Malted Barley
By Steve Hobman
Across the Pond there is an organisation that goes under the grandiose title of the Malted Barley Appreciation Society.
Its mission statement says that members are dedicated to the creation and appreciation of beer. It even has its own newsletter. Crikey, yanks eh! But it can get you like that, if you don't take care.
So just what is the attraction of this grain? There are many types of malts for a variety of uses - food, baking and confectionery - as well as whisky and beer. It is, of course the latter we are concerned with here; malted barley is regarded as the soul of beer, with distinctive characteristics that determine the colour and contribute to the flavour and aroma.
Largely harvested in the US and Europe, malt is barley that has been allowed to germinate in water for a bit, but, just when the enzymes are really starting to have fun, the malster halts the process to hold onto the starch. The grain is then 'kilned' at a constant temperature - rising to 122F for lighter malts and 220F for darker malts.
Pale malt, with a high level of starch, is the most commonly used type in British brewing. Maris Otter pale malt is regarded as the blue blood of the hierarchy. You will see that this crops up with regularly in the beer notes. A cross between Proctor and Pedigree, it is the only one to be created specifically for brewing.
A fresh and crisp flavour offers biscuit and grain notes, low astringency and a bitter sweet balance to provide a good backcloth for other flavours brought in during the brewing process. Maris Otter also provides a high level of a mysterious something called HDV - head retention value, for that creamy foam.
There's a rich variety of alternatives available that bring their own very worthy attributes to the brew. Roasted malts such as chocolate, amber and black malts are used in mild ale, stouts and porters to give us those rich dark beers with coffee and fruit cake notes that bring comfort on a cold winter's day. Crystal malt with a 'nutty' flavour sweetens beer gives body and a good head. Roasted barley is raw, un-malted, barley roasted until it reaches its characteristic intense colour and lends a dry bitterness to beer, as in Guinness.
Last year I attended a seminar on malts (see blog Doing Porridge with Guild) where we tasted the 'porridge' from single variety malts alongside the beer brewed from the same malt. It was fascinating to see the choice with malts such as Cellar, Cocktail, Optic, Tipple and Westminster Flagon offering a wide variety of flavour and aroma including notes of sweetcorn, toffee, sulphur and nuts.
While writing this piece I discovered a small pack of malted barley in my desk, left over from a brewer's innovative mail shot. I chewed on it throughout, with the odd coffee, and was rewarded with delicious and very morish biscuit flavours. I was very sorry when it ran out. Whoops, I did warn; it just gets you like that. Best take care.