Leah’s Beer School: Lesson 45
What is Malt? Beer is comprised of four essential ingredients: water, malt, hops and yeast. While newly developed yeast strains and novel hop varieties are constantly at the forefront of beer news, the role of malt in beer is often understated. In reality, malt is the backbone, or essential support system, of beer. Malt can be derived from a variety of grains, but barley is the most frequently used grain in beer. Malt-based wort offers both sugars and nutrients that yeast requires for fermentation, hop bitterness relies on malt sweetness as a counterpoint to achieve balance. Starches contained in barley …