M is for Malt

M is for Malt

Malt, hops, and yeast – that’s what makes a beer.

Malt is the sugar that gets fermented to produce the alcohol. Malting is the process of producing the malt.

Malting involves getting the grain to germinate. Once it’s grown a bit, and natural enzymes convert the grain’s stored starches into sugars, the grain is dried. Sometimes, the grain is kilned further to produce the dark malts that characterize beers like porters and stouts.

Barley is the most commonly malted grain that goes into beer, but other grains are malted as well, including wheat, rice, quinoa, and amaranth. Eventually, I’ll experiment with some of these other grains, but for now, it’s barley all the way.

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I’m participating in the April A to Z Blogging Challenge. The goal is to write a post prompted by a letter of the alphabet on each day of April (except Sunday). My theme this year is brewing. Visit my other A to Z posts by clicking here.