Malts and Malting (1998)

D. E. Briggs presents a detailed examination of malt production and its industrial applications in this comprehensive volume. The text begins by outlining the malting process and evaluating how these materials function alongside competitors such as industrial enzymes and sugar preparations. Briggs then shifts focus to the biological foundations, exploring the structures, germinative physiology, and biochemistry of cereal grains with a primary emphasis on barley while also describing the malting of other cereals. The narrative proceeds through the successive stages of production, offering practical guidance on selecting and purchasing grain, evaluating its quality, and managing storage. It describes the specific equipment utilized by maltsters and outlines experimental techniques for small-scale testing. The book explains the principles behind malt evaluation and summarizes how altering malting conditions affects the final product. This work is designed for maltsters, brewers, distillers, foodstuff manufacturers, and academic researchers in food science. Readers seeking casual recipes or historical anecdotes will find little here. Instead, they will encounter a technical manual grounded in food science and engineering principles. The text serves as a reference for professionals involved in the manufacture of beers, whiskies, confectionery, and non-alcoholic beverages who require precise knowledge of raw material properties and processing methods.