Wind Malt

[@ElGatoLoco698]

Always look forward to your videos. I just wish you lived near me so I could pick your brain over a beer.

[@BrewingBeerTheHardWay1]

+ElGatoLoco698 Thanks buddy, give me shout if you're ever in Vancouver!

[@jakerinehold9697]

Malting is my major weak point. Okay, I have others but improving malting hasn't been a top priority. I'll make the changes you suggested. I appreciate the chemistry behind it ... having three years of college chemistry, but book-learnin' just isn't the same as a practical knowledge.

[@DanABA]

"Wind malt", very interesting stuff. Do you think this had an impact on the potential extract from the malt? FYI the Berlinerwisse blend from WL has lactic acid bacteria in it, so if you got some sourness that is where it came from. Very cool stuff! I wish I new more about malt. Cheers!

[@BrewingBeerTheHardWay1]

+Dan ABA I think the crush was the main cause of the low O.G. What I didn't include in this video, is that I also experimented with using an aerator during the steeping of this malt which did not work (video coming soon) the grains did not get enough oxygen so modification was not as consistent as it normally is, this may also have had something to do with it.

[@RockonBeerBlog]

Shame about the efficiency on the brew...but the process and the history is absolutely fascinating. Keep it up man I always look forward to your vids!

[@jakerinehold9697]

I malt about 3 kg at a time. Soak it over night and then drain. I rinse the grain occasionally to make certain it's not heating up. After 24 hours I transfer it into a large terracotta container and continue rinsing for two more days. The temperature in my malting room remains at about 15 to16 degrees. At this time the radicles are showing quite well and I then transfer them to my 1x1m table where I spread the barley out to a depth of 2 - 3 cm. This allows the heat to escape and promote uniform growth. I will spray it with water on occasion and hand mix it once to keep the rootlets from tangling. My process lasts 72 hours. At this point I cut open a half dozen kernels and check for the coleoptile length. When the average length reaches three-quarters the length of the seed I place the batch into one of my food driers. I place a thermometer in the drier to monitor it and set the temperature at about 50 degrees. The malt is finished in less than 24 hours. At this point I store it or roast it at about 75 degrees for two hours. The kilning makes rootlet removal simple. I don't find the so-called grassy flavor in my ales when I don't kiln. --- I might suggest cold crashing your ale once it has finished working. The yeast will drop out and not add significantly to the flavor profile. I also use a Corona grinder with a portable drill. The roller mills work well with store bought malt but not my home made malt. Because I grow several hundred of barley each year I can add more malt to make up for lower yields than I obtain with commercial malts. Once all this rain passes I'll be planting Maris Otter thank you. This will provide seed for planting this coming October.

[@BrewingBeerTheHardWay1]

+Jake Rinehold Hi Jake thanks for sharing your process but if I could make a couple of suggestions, you might get better efficiency if you kiln at a lower temperature (below 40C). As well, your malt might be more friable if you cure for a longer time, say 4-5 hours and at a slightly higher temperature. Cheers!

[@cidermeister9440]

Fascinating as always. Would love to see how you get on growing hops? If I was going to such extreme efforts to malt my own barley I think I'd want to go the whole hog and doing everything from scratch. Super that the beer's looking good. Cheers.

[@Yettiman1001]

A great post thank you. Looking to try and follow some of your practices as I have moved up in the mountains in Sicily and get malt is not as easy as it used to be.

[@TonyYates]

Very interesting following your malt journey! You analysis and retrospectives are really great. Cheers!

[@BrewingBeerTheHardWay1]

+Tony Yates Thanks Tony!