A visit to Warminster Maltings

Back in 2016 I took a little part-time job at a local micro-brewery called Malt the Brewery. It was a fun  pocket money job, and I was paid mostly in excellent beer, but it was fascinating to see the ancient art of brewing take place. 

After I'd been working there for six months or so Nick, our boss, arranged a day trip for us to Warminster in Wiltshire to visit the oldest traditional Maltings in the UK.

Warminster has been making malt for over 160 years and the method has not changed. As you're undoubtedly aware, making beers and spirits like Scotch or Irish Whiskey starts with grain. Our ales began with barley which, once harvested, was sent here to Warminster. This process of turning it into malt begins with a good soaking in spring water from a natural well. 

The steeping process can vary with grain type and size but, typically, the barley is soaked and the water drained three times over three days. The absorbed water and aeration activates naturally existing enzymes. This allows the starches and sugars to develop that would, in the wild, be fuel for the growing plant.   

The second step is to remove the grain from the water and to let it germinate in the air. Rootlets emerge from the kernel and a shoot - or acrospire - begins to grows This process typically takes 4-6 days and results in what is called 'Green Malt.' 

In modern maltings, this stage is done by machine. But at Warminster it's still done the old way. The green malt is laid out on the stone floors of large rooms with a good airflow and is raked and turned regularly to aerate it. The master maltsters use their eyes, sense of smell, and sense of touch to decide when the malting process in complete. They taste it too. I tried a few kernels that had just finished their time on the floor and they were very sweet. 

The malt is then transferred to kilns to be dried and roasted.

The kilning process arrests the development of the plant. And the longer the malt is roasted, the darker it gets and the deeper the flavour it develops. Dark, chocolatey malts are used for stouts and dark beers while the lighter, blonder malts are used for light ales and lagers. Some will become single malt whisky.

There's a display in the foyer of the building where the various colours are formed into the initials 'WM'.

It was a fascinating place to visit and it was great to see how our barley was turned into the malt that we used to brew with. 

The brewing process itself was just as interesting and I learned a lot while working there. What could be nicer than making good beer? 

 Cheers!

Warminster Maltings website is here.

And the beer I helped to make and bottle was produced by Malt the Brewery.