A brief GUIDE
Passionate about malt for over 90 years The Baker-Munton family had been trading in malt and grain in London since the 19th Century and, shortly after the end of the First World War, in 1921, Muntona Ltd was established to meet the demand for malt extract from both the brewing and food industries. Now based in the heart of the Suffolk countryside Muntons manufacture and supply malt and extracts of malt to breweries around the globe. Company founder Munton Baker-Munton recognised the need to manufacture malt extract in England and it was this idea that led him to the Phoenix Brewery in Bedford owned by Charles Wells Ltd. Over time, following acquisitions but mainly investment Muntons now has the capacity to produce 175,000 tonnes. what we can do for you Muntons understands the importance that you, the brewer, place on the quality and consistency of the malt that you use in your brewing process and the importance of reliability of supply. With that in mind we will work with you to ensure you have the right products that you want. Grain malts Liquid malt extract Dried malt extract Meet your specific requirements We offer a wide range of grains and have introduced new varieties which often impress brewers when meeting their requirements. Speciality malts are also available as well as pure Maris Otter, which, in its 50th year is seeing on going popularity and its versatility. As the spring barley is currently being harvested, which on early tests indicate a good strong yield, we re hoping to see the same for the winter barley. So it goes without saying that you will have access to our crop reports along with technical data and analysis on all our malts. We will also provide to you Findings and Optimisation reports and Amylographs.
MALT ANALYSIS parameters On your quality malt certificate this is what you will see. MOISTURE % The drier a malt is, the less potential it has for mould growth, and less potential for flavour and aroma being lost during storage. The upper limit for acceptable moisture content is usually around 6%. The moisture content generally reflects the quality of the malting itself, a high moisture malt may be poorly kilned. Important note regarding wort production for analysis: There are two ways of mashing to create an extract: Institute of Brewing method (IoB) and European Brewery Convention method (EBC). The EBC mash is made at 0.2mm (fine) and 1.0mm (coarse) grinds and is a mash which gradually rises in temperature, thus extracting more and producing a different wort than the IoB mash which is at one temperature (isothermal) and 0.2mm (fine) and 0.7mm (coarse) grinds. These two analysis systems are in the process of being merged. For the present both can be reported: EBC analysis as % extract, IoB extract as litre of extract per kilogram (L /kg). FINE EXTRACT, dwt, % Fine refers to the fine grind of the malt that is analysed, it is a 0.2mm grind. dwt refers to the dry weight result (as opposed to the as is result which is dependent on the malt moisture). The fine grind extract percentage value gives a numerical value of the maximum soluble yield that you are likely to derive from the malt into the wort. The higher the extract value, the more soluble the material and the less husk and protein. This is a good measure of the quality of the grain itself. EXTRACT, IoB (dwt, 0.7mm grind), L /kg IoB refers to the Institute of Brewing, who specify this method. 0.7mm is the mill setting to give a coarse grind. dwt refers to the dry weight result (as opposed to the as is result which incorporates the moisture). The extract result is quoted as litre degrees per kg. The coarse grind extract value gives a numerical value of the amount of soluble extract that you are likely to derive from the malt, in the wort. It gives a better indication of the degree of starch modification that the grain underwent during the germination stage of malting. Because breweries tend to mill at around 0.7mm, the coarse grind extract value gives a closer approximation the extract achieved in the brewhouse. FINE/COARSE DIFFERENCE This is the difference between coarse and fine grinds. If the difference is small then the malt is very consistent throughout and easily milled and extracted. High values reflect that certain parts of the malt are not sufficiently malted. TOTAL NITROGEN, dwt, % The percentage of nitrogen gives an indication of the protein content of the grain and represents all the nitrogenous matter in the malt, including insoluble forms. In general, the more protein in the grain the less starch, which results in a lower extract yield. For 100% malt brews, TN values exceeding 1.9% indicate that the beer may haze or present mash runoff problems. Nitrogen levels less than 1.9% are adequate for head-formation, body, and healthy fermentation and produce less chill haze. TN is used to calculate the soluble nitrogen ratio. In general the greater the nitrogen in the grain, the greater the potential enzyme production is provided the malting process allows time for it to be released. TOTAL SOLUBLE NITROGEN, dwt, % The amount of nitrogen in soluble form, expressed as a percentage of malt weight. The TSN gives an indication of the protein modification of the grain during malting and an indication of how much nitrogen will be extracted into the mash. TSN is used to calculate the soluble nitrogen ratio. SOLUBLE NITROGEN RATIO The SNR is the total soluble nitrogen divided by the total nitrogen, expressed as a ratio. If the Institute of Brewing analysis method is used, the SNR is quoted. The SNR gives an indication of the level of protein modification during malting (and malt modification). The higher the number, the more highly modified the malt. It also gives an indication of how much nitrogen will be extracted into the mash. Malts destined for infusion mashing should have an SNR of 36-42%, or up to 45% for light-bodied beer. At a percentage much over 45% SNR, the beer will be thin in body and mouthfeel. For traditional lager malts, 30-33% indicates undermodification, and 37-40% indicates overmodification. KOLBACH INDEX The Kolbach Index is the total soluble nitrogen divided by the total nitrogen, expressed as a ratio. If the European Brewing Convention analysis method is used, the Kolbach Index is quoted. The Kolbach Index gives an indication of the level of protein modification during malting (and malt modification). The higher the number, the more highly modified the malt. It also gives an indication of how much nitrogen will be extracted into the mash. WORT COLOUR, 450g MASH 450g refers to the weight the sample is made up to with water during analysis (as opposed to making the volume up to 515ml with water which was an older method of analysis, now not used). Once the wort weight has been standardised to 450g, the colour of the wort is measured using industry standard EBC colour discs. BETA GLUCAN, mg/l As above, the wort is made upto 450g with water to standardise the weight. The result is given as mg/l. It is a measure of the soluble beta-glucan present in the malt. Beta-glucan (a type of polysaccharide) is a chain of the beta isomer of glucose molecules. High beta-glucan can increase the viscosity of the wort, impeding filtration. Also high beta-glucan indicates poor modification. DIASTATIC POWER, IoB Diastatic power is a numerical value for the combined enzyme activities of alpha amylase, beta amylase and limit dextrinase. These enzymes are naturally present in the malt. IoB refers to the Institute of Brewing analysis method used. The diastatic power indicates the level of starch digestion you can achieve during mashing. There is an alternative method for determining Diastatic Power and it can be expressed at units WK. The formula to convert IoB to WK is: DP WK =(DP IOB*1.07*3.5)-16 ALPHA AMYLASE/DU @ 20 C (dwt) This test measures only alpha amylase. DU refers to dextrinising units, which are a unit of measuring alpha amylase. Dextrins are medium length carbohydrates that are formed by the action of alpha amylase cleaving starch. The result is given as (dry weight) dwt, (as opposed to the as is result which incorporates the moisture).
MALT flavour wheel MALT SENSORY ANALYSIS Currently malt tasting is not part of any malt specification, but offers possibilities to differentiate both positive and negative flavours. Conventional malt analysis may suggest that malts are identical, yet the processing parameters used could have been different and therefore the flavour profile also slightly different (Chandra et al, 1997). It is thus important to have a sufficiently discriminatory method to flavour profile malts that reflects the range of malt flavours available. Some customers require tasting of worts for the correct flavour profile. This doesn t reflect contribution of the husk and the sweetness of worts predominates, making full profiling impractical. A method that fully describes the profile of malt has been developed that creates a porridge by grinding the whole malt and mixing with a small amount of water. This avoids the problems for the taster of drying out the palate if tasting whole malt or dry ground samples. When given free rein to describe malt flavours, tasters tend to use food products as descriptors. It has proved possible to group these into a smaller number of sensory terms to create a unique profile for the entire range of malts (Murray et al, 1999). This malt flavour wheel allows distinct profiles to be created for the wide range of malts and malted ingredients we produce. TREACLE Berry, Jam Malty, Biscuit, Hay, Husky, Rusk C T Beany Card, Veg, Sulphidic Sulphi c Mouldy
traceability All of Muntons manufacturing sites are covered by ISO 9001:2008. Quality Assurance and are certified to supply organic malts. ISO 9001:2008 registered Organic certification Cereal analysis and microbiology laboratories Every Muntons employee holds a Food Hygiene certificate All Muntons barley is fully traceable to the farm of origin. A large proportion of our barley is sourced direct from the farm, often grown on a buy back contract where Muntons have supplied the seed. This level of traceability is probably unique within the industry. packaging and delivery All our packaging is recyclable and comes in polypropylene sacks or jerry cans. We are able to provide next day delivery with no minimum order, some varieties maybe dependant on availability. onsite brewery for training and passion visits Muntons has a continued focus on new product development and to help enable this service to expand has invested in an onsite facility - the Centre for Excellence. The small scale brewery housed within the Centre for Excellence is an ideal facility to test brew a vast range of beers. Our doors are always open to help you. If you have a recipe development project or need to test out a new seasonal brew then why not take advantage of our facility. You may wish to bring your staff to the CofE as one of their passion visits. We could even brew some beer for your Christmas party! sustainability Muntons is the first maltster to develop a bespoke farming carbon footprint calculator and the first to make the pledge that all of our malt will be low carbon within 5 years. With more brewers cropping up locally maintaining a low carbon footprint is becoming every more important. 25kg polypropylene sacks (GRAIN MALT, MALT FLOUR and FLAKES) & jerry can
Muntons plc Cedars Maltings Stowmarket Suffolk IP14 2AG UK t. +44 (0) 1449 618300 www.muntons.com