What is the difference between malt and barley

In short, whatever whiskies you prefer should be the ones to grace your liquor cabinet shelves. Most people like to have a little of everything available, anyway.

After all, the fifty-year-old single malt scotch might be perfect for celebrating that big promotion with a few of your close work friends, but the neighbourhood party with the whole gang might call for a smoother, blended grain whisky. Why not be prepared for all of it? Shop your local stores and distilleries for some everyday whisky, and then look into a premium service like Whisky Loot to make sure you taste those expensive, hand-curated bottles at a decent price. What does it mean if a whisky is blended?

And why are so many people convinced that single malt whisky is the best? Read on to find out! Whisk e y Defined First of all, it may be helpful to take a step back and define the liquor. Blended Vs. Pure Barley Put simply, grain whisky is made from any grains, most commonly wheat and corn yes, corn is sometimes considered a grain rather than a vegetable. How Exactly do they Taste? Why all the Fuss over a Little Barley? It is also used in the production of malt.

Hush less or pear barley types of varieties are mainly preferred for consuming as food. Only certain varieties of barley are used for producing malt. Malt refers to a grain which is sprouted and then dried by a method known as malting. It is generally made from barley; however, some other grains may also be used to prepare malt. It is usually used for brewing and distilling.

The word malt has been derived from the Old English word meltan which means to melt. Malt produced by barley is used in baked foods and flavorings. When barley is malted, it generates the enzymes responsible for converting the starches present in barley into sugars.

It also produces some other proteins which can be used by yeast. The sugars and proteins both are needed by the alcoholic fermentation and therefore it is mostly used in creating the alcohols in beer. Therefore, Grains cover barley and other types of cereal grains.

On the other hand, malt is something which is produced by grains like barley. Therefore, they share an imporatnt relationship. Comparison between Malt, Barley and Grain:. It is generally made from barley. There are generally hints of vanilla, citrus, honey and oak. The flavour and aroma will depend on which mix of grains are used to produce the whisky. Just like there are hundreds of varieties of grapes used to produce wine, there are many varieties of barley.

There are about 5, strains of barley, although only a small fraction is used to make whisky. Only ten are approved by the Institute of Brewing and Distilling in Scotland for Scotch whisky production. These ten strains are all developed from the same strain, Hordeum distichon. Most Scotches are made from barley produced on the eastern coasts of Scotland and England, where lower rainfall and sandy soils are ideal for growing.

Canada, Australia and other parts of Europe are also main suppliers of barley used for whisky production. For the most part, single malt Scotch is produced using two-row spring barley. Chronicle, Moonshine, Odyssey and Overture are also used, although only more recently. New barley varieties are often tested with the hopes of higher yields. This has led to several varieties of barley no longer being used for whisky production, including Chariot, Golden Promise, Oxbridge, Prisma and Triumph.

For Malt whisky producers, two- and six-row barley strains with a low nitrogen content and consistently large grain size are preferred. Nitrogen content of between 1. With more protein, a higher nitrogen content is usually used for producing grain whiskies as well as for animal feed.

These starches are essential since they are converted into larger amounts of sugar for fermentation. These grains are also easier to germinate, making them easier to malt. There is also good enzyme potential, which is also essential for converting starch into sugars during mashing.

Certain enzymes are also needed for alcohol production. Malted barley, or malt, is barley that has been allowed to germinate or sprout by being soaked in water. By doing this to the grain, the starches are converted into fermentable sugars. The process ensures that starch in the grain can be made into alcohol. This process is known as malting, an important step in the process of producing whisky as well as beer.

Malt whisky refers to whisky made from malted barley, differentiating them from grain whisky. Malt whisky is generally produced from mashing only malted barley whereas grain whisky can include a combination of malted and non-malted grains. The flavour and aroma of malt whisky is typically strong and bold. It usually has hints of smoke, vanilla, fruit, wood and yeast as well as malt.

Single malt whisky is also made with only malted of one type of grain. In Scotland, the term is used to identify whisky made from only malted barley. The whisky must also be produced in one distillery and matured for at least three years in casks made from oak. Some producers in the United States and Canada use this term to refer to malt whisky made from only malted rye rather than barley. Malting first involves soaking or steeping barley.

The grain is dormant, which ensures it does not start growing until the new growing season. Malting tricks the grain to start sprouting by making it think it is spring. Grains are set in steeping tanks and soaked for a couple of days. The warm water is set at about 16 C or 60 F. The process starts with immersing the grain in water for a short period and then draining the water. It also makes the grain ready to soak in more water when it is placed back in the water again.