Forgive me for such a long post. You guys are great and i value your opinions. I have been asked by a local, new small malt house to give him some feedback on his small “craft malting house”. He grows and malts his own. He has been approaching a few breweries in the area and would like to eventually sale his product to them. He is trying to refine his product for the local “craft” industry. i could use some feedback on the malt analysis sheet he provided so that i can determine the best process to evaluate the malt/beer in the end. This is my understanding of each. Any suggestions or corrections?
Friability (79.4): it’s the measure of a malt’s readiness to crumble when subjected to crushing. Should be at least 80%. For infusion mashing should be at least 85%.
So if this is low it could have an impact on conversion? So if this malt is 79% it may benefit from a step mash?
F/C Diff (1.5): Fine Grind and Course Grind difference. Not that important in the brewhouse? Basically anything lower than 1.5 indicates a well modified malt. Not worried about this in this malt.
Turb (NTU) (50): Caused by proteins and beta glucans that have not been sufficiently degraded, this attribute has relatively little impact on the brewing process but can contribute haze to the finished beer. Anything >15 NTU haze will be evident. So haze will definitely be a problem in this malt with a 50! What are some suggestions on “processes” that may help with this, finings (whirlfloc)?
Beta Glucan (304): High beta glucan levels have long been associated with lautering difficulties, due to the effect they have on mash viscosity. Viscosity is a more practical indicator of how a malt will effect brewhouse performance. Should be <180 for trouble free runoff. Don’t have the viscosity info. This seems really high! I may have problems with lautering?
Total Malt Protein ( 10.2): Total protein is reported separately on a Malt Analysis because it impacts brewhouse performance. It varies for 2-row and 6-row varieties, with high protein barley potentially causing reduced extract yield and higher color. Total protein values for all malts are typically <14%. So this seems OK?
Soluble malt Protein (5.53): Cant get a good understanding on this one. Is it important?
S/T (54.2): S/T Ratios are used often in malting as guidelines to determine the extent of modification. A minimum S/T of 30 is required to prevent lautering issues with malt. The higher the number, the more highly modified the malt. Malts destined for infusion mashing should have an S/T of 36-42%, or up to 45% for light-bodied beer. At a percentage much over 45% S/T, the beer will be thin in body and mouthfeel. For traditional lager malts, 30-33% indicates undermodification, and 37-40% indicates overmodification. So defiantly highly modified malt? So beer could be thin and could possibly benefit from dextrin malts to add body?
FAN (243): FAN is another analysis that can indicate the amount of free amino groups available to yeast during fermentation. This analysis is only performed on Base Malts. It has no significance in specialty malts. A standard FAN value for most base malts is 180ppm and above. So don’t need to be concerned about this?
DP (134): Diastatic Power indicates the total enzymatic power of a malt, both Alpha Amylase and Beta Amylase. Levels of 50 or above are required for a normal mash program. Lower levels may still be effective with special mash programs. So shouldn’t be an issue.
AA (59.2): Alpha amylase levels will indicate the ability of malt to convert a standard mash properly. Alpha amylase is primarily a dextrinizing or liquefying enzyme. It chops starch into shorter chain dextrin and allows the Beta Amylase access to all of the reducing ends of the dextrins to break them down into sugars that yeast can use. While high levels of Alpha Amylase are more important for brewing high adjunct beer than to the craft brewer, they must be sufficient to allow for consistent and adequate conversion. An all-malt mash can be converted with Alpha Amylase levels of 30 or above. Any concerns with this higher %?
Wort Color (2.36): Lovibond, SRM or EBC. They don’t tell me what they are measuring at I am assuming 2.36 Lovidond.
Extract Fine Grind As is (78.3): cant really find much info on this.
Extract Course Grind As is (77): The Extract/Coarse Grind as-is data most closely indicates the performance you can expect in the brewhouse, thus it has the most impact on your brew. As-is extract should be as high as possible? Don’t know the normal ranges?
Moisture ( 4.5): The closer a malt is to 1.5% MC, the less it risks mold growth and the less flavor and aroma it loses over time. For this reason, colored malts should never be “slack,” that is, over 4% MC. The upper limit for acceptable moisture content in any malt is 6%. The moisture content generally reflects the quality of the malting itself; high MC malt may be poorly malted or kilned. I assume storing conditions can affect this?