Why barley takes longer to sprout?

[bracconiere]

I actually like the malting part of brewing more than the brewing part

I also kiln my grains.

yeah i put a resistor on my ovens temp probe so that i could get lower temps to kiln also!

 

[RWurster]

yeah i put a resistor on my ovens temp probe so that i could get lower temps to kiln also!

Nice!

 

[bracconiere]

Nice!

you should see my second dryer! just deculmed 20lbs in it! i LOVE it, so much better then the bucket to bucket method....

 

[BrewingWisdom]

so as far as barley being harder...i don't think it is...this was started ~3 days ago, and here it is locking the enzymes up for the heat treatment....


View attachment 765618

it will be dry enough for the oven by tomorrow night...but i got beer in the fermenter allready so this batch is going to dry for two days....toss it in the oven overnight, another 10 gallons of hooch made when it comes out...if you want to see my somewhat modified dryer deculmer, let me know!

Do you put your grains in a air tight closed room or a ventilated room?
I ve read that some malt houses put soaked grains in airtight rooms while someone was saying the room should be ventilated. Some clarification on this will be helpful.

 

[lurker18]

DO NOT put them in air tight. And for all the malt houses that I have been in, I have not seen one in an air tight room, in fact every one of them is fully ventilated, forced air, and misted if the grain bed dries out. I can see by air tight they mean controlled air, but like I said, they are definitely not air tight.

As the barley is sprouting, it is exchanging oxygen, in an air tight container it will quickly consume the oxygen and suffocate itself. This probably will not happen in a 3 day germ, but it might.

Also, some barley, especially lower quality stuff is very sensitive to water, it will drown if kept too wet without air movement, keeping it in an air tight container will just make the problem worse.

 

[BrewingWisdom]

DO NOT put them in air tight. And for all the malt houses that I have been in, I have not seen one in an air tight room, in fact every one of them is fully ventilated, forced air, and misted if the grain bed dries out. I can see by air tight they mean controlled air, but like I said, they are definitely not air tight.

As the barley is sprouting, it is exchanging oxygen, in an air tight container it will quickly consume the oxygen and suffocate itself. This probably will not happen in a 3 day germ, but it might.

Also, some barley, especially lower quality stuff is very sensitive to water, it will drown if kept too wet without air movement, keeping it in an air tight container will just make the problem worse.

Well then looks like opening a room window is a good idea to keep the ventilation flow running.

 

[bracconiere]

Well then looks like opening a room window is a good idea to keep the ventilation flow running.

absolutly DO NOT keep it sealed...it WILL rot! and don't give it TOO much air either it needs to stay moist to grow.....


and unless you want to concoct a contraption to automatically mist the grain and some way to automatically stir it, like a 50 gallon plastic drum, and motor turning it or something, with misting....


honestly it works just fine for me using my spare bathtub that's not used for anything else....(it's a vanity tub, figure this a good use for it?)


i do make sure to mix the grain bed which is about 2"'s deep up to let the lower kernels breath, but i do it by hand maybe once twice a day...

and i eyeball when the barley starts slowing down on growing, and needs a quick watering to finish it off...becomes more an art, when it's at the almost done...to water or not water... just a little more growth! i usually opt on the more growth...

edit: but i find the barley expects a dry spell and won't die, and just conserve energy for a while before sudden death happens...

edit 2: i mean if you want to out do me, if you're crafty enough to stir the barley while something like this was running?

https://www.daraz.pk/products/mist-fan-system-complete-kit-i144332404.html
just get a fan speed controller for the water flow, so you can dial in how thick the mist was?


(just keep in mind you'd be aproching pro levels at that point! it doesn't need to be that hard )

 

[BrewingWisdom]

absolutly DO NOT keep it sealed...it WILL rot! and don't give it TOO much air either it needs to stay moist to grow.....


and unless you want to concoct a contraption to automatically mist the grain and some way to automatically stir it, like a 50 gallon plastic drum, and motor turning it or something, with misting....


honestly it works just fine for me using my spare bathtub that's not used for anything else....(it's a vanity tub, figure this a good use for it?)


i do make sure to mix the grain bed which is about 2"'s deep up to let the lower kernels breath, but i do it by hand maybe once twice a day...

and i eyeball when the barley starts slowing down on growing, and needs a quick watering to finish it off...becomes more an art, when it's at the almost done...to water or not water... just a little more growth! i usually opt on the more growth...

edit: but i find the barley expects a dry spell and won't die, and just conserve energy for a while before sudden death happens...

edit 2: i mean if you want to out do me, if you're crafty enough to stir the barley while something like this was running?

https://www.daraz.pk/products/mist-fan-system-complete-kit-i144332404.html
just get a fan speed controller for the water flow, so you can dial in how thick the mist was?


(just keep in mind you'd be aproching pro levels at that point! it doesn't need to be that hard )

And does drying it in sun afterwards ok?
This time my malt won't go in any microwave or oven. Just will dry it in the sun and crush afterwards.
Sun is strong here these days ,won't take long maximum 1-2 days

 

[bracconiere]

And does drying it in sun afterwards ok?
This time my malt won't go in any microwave or oven. Just will dry it in the sun and crush afterwards.
Sun is strong here these days ,won't take long maximum 1-2 days

what about bugs? i wouldn't, and if you don't kiln it will be taste gross...and did i miss something, when did the microwave come into play? first i've heard of you trying that?

edit: thinking about it though, sun dried malt if cover with some cheese cloth or something...could be a niche malt style!

 

[BrewingWisdom]

what about bugs? i wouldn't, and if you don't kiln it will be taste gross...and did i miss something, when did the microwave come into play? first i've heard of you trying that?

edit: thinking about it though, sun dried malt if cover with some cheese cloth or something...could be a niche malt style!

Don't have bugs here, specially during daylight under the scorching sun.

 

[bracconiere]

Don't have bugs here, specially during daylight under the scorching sun.

bugs love it here

 

[BrewingWisdom]

bugs love it here

Looks like a cooler and humid environment over there.
Here it's raining for the past two days right now pleasant weather but from next week as June approaches it will be 42 C with a harsh sun. In such hot dry climate not even a fly can be seen on any food item.
Though from mid July during monsoon all kinds of insects come out , with extreme humid weather. That's not the ideal season for I guess malting or fermentation bcz of high risk of bacterial contamination. Bacteria comes from the body sweat or insects.

 

[bracconiere]

Looks like a cooler and humid environment over there.
Here it's raining for the past two days right now pleasant weather but from next week as June approaches it will be 42 C with a harsh sun. In such hot dry climate not even a fly can be seen on any food item.
Though from mid July during monsoon all kinds of insects come out , with extreme humid weather. That's not the ideal season for I guess malting or fermentation bcz of high risk of bacterial contamination. Bacteria comes from the body sweat or insects.

you explicative ...and your

anyway, it was 109f or 42c in phoenix just a few weeks ago.....and DRY as a bone! but the cockroaches love it apparently! the flies love it too!

and it's only May! it'll be up to 120f when the monsoon starts!

i'd recommend malting indoors, but deculming outside.

 

[BrewingWisdom]

you explicative ...and your

anyway, it was 109f or 42c in phoenix just a few weeks ago.....and DRY as a bone! but the cockroaches love it apparently! the flies love it too!

and it's only May! it'll be up to 120f when the monsoon starts!

i'd recommend malting indoors, but deculming outside.

Malting will be indoors. Only drying outside.
Cockroaches can even survive the nuclear blast lol.

 

[RWurster]

And does drying it in sun afterwards ok?
This time my malt won't go in any microwave or oven. Just will dry it in the sun and crush afterwards.
Sun is strong here these days ,won't take long maximum 1-2 days

I dry on screened racks inside and also outside. Outside drying gets dirt and other impurities into your grain but I have never had any problems drying outside to be honest. As far as the 120F kilning for 12 hours that you have to do before you turn the dried malt into whatever kind of malt you are making ... It is very hot here also so I just put it in my truck with the windows rolled up for three days and then I kiln it into pale, pilsner, or whatever kind of malt I want. Some malts need to be made from still sprouting seed though so there is that aspect also. I dry the same way for for wheat malt also, I have 30 pounds of it waiting to kiln. Only put the malt in an airtight container AFTER it has been thoroughly dried!!!