Pale Ale malt forms the majority of the grist for a typical U.K. Pale Ale or Bitter beer and is made from some of the best barley available. There is an emphasis on single variety and low protein levels. The barley will be fully steeped and germinated before the green malt is loaded to the kiln. Kilning is a carefully controlled process removing moisture to a relatively low level without destroying excessive amounts of enzymes but imparting characteristic flavour and colour. Even with a diastase of only 45°L there is still enough activity to convert for example 5% of Crystal malt and 5 -10% of cooked adjunct (e.g. flaked maize). Mashing is normally at a fixed temperature of about 65°C, so modification has to be high to cope with this and a coarse grist is normally used.

Many UK brewers stress the flavour benefits in the wort and glass of using Pale Ale malts produced from traditional winter malting barley varieties.

Typical Pale Ale Malt Specification:

Premium Pilsen Malt is used for brewing all malt Premium Lagers. There is an emphasis on low protein and relatively low S/T. This ensures good extract levels, no haze problems and low DMS potential. Steeping and germination are carefully controlled to prevent excessive modification and to preserve head retention values in the beer. Kilning of the green malt is carefully programmed to prevent excessive colour formation and to stabilise that colour, so that colour pick-up on wort boiling is restricted and yet sufficient heat is applied to ensure that DMS potential is limited.

Although mainly intended for all malt beers, there is sufficient diastatic power to convert a limited amount of adjunct. Care will have to be taken that too much adjunct is not used or flavour could be impaired. Also, excessive dilution of soluble nitrogen could result in yeast nutrition problems, causing poor fermentation or flavour defects due to diacetyl for example.

Typical Premium Pilsen Malt Specification:

DMS is one of the volatile sulphur compounds which gives a specific aroma to lager beers.
The DMS level in finished malt is a parameter which is controlled during both green malt germination and the final malt kilning process. Malting barley variety also has an influence.
Some types of lager require very low levels of DMS in malt but Bairds can manufacture malt with specified high levels of DMS in the finished product, particularly suited to the production of some continental style lager beers.

As its name implies, Stout Malt is used for brewing Stout beers. Note that the colour is low and often not important, since the colour of Stouts comes from the roasted malt.

Steeping, germination and kilning are controlled so that good modification takes place and there is sufficient enzymic development to ensure conversion of the roasted malt and any other adjunct used.

Typical Stout Malt Specification:

Vienna Malt is used for making dark lager beer of the Vienna or Märzen style, dark in colour with a reddish tinge. Vienna malt usually only forms around 10 -15% of the grist with normal Lager malt and perhaps Caramalt.

The malt is a well modified Lager malt, resulting from full steeping and germination. The colour is achieved by kilning at higher temperatures than usual for Lager malts. Because it only forms a part of the grist, diastatic activity is less important.

Typical Vienna Malt Specification:

This malt is used in the production of dark Dunkel Lagers, which are dark in colour with a brownish tinge. Munich malt is only a part of the grist, along with pale Lager malt and perhaps Caramalt.

The malt is a well modified Lager malt, which is kilned in such a way, that modification continues during kilning and very high finishing heats (105 -120°C) are used to produce the characteristic colour and flavour.

Typical Munich Malt Specification: