Two row spring malting barley, which has recovered from dormancy and is mature enough to promote vigorous and even germination, is selected for the production of our Distilling malt. The barley nitrogen will not normally exceed 1.65% (10.3% protein).

Barley steeping regimes for distilling normally attain final moisture of 44% - 46% in green malt prior to germination, slightly higher than normally required for Pilsen lager style malts.

Germination temperatures are cool ( 12 - 14 o C) over 4 - 5 days. This type of regime promotes high fermentabilities, adequate enzyme potential and soluble nitrogen (protein) levels.

A gentle distilling malt kiln cycle is crucial to limit the loss of heat sensitive enzyme systems built up during germination and to maximise fermentability. Kiln cycles will start at 50 - 60 o C rising to 70 - 75 oC towards the end of the programme to attain the desired final moisture content.

Typical Distilling Malt Specification:

Bairds malt has taken steps to address the steady demand for peated malt. Inverness maltings has been re-established as a site for peated malt production following recent investment in this process. The plant can manufacture peated malt at a range of intensities including peated malt at the very high phenolic levels typically required by Islay Distillers.

Peated malt is used by some malt distillers to impart a smoked or peaty flavour in their spirit. This type of malt may also occasionally be used as a very small inclusion in brewers mashes to produce beer with a smoked character.

Peated malt is made using exactly the same production regimes and barley quality as (plain) distilling malt. The main difference is that peat smoke or 'reek' is introduced into the air drying the malt during kilning. The peat smoke is adsorbed onto the surface of the drying malt which when processed imparts the smoke or peaty flavour on the finished product.

Typical Peated Malt specifications

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:

These are manufactured by Bairds Malt at the Witham plant from green malt in small batches at a time (1.5 - 2 tonnes).

The green malt is well modified but not over modified, and should be of a barley variety that does not lose its husk easily - it is essential to avoid localised charring on the surface of the grain.

The charge of green malt is fed into a rotating metal roasting cylinder, which is heated so that the temperature of the green malt is about 55 - 65°C. At this temperature each individual grain is "mashed", i.e. amylolysis and proteolysis takes place within each individual grain, yielding a complex mixture of simple and polymeric sugars and amino acids and peptides. Water is then removed from the grain and the product temperature raised to 120° - 160°C. At this temperature the classic reactions of the non-enzymic browning process take place to form firstly glycosylamines and then ketosamines and eventually furan and pyran type heterocyclic oxygen compounds. By varying the time and temperature of the various stages a different colour range is produced.

Caramalts are used to give colour and flavour to pale Lager beers but should be used with care to avoid making the beer too dark or giving it too cloying a flavour. They also change the oxidation - reduction state of a beer, and can therefore improve the stability of a beer by preventing the formation of oxidised (cardboard) flavours.

Colour ranges currently available are:

Crystal or Caramel malts have a distinctive toffee flavour, which becomes more intense as colour is increased, and at the higher end of the colour range burnt or roasted malt flavours may begin to appear. Traditionally in the UK, Crystal malt of colour 70 -80 °ASBC has been used at about 5% of the grist to give the characteristic colour and flavour of UK Bitters and Pale Ales. Adjustment of the amount and/or colour of the Crystal malt may brew some very distinctive beers, but this may require some careful experimentation. Crystal malts have been used in the brewing of Lager beers, but considerable care is required to ensure that whilst a distinctive flavour is achieved, the crystal flavour and colour does not become too dominant. In all beers they can help prevent the formation of oxidised (cardboard) flavours.

Colour ranges currently available are:

This material has a light, biscuity dry flavour and can be used to produce some Bitter and Mild Ales and sweet Stouts in the UK, as well as the traditional London Porters that have come back into favour recently. The flavour is quite intense and caution in the use of this material is required.

The material is manufactured by roasting kilned malt - a Lager malt of good modification is best - progressively raising the temperature of the material from ambient to 150/160°C. Because there is no saccharification stage the non-enzymic browning reactions follow a different pattern, and the end products are nitrogen containing heterocycles of the pyrrole and pyrazine type, the pyrazines being mainly responsible for the bitterness.

This product is used in the production of Porters and sweet Stouts. The flavour is sharp and somewhat acrid. A great deal of care is needed in the use of this material because of its intense colour and flavour. Manufacture is similar to Amber malt but higher final temperatures are used. Flavour again is due to pyrazines and pyrroles.

Black Malt, sometimes loosely described as Roasted Malt, is used in the production of very dark beers. The flavour, as might be expected, is a more intense version of Chocolate malt and because of its colour and flavour needs to be used with care.

Roasting is similar to Chocolate malt but higher final temperatures in the region of 200°C are used. Again because no saccharification stage is used the flavours are due to pyrazines and pyrroles.

This product is used in the production of dry or bitter Stouts and other dark beers, or for the careful adjustment of Pilsen beer colours.

A different, slower roasting temperature profile is used but the final temperature is 220°C or even higher, which is achieved by allowing the exothermic roasting reactions to continue after turning off the heat source. The reaction is stopped by quenching with water. Because of the high temperature at the end, colour pick-up at this stage is very rapid and extreme care is needed to prevent carbonisation.

Because the roasting process is slightly different from that used for Roast malt and a higher final temperature is used, the balance of pyrazines to pyrroles is different, with there being more pyrazines present in this product. This leads to a more bitter flavour and the use of the material in the so-called bitter Stouts. With extreme care it can also be used to colour and flavour Lager beers, but the quantities used are very small, certainly no more than 2 or 3 Kg in 1 tonne of grist.