Malt

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Malt, or Malted Barley, is a basic ingredient. As with any grain you buy at this stage, you should buy the ready crushed variety. Later, when you become more proficient, you can crush your own grain if you have a penchant for boring jobs. The barley is wetted slightly and is then germinated before being dried. The variety of the grain, how long it's allowed to germinate for and the drying temperature are all crucial factors as these affect the flavour, the character and the colour of the beer to some extent. Think of pale malt as the foundation stone of your beer. Some brewers say there are so many other things that affect the flavour of your beer that it really doesn’t matter which type of pale malt you use, and I go along with that. Other brewers disagree but hey, that’s brewing for you! I tend to use Maris Otter but occasionally switch to Pearl or Optic just out of curiosity but haven’t noticed any great difference. It’s not the type that matters, rather the amount... Make your mind up, now, about what strength of beer you are aiming for, roughly. If your total ’grain bill’ (the amount of grain you use in the recipe) is, say, 5.5Kg, your beer (using the system put forward on this site) will end up roughly about 5.5%, probably a little less. 3Kg will give a beer of a little less than 3%, etc etc. It’s up to you...         You also have to give some thought to what adjuncts you’re going to use, if any. Read everything you need to know at this stage about adjuncts on the next page...

On then to the wonderful world of adjuncts...

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