Why barley for beer

And it tastes pretty good too. Barley is a basic cereal grain not particularly good for milling into flour and making bread or bakery goods.

But it is great for beer. There are three major types of barley. These are differentiated by the number of seeds at the top of the stalk. Barley seeds grow in two, four and six rows along the central stem. Brewers in the US traditionally prefer six-row barley because it is more economical to grow and has a higher concentration of enzymes needed to convert the starch in the grain into sugar and other fermentables. JimKal , Roguer , BrettHead and 4 others like this.

While beer can be made from other grains, barley provides some benefits for beer making. Its husk offers protection against the damage caused by handling the grain, particularly the regular turning to separate the grains during germination. A brewer can compensate via other means e. By brewing with a mix of malted barley and malted wheat the brewer does not need to worry about a stuck sparge.

Another benefit of malted barley is that is has a lower protein content as compared to malted wheat. Higher protein content yields a cloudier beer proteins are part of the haze in a Hefeweizen. In beer, a clear product is generally desired. Barley makes for one of the best brewing grains for many reasons. For one, In its pale form it has a very neutral character, which allows the brewer to have more control over their final product by adding character with higher modified grains.

Now that summer has faded into fall, students across the country are returning to school. But even if your high school, college, and grad-school days are in the rearview mirror, this season is a great time to up your beer IQ. Studying has never been so much fun. BARLEY : One of the foundation stones of beer is barley, which is transformed into brew-ready malt by taking a bath in hot water. This causes the grain to create the enzymes that transform proteins and starches into fermentable sugars, which yeast will later feast on to create alcohol.

With brewing, top billing on the grain bill usually is reserved for barley malts. This is due mainly to an evolutionary advantage: barley contains husks, which keep the mash the grains steeped in boiling water loose and permit drainage of the wort—the broth that becomes beer. Maltsters—the skilled people in charge of the malting process—want to stop the germination process before this happens. This is done with heat. Maltsters kiln, or dry, the green malt by slowly raising the temperature to more than F.

The final temperatures vary depending on what kind of malt they want in the end. No matter the temperature, the result is the same: the growth of the sprouts is stopped.

What is left is a dried barley grain full of sugar, starch, and a particular kind of enzyme called diastase. It is during this stage where the final beer begins to take its shape.

The level of heat that the green malt is subjected to will play a big role in the final style of beer that is produced. It has much to do with determining the color of beer:. To further complicate matters, the finished malt may be roasted after kilning. This is done at high temperatures in a roaster. The level of roasting will factor into the darkness of the beer as well as the amount of carbonation it has.

During the fermentation stage, a particular strain of yeast is introduced to further define the beer. For instance, pale ales and lagers require almost the same level of kilning. When you combine this malt with an ale yeast, you get a pale ale.

If you were to use lager yeast with the same malt, the result is a lager. There are many other factors that go into any beer recipe, including a variety of sugars, adjuncts , and other grains that may be added.