PROCESS OF MALTING. 265 



or young plant begins to increase in size, and the 

 grain becomes warm from the heat evolved by the 

 chemical action. In malting barley about 20 per 

 cent, of starch is changed into sugar and gum (412). 



691. If this were suffered to continue, the sugar 

 and gum formed would be consumed by the growing 

 young plant, and the malt would then become use- 

 less. When, therefore, the process has proceeded to 

 a certain extent, it is stopped by the gradual appli- 

 cation of heat, which, by driving off the water and 

 drying the grain, destroys the conditions requisite 

 for the further growth of the young plant, and pre- 

 serves the grain in the state most proper for the uses 

 of the brewer and distiller. 



692. Malting essentially consists of four distinct 

 processes, which are respectively called steeping, 

 couching, flooring, and kiln-drying. The barley is 

 first of all steeped in stone vats or tanks filled with 

 water ; it swells, and at the same time gives out a 

 small quantity of carbonic acid, together with some 

 coloring matter. The grain is allowed to remain in 

 the steeping tanks for from forty to forty-five hours ; 

 sometimes the water is renewed ; during this time it 

 has expanded considerably, and increased in weight 

 from fifteen to twenty per cent. The malster judges 

 that it has been steeped long enough, when it is so 

 soft that the two ends of the grain can be easily 

 squeezed together, between the thumb and finger. 



693. The water is then drained off, and the steeped 

 grain is spread over the floor in square heaps, about 



23 



