The fine tuning of existing older malthouses to achieve maximum malt quality and economic productivity.

Gibbons, G.C., Horgan, R., Welsh, G. and Chumbley, J.D.

Abstract
Effective process control monitoring during malting allows for fine adjustments to be made at every stage of the process to ensure that the malt meets specification. Two objective methods of green malt analysis have been described. The Calcofluor beta glucan stain method for assessing the extent and evenness of cell wall breakdown during malting and the Green Malt Kolbach Index for the progress of protein modification have been used to correlate, for each malthouse, the controllable process parameters and their effects on malt quality. Fine tuning of utility (fuel, water and electricity) usage in relation to costs at one plant is exemplified, resulting in substantial savings in overall production costs.
Keywords: economics efficiency malt malthouse malting production quality