Home Malting Question: What's the big deal with the kilning temperature?

[kzlc]

Hi,

I have a question for those who are experienced in home malting.

Many resources suggest that kilning temperature should not exceed 50 C until humidity goes below 10-12%; so that alpha amylase level will not decay.

What if I cannot control the heat so accurately in my conventional oven and my malt is kilned at slightly higher temperatures, lets say 60 to 70 C? Now what happens? Are all the enzymes denatured and I'm left with nothing?

I have some doubts:We also know that 60 to 70 C is the mashing range in which crystal malt is made. So, what I'm doing is basically converting the starch into sugars in an earlier stage than a steep mashing. OK, maybe I'm loosing the alpha amylase, but why would that be a problem if my final aim is to obtain some malt sugar? Is this a bad thing? Or am I missing a point?

 

[helibrewer]

To crystalize the sugar in crystal malt, the actual kernel temperature must exceed 300F

Are you trying to malt raw barley, of kiln/roast malted barley?

 

[kzlc]

But the crystalization stage comes later, right? It comes after you convert the starch into sugar. I see what you mean, but my point is, maybe kilning at a higher temperature is not "that" bad if I'm ending up with some nice malt sugar.

I live in Turkey and we don't have any homebrew stores here. So, I have to malt my own barley. This is why I'm so concerned with this issue.

 

[COLObrewer]

If I remember right, the max temperature you can reach without killing the enzymes while curing your malt is appx 212F (pale malt), this has to be ramped up to slowly for base malt. If you want crystal then you need to dry it somewhat after malting then bring to mashing temp, appx 155F, then you dry and cure.

This was copied from a listing of malts descriptions:

Beeston Crystal Malts
Beeston's caramalt and crystal malts are all produced from green two-row malt using the following method: The surface moisture is dried off at about 122 °F (50 °C) for approximately five minutes. The malt is then stewed at approximately 149-167 °F (65-75 °C) for about 40 minutes to stimulate the conversion of starches to sugars (crystallization). Drying and curing then takes place at about 176 °F (80 °C) for another 40 minutes, depending on the color required. The final drying and curing temperature varies among products; curing is typically done at about 275 °F (135 °C) for approximately two hours, depending on the color required. The darker the colors, the more intense the flavor.