We invented an automated home malting machine

[sfish]

homemaltster

How does it work? Like you put in grain and there is a timer that adds water and air and then removes and stirs the grain when done adds heat ????

 

[homemaltster]

homemaltster

How does it work? Like you put in grain and there is a timer that adds water and air and then removes and stirs the grain when done adds heat ????

The machine is made up of a vessel and a component box. The vessel is a ½ barrel stainless steel conical, and malting takes place inside of it. The component box houses the various components needed to maintain an ideal climate inside of the vessel - at times filled with cold, aerated water, at other times with cold, moist air, and at other times hot, dry air. The box is plugged into 120vac, a hose is run to it from a faucet, a drain line runs to a bucket or drain, and the machine is connected to wifi.

When you’re ready to malt, you choose a recipe online (created by you or someone else), add your grain to the vessel, and turn your faucet on. You must be involved in a short washing step to get rid of thin kernels, debris, and dirt, but once that’s done, the machine is basically good to run on its own. You need to check on the grain at least once a day and give it a stir, decide when germination and kilning are complete, etc. But you don’t ever need to babysit the grain or wake up in the middle of the night (unless you really want to )

 

[WaltStarr]

The machine is made up of a vessel and a component box. The vessel is a ½ barrel stainless steel conical, and malting takes place inside of it. The component box houses the various components needed to maintain an ideal climate inside of the vessel - at times filled with cold, aerated water, at other times with cold, moist air, and at other times hot, dry air. The box is plugged into 120vac, a hose is run to it from a faucet, a drain line runs to a bucket or drain, and the machine is connected to wifi.

When you’re ready to malt, you choose a recipe online (created by you or someone else), add your grain to the vessel, and turn your faucet on. You must be involved in a short washing step to get rid of thin kernels, debris, and dirt, but once that’s done, the machine is basically good to run on its own. You need to check on the grain at least once a day and give it a stir, decide when germination and kilning are complete, etc. But you don’t ever need to babysit the grain or wake up in the middle of the night (unless you really want to )

 

[lhommedieu]

How do you test the malted grain for various indexes, e.g. Kolbach, protein, beta glucan, etc.? Send it out for analysis? And if the results are not what you want, do you tweak the recipe accordingly?

 

[homemaltster]

How do you test the malted grain for various indexes, e.g. Kolbach, protein, beta glucan, etc.? Send it out for analysis? And if the results are not what you want, do you tweak the recipe accordingly?

For a few of the specs on a malt analysis sheet, there are basic lab tests that you can do at home to measure things like color, extract, etc. If you want the specs for Kolbach index or protein though, you’d need to send a malt sample to a lab with specialized equipment. We’re looking into putting together a lab so that we can offer those services to home brewers if the demand is there.

Just like brewing, you can make changes in the malting process to get the results you want. If you malt a grain with known specs and follow the same recipe, you can feel confident that you’re replicating those results - no need to analyze the malt after every batch.

What malt analysis specs do you usually look at when designing your recipes?

 

[lhommedieu]

I've been exploring tri-decoction, so I'm looking for grain in the lower modification range. I've been using Weyermann floor malts; this winter, I'm going to brew with grain from Pioneer Malt in Rochester, NY

Somewhere down the road, I'd like to venture into growing and malting my own grain.

 

[homemaltster]

I've been exploring tri-decoction, so I'm looking for grain in the lower modification range. I've been using Weyermann floor malts; this winter, I'm going to brew with grain from Pioneer Malt in Rochester, NY

Somewhere down the road, I'd like to venture into growing and malting my own grain.

Very cool Let me know what it's like using that craft malt from Pioneer.

 

[homemaltster]

Hey for those of you who were looking for more information on what we're doing, we've just started a long form blog all about malt and malting. It's not so much a personal blog - it's a place for us to write about the big ideas we encounter.

The first post is about big beer's role in developing the barley varieties we all use. Check it out - you'll probably learn something! http://www.sprowtmalt.com/2016/11/30/barley-varieties/

 

[BrewersVocation]

Im trying to build/buy one. Is this project dead? I'm floor malting now.

 

[day_trippr]

@homemaltster hasn't been seen here since the Fall of 2018 and the sprowtmalt.com domain name is available...

Cheers!

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

... and what was captured by the "Internet Archives" "Wayback Machine" isn't easy for me to navigate.

Here's a link to the sprowtmalt.com home page that the "Wayback Machine" captured.

 

[BrewersVocation]

@homemaltster hasn't been seen here since the Fall of 2018 and the sprowtmalt.com domain name is available...

Cheers!

There has to be some other resources for making a home germinator and kiln?

 

[DBhomebrew]

Let's check with the resident home-maltster...

Damn.

 

[IslandLizard]

There has to be some other resources for making a home germinator and kiln?

Do a search containing malting keywords in threads and posts by our member @bracconiere. Stick to the technical forums.

To make malt you'll need:

1. A source of grain (barley, wheat, rye, etc).
2. A (large) vessel that's watertight to use for washing, then germination while keeping the grain damp and warm while being turned regularly, until the grain has malted sufficiently. It's green malt at that point. @bracconiere was using a (spare) bathtub for malting until he found something better.
3. The green malt then needs to get slowly dried, then roasted to desired color and flavor. You can use an oven. Or better and easier, a clothes dryer, which is what @bracconiere used, later on.