Floor Malt
Malting is the process of converting barley or other cereal grains into malt for use in brewing distilling or in foods and takes place in a maltings sometimes called a malthouse or a malting floor the cereal is spread out on the malting floor in a layer of 8 to 12 cm 3 to 4 5 in depth.
Floor malt. Our pilsner malt is germinated on the floor at traditionally cool temperatures allow for thorough beta glucan degradation while at the same time slowing the synthesis of enzymes lower the diastatic power of the finished malt. Turning it into malted barley. Floor malting is the historic technique of preparing barley for fermentation.
It was largely a manual process and today floor malting is considered a niche artisanal practice. I m in the camp that believes the production of malt for malt whisky is best left to the experts ie the maltsters. We produce small batch handcrafted malt using techniques which date back to when the malting floors were built in the 1870s.
Seeing the sea of grain on the floor the smouldering bricks of peat in the kiln and the blue smoke wafting from the pagoda roof it all seemed wonderfully artisan and self contained. If your first proper distillery tour was one with floor maltings it can be a hard act to follow. Crisp has a long and proud tradition of producing the highest quality floor malt which continues to this day with malt still being produced in our no 19 floor malting at great ryburgh.
Hand on heart we d continue floor maltings regardless of whether visitors came to the distillery however neil boyd director of malts at ian macleod distillers disagrees with jason. Most of the 100 distilleries in scotland purchase malted barley from commercial malting plants and most all of the distilleries that do floor malting also purchase additional malt from commercial malters. Floor malting was the traditional way of producing malt for brewing before the industrial revolution.
Honey malt is a unique malt produced by the gambrinus malting corporation a small malting company in armstrong british columbia canada.