THE  AMERICAN 
JOURNAL  OF  PHARMACY. 
JUNE,  1884. 
ON  MALT  AND  MALTING. 
By  Frank  Xavier  Moerk,  Ph.G. 
From  an  Inaugural  Essay.1 
Malt  is  described  by  the  Pharmacopoeia  as  "  the  seed  of  Hordeum 
distichum  caused  to  enter  the  incipient  state  of  germination  by  artificial 
means,  and  dried. " 
The  process  which  the  barley  undergoes  is  termed  "  malting,"  and 
has  for  its  object  the  production  of  soluble  albuminoids,  diastase,  from 
the  insoluble  albuminous  bodies  present.  These  albuminoids  possess 
the  property  of  converting,  under  suitable  circumstances,  the  starch  of 
the  grain  into  maltose,  a  fermentable  sugar,  and  dextrin,  a  body  closely 
related  thereto.  The  formation  of  diastase  proceeds  first  in  the  same 
proportion  as  the  development  of  the  embryo,  but  after  the  young 
plant  has  arrived  at  a  stage  when  respiration  through  the  plumula 
and  assimilation  through  the  rootlets  can  take  place,  the  amount  of 
diastase  stored  up  in  the  grain  gradually  decreases.  It  is,  therefore, 
the  aim  of  the  malster  to  arrest  the  growth  of  the  germ  at  the  moment 
when  most  diastase  is  accumulated  in  the  grain,  i.  e.,  before  the  future 
stem  surpasses  the  length  of  the  grain.  This  is  accomplished  by  kill- 
ing the  embryo  by  drying  and  heating. 
Malting  consists  of  four  operations :  Steeping,  Couching,  Flooring, 
and  Kiln-drying. 
I.  Steeping. — The  barley  is  screened  and  sifted  to  remove  broken 
or  small  grains,  it  is  then  let  into  a  large  cistern  made  of  stone,  iron, 
cement  or  wood.  The  water,  temperature  10-13°  C.  (50-55°  F.),  is 
then  added  and  allowed  to  cover  the  grain  to  a  depth  of  4  or  5  inches. 
The  time  required  to  steep  the  barley  is  about  three  days ;  the  water 
1  Mr.  Moerk's  thesis,  presented  to  the  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy, 
contains  interesting  investigations  on  barley  and  malt,  but  being  quite 
voluminous,  we  deem  it  best  to  publish  separately  the  different  subdivi- 
sions or  portions  thereof. — Editor. 
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