Anyone ever sucessfully malted at home? Any ideas on what would be
needed to do it at home with a reasonable amount of inconvenience. I
understand the process but I am looking for a way to simplify it so I
could try it at home. Would it really be that much cheaper to brew a
batch with home malted barley? I am a little sketchy on single row vs.
other types of barley and modified vs. unmodified grains. I wouldn't
have a problem doing step infusion mashes if that would work better on
home malted barley. Any info or insight would be appreciated.

Pat Kennedy wrote:[color=blue]
> Anyone ever sucessfully malted at home? Any ideas on what would be
> needed to do it at home with a reasonable amount of inconvenience. I
> understand the process but I am looking for a way to simplify it so I
> could try it at home. Would it really be that much cheaper to brew a
> batch with home malted barley? I am a little sketchy on single row vs.
> other types of barley and modified vs. unmodified grains. I wouldn't
> have a problem doing step infusion mashes if that would work better on
> home malted barley. Any info or insight would be appreciated.[/color]
Pat,

I think the malt bill needed to malt your own grain is too
excessive for the homebrewer. Even for a small batch of beer you would
need to lay the grain out in a single layer of your oven and keep
turning it. This is after you've let it soak and start the germination
process. Again, I'm not saying it can't be done, it's just too labor
intensive for the homebrewer.

I think a better approach for you to try would be to try getting
the lightest roast you can find and roasting it at home some more. This
would afford you the control to go as dark as you like.

The types of barley you use is an entirely different topic. People
could go on for days talking about the difference in single, two and
six row malts. Then go on for a few more days with the adjuncts like
rice, corn, wheat, oats, ect...

Good luck and good brew to you.
Tom Woods

Pat Kennedy wrote:[color=blue]
>
> Anyone ever sucessfully malted at home? Any ideas on what would be
> needed to do it at home with a reasonable amount of inconvenience. I
> understand the process but I am looking for a way to simplify it so I
> could try it at home. Would it really be that much cheaper to brew a
> batch with home malted barley? I am a little sketchy on single row vs.
> other types of barley and modified vs. unmodified grains. I wouldn't
> have a problem doing step infusion mashes if that would work better on
> home malted barley. Any info or insight would be appreciated.[/color]

Do it as a curiosity, not as a cheap way to brew. It requires a lot of
effort for what in the end is a very low quality product compared to
what you can buy. You need really exact temp and moisture control
through the entire process in order to produce something that's more
than just usable.

----------->Denny

--
Life begins at 60...1.060, that is.

Beerbrewer1 wrote:[color=blue]
> Pat Kennedy wrote:[color=green]
>> Anyone ever sucessfully malted at home? Any ideas on what would be
>> needed to do it at home with a reasonable amount of inconvenience. I
>> understand the process but I am looking for a way to simplify it so I
>> could try it at home. Would it really be that much cheaper to brew a
>> batch with home malted barley? I am a little sketchy on single row vs.
>> other types of barley and modified vs. unmodified grains. I wouldn't
>> have a problem doing step infusion mashes if that would work better on
>> home malted barley. Any info or insight would be appreciated.[/color]
> Pat,
>
> I think the malt bill needed to malt your own grain is too
> excessive for the homebrewer. Even for a small batch of beer you would
> need to lay the grain out in a single layer of your oven and keep
> turning it. This is after you've let it soak and start the germination
> process. Again, I'm not saying it can't be done, it's just too labor
> intensive for the homebrewer.
>
> I think a better approach for you to try would be to try getting
> the lightest roast you can find and roasting it at home some more. This
> would afford you the control to go as dark as you like.
>
> The types of barley you use is an entirely different topic. People
> could go on for days talking about the difference in single, two and
> six row malts. Then go on for a few more days with the adjuncts like
> rice, corn, wheat, oats, ect...
>
> Good luck and good brew to you.
> Tom Woods
>[/color]
OK, I have the "stupid newbie question of the day" for you: Why is the
malted grain oven-dried before crushing it? Couldn't a brewer just rinse
off the sprouted barley, and run it through a meat grinder?
I can guess there'd be a "grassy" taste, but other than that...?
You'd have all of your enzymes and sugars, anyway.
I'm sure someone, somewhere, has tried this and can tell me why it's a
very, very bad idea. ;)