-ways-to-get-the-most-extract-out-of-your-malt\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Easy Ways to get the Most Extract Out of Your Malt"},"content":{"rendered":"

3 Easy Ways to get the Most Extract Out of Your Malt<\/strong><\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

By: Galen Smith. Malteurop Malting Company and<\/strong> Living a Stout Life<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Brewing is the perfect blend of art, science, and creativity. But at the end of the day, when it comes to professional brewing, dollars and cents are a factor. The dollars and cents often have just as much influence, if not more, as the ingredients on what gets brewed. There are many ways to get the most out of what you brew but getting the most extract possible out of your malt is crucial.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Malt, for the most part, has been a fairly stable ingredient over the years. Brewers knew what they were getting and had very little to be concerned about in terms of inconsistencies. They knew what to do with it, and they put processes in place to use this raw material for beer production.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Barley is, however, an agricultural product that is susceptible to change due to environmental inconsistencies. It is important to understand how to adapt and make up for some of these changes in your brewhouse so that your beer can be as consistent as possible.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Brewers spend years honing their craft. Dialing in the mashing and lautering process helps to maximize the amount of extract that can be attained in the brewhouse. Temperature, chemistry, grist to water ratio, mash pH, speed of lautering, and more are factors that brewers carefully adjust over time.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There are some simple strategies that can help you get the most out of your malt. These are also effective approaches to brewhouse efficiency even when there is no disruption to the norm.<\/p>\n

 <\/h2>\n

What can be done to ensure efficient malt usage?<\/h2>\n

Before the enzymes start their work in the mash tun, there are a few important things that can greatly affect and increase the overall conversion of starches to sugars and efficiently extract the sugars from the mash.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

These three methods are:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Understanding and keeping a close eye on the certificate of analysis (COA)<\/li>\n
  2. Making necessary adjustments to your mill.<\/li>\n
  3. Measuring the quality of your milled malt using a sieve analysis and making adjustments to your mill based on the COA and sieve analysis. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>\n

    These may sound somewhat basic, but they are also frequently overlooked when everything is going right. However, even when things are running smoothly, there are easy ways to maintain efficiency, which equals saving money or at least reducing the effects of things like price increases.<\/p>\n

     <\/h3>\n

    1. Understand the Malt Certificate of Analysis<\/h3>\n

    When there has been little variance in malt, it\u2019s easy to roll with small fluctuations in efficiency. But sometimes circumstances warrant those adjustments should be made to maximize extract.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    The first step is perusing the COA for your malt and understanding what it says. The information on a COA can go a long way toward dialing in brewhouse efficiency. Even if a brewer isn\u2019t familiar with COAs, a Malteurop sales manager knows them well and can explain what to look for and how to interpret the data.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    The Key Items Brewers Should Watch on a COA:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u25cf       Assortment:<\/strong><\/i> The amount of plump and thin barley kernels. This is expressed as the percentage of total malt that remains on different sized screens, commonly 7\/64\u201d, 6\/64\u201d, and 5\/64\u201d. Larger kernels remain on the larger screens. High percentages on and through 5\/64\u201d indicate smaller kernels in the overall assortment. This would require a tighter mill gap to yield an equivalent crush with an assortment containing a higher percentage of plump kernels.<\/p>\n

    \u25cf       Total Protein: <\/strong><\/i>The total amount of protein expressed as a percentage. Lower protein equals higher fermentable extract. Conversely, higher protein equals lower fermentable extract. Protein impacts stability both negatively and positively. Adequate protein levels are needed for foam stability, though excessive levels can negatively affect colloidal stability. Protein levels are almost entirely the result of the growing conditions.<\/p>\n

    \u25cf       Extract: <\/strong><\/i>The percentage of soluble extract contribution, which directly impacts specific gravity. As this value represents how much starch can be converted to sugars (both fermentable and non-fermentable), it is used in recipe development to determine how much malt needs to be used to achieve the original gravity. Extract is commonly expressed as coarse grind or fine grind (CG or FG) and either dry basis (moisture excluded) or as is (moisture included). The \u201ccoarse grind as is\u201d expression is a more accurate representation of how the malt will likely perform in your brewhouse, and because of that, it should be used in recipe development.<\/p>\n

    \u25cf       Viscosity: <\/strong><\/i>The measurement of components that can negatively impact lauter performance. Beta-Glucans are one of these components and are also represented separately on the COA. Beta-Glucans are largely affected by environmental and growing conditions.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    The COA is a powerful tool that allows a brewer to make the necessary adjustments to have better control of their overall process, so that they are able to produce consistent beer. This is also key to optimizing malt usage and reducing the overall cost of goods.<\/p>\n

     <\/h3>\n

    2. Mind the Gap!<\/h3>\n

    On your malt mill, that is. This is a key factor when it comes to milling. The function of milling is to expose the starch content as efficiently as possible while leaving the husk intact. The mill design greatly affects how well this is achieved. Basic brewing practice is still of utmost importance, but this certainly goes hand in hand.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    While a tight roller gap will obviously give a finer crush, and to a degree, better overall extract, too fine of a grind can be detrimental. A finer crush can produce excessive flour and pulverize husk material, resulting in longer lauter times, stuck mashes, and poor quality wort going into the kettle.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    But if you turn to the opposite end of the spectrum with a grind that is too coarse, the endosperm isn\u2019t as exposed. This would result in valuable, would-be fermentables going to waste. This necessitates more grain to make up the difference in order to hit the targeted original gravity.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    How fine or course you set your mill to crush is dependent on your brewhouse design and is largely unique to your brewery. A crush that yields adequate extract efficiency and good run-off times may not yield the same results for your friend\u2019s brewery down the road.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    The design and geometry of the mash and lauter tun has as much to do with overall efficiency as your mash pH, temperature, and grain to water ratio. While you may be converting starch to sugar efficiently, a deep grain bed depth from a narrow mash\/lauter tun will typically not extract those sugars as effectively as a wider mash\/lauter tun that allows for a shallower grain bed depth. This is also a big reason why extract efficiency goes down with exceedingly high gravity beers.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    The type of mill you use also has an impact on this. The husk removal and crushing is done in one operation in a two-roller mill. A four-roller mill uses the first set to mostly remove the husk, while the second set does the majority of breaking the kernel open. This allows you to have a finer overall crush while simultaneously retaining intact husks.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Your mill should be inspected regularly to ensure that it is milling the malt efficiently and consistently. Over time, the gap may drift out of spec. Kernel size assortment, which is trackable on your malt COAs, can also change the consistency of the crush. Gap adjustment should be made accordingly.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Feeler gauges can be used to measure and maintain the roller gap. Document this measurement and check it frequently. While this is a great way to check the mill gap, it is just as important that the crush itself is measured. This leads us to the last method for getting the most extract out of your malt.<\/p>\n

     <\/h3>\n

    3. Sieve Analysis<\/h3>\n

    A sieve analysis is a simple assessment that helps determine if your mill is crushing too course, too fine, or just right. A sample of the milled malt is put into an assembly of sieves that is then shaken to allow the grist to collect onto or fall through the different sieves. These sieves are then measured to determine the percentage of grist remaining on each sieve. The percentages represent the quality of malt going into the mash\/lauter tun and can give a very real idea of how it might perform in your brewhouse.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    This should be performed to establish a baseline measurement when dialing in your mill to determine the necessary crush that yields the best extract efficiency, as well as run-off time to the kettle.  It can also be used as a corrective tool if your mill gap drifts out of spec or your kernel assortment changes significantly.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    If you\u2019ve not done a sieve analysis but are happy with your current brewhouse efficiency and the crush provided by your mill, now is the time to do a sieve analysis to set a baseline. From that baseline, keep an eye on your COAs for changes, or if you run into a brew day issue, you can do a new analysis to help troubleshoot. Your Malteurop Craft Sales Manager has a set of sieves and would be happy to help. Don\u2019t hesitate to reach out for assistance.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    > Click here for step-by-step instructions on how to perform a Sieve Analysis.<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

     <\/h2>\n

    Many factors make up brewhouse efficiency<\/h2>\n

    There are many variables beyond what we\u2019ve discussed that contribute to getting the maximum extract from your malts: temperature, chemistry, grist to water ratio, mash pH, speed of lautering, etc. But assuming that your brewing procedure is on point, reading and understanding a malt COA, adjusting mill gap, and doing an occasional sieve analysis are helpful to keep operations running smoothly.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Even when times are good, a simple improvement in brewhouse efficiency can lead to a savings on the bottom line by getting more out of your malt and using less of it. These tools can help you achieve that efficiency.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Brewing is the perfect blend of art, science, and creativity. But at the end of the day, when it comes to professional brewing, dollars and cents are <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":819,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_titles_title":"3 Easy Ways to get the Most Extract Out of Your Malt","_seopress_titles_desc":"3 Easy Ways to get the Most Extract Out of Your Malt","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_seopress_news_disabled":"","_seopress_video_disabled":"","_seopress_video":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas_manual":[],"_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable_all":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technical-spotlight"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.malteuropmaltingco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.malteuropmaltingco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.malteuropmaltingco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.malteuropmaltingco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.malteuropmaltingco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=832"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.malteuropmaltingco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/832\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.malteuropmaltingco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.malteuropmaltingco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.malteuropmaltingco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.malteuropmaltingco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}