Thomas Blake (1),
Victoria Blake (1), Mike Brennan (2), Patrick Hayes (3); (1) Western
Feedstock Technologies, Bozeman, MT, U.S.A.; (2) Picobrew, Inc.,
Seattle, WA, U.S.A.; (3) Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, U.S.A.
Malt and Grains
Supplier Poster
The Montana MiniMalter (patent pending) is a four-chamber malting
system in which each chamber is a modified stainless-steel tank plumbed
for efficient air and water delivery and equipped with probes for
temperature control and water levels. Tanks carrying up to 70 kg (~150
lb) of grain move on a rolling cart along a fixed rail from the 1) steep
station to the 2) first germination station, then to the 3) second
germination station, and finally to the 4) kiln station. Each
cylindrical malting chamber can be fitted with dividers that subdivide
the tank into eight equal sections. Sections can then be individually
filled with 8 kg (~18 lb) samples of grain for malting. In this
presentation, we will discuss the reproducibility and consistency of
malt produced by the Montana MiniMalter. We will also present
preliminary results from a multi-location research trial designed to
test whether variety, location and/or fertility level in a novel
collection of barley varieties contribute significantly to variation in
beer flavor. After malting using a standard protocol to produce pale
malt, malt samples will be mashed using a standardized single-step
saccharification followed by a 60-min boil to produce precision wort
samples using an automated brewing protocol in PicoBrew Zymatics. Wort
samples will be pitched with S. cerevisiae yeast and fermented, racked and canned under anaerobic conditions and refrigerated until assessment.
Thomas Blake is professor emeritus of barley breeding and genetics
at Montana State University. He developed and released Chinook, Craft
and Hockett, three AMBA-recommended 2-rowed malting barley varieties,
and has published more than 100 refereed papers on barley breeding and
genetics. He retired from MSU in 2015 to work with Dr. Victoria Blake to
develop and commercialize the Montana Malters line of malting systems.
