He Started His Own On-Farm Malting Business

He Started His Own On-Farm Malting Business GRAIN HANDLING Miscellaneous “I started malting my own grain about 10 years ago to brew beer for myself ” says Eric Stiegman “I hand malted it in my basement and put it in my oven to roast it ”     He decided to expand into a commercial-scale operation with the idea of producing and marketing his own beer Like a small winery he would use his own barley and wheat produce his own malt and brew the beer     “I discovered that malting was more difficult than making beer ” he says     Eventually Stiegman decided to focus on malting barley for craft brewers When not farming he is kept busy by one brewery alone He grows the barley they prefer and malts it to their specifications He admits that getting there wasn’t easy     “I had a lot of failures ” says Stiegman “I went through all the malting books I could find Then I designed my equipment around corn handling equipment and tanks for liquid fertilizer ”     Except for the kiln all his equipment is housed in an old semi reefer trailer The enclosure lets him better control temperatures and humidity at the different stages     “Malting grain requires fooling the grain into converting carbohydrates into sugars that the yeast can make alcohol from ” says Stiegman     Making malt requires sizing the grain to a uniform size that will soak up moisture evenly He steeps about 1 500 to 2 000 lbs of grain at a time periodically draining it and air-drying it     “I use bulk non-treated 50-bushel soybean seed bags for moving grain around and a pto-powered Wallinga grain vac to move the grain into the steeping tank and into and out of the roaster ” says Stiegman     The steeping tank is a plastic tank with a funnel shaped bottom It has a 4-in valve on the bottom to drain the steeped grain into a short customized elevator     “I cut the top off the tank so I can clean out anything that doesn’t drain out with air pressure or a garden hose ” says Stiegman     When the grain gets to about 44 percent internal moisture he moves it to a Saladin tank for germination The Saladin tank was originally a 1 000-gal liquid storage tank that he modified cutting off the domed top and adding a false floor and stirator     “I used steel sheeting to fabricate a sleeve around the tank and a railing for the stirator to attach to ” says Stiegman     For 3 to 5 days he blows air at 100 percent humidity and about 53 degrees through the perforated floor This keeps the internal moisture level at 44 percent while it germinates At the same time the shortened stirrator prevents emerging roots from forming an interlocked mass     When the grains have germinated the desired amount he dries the internal moisture to below 10 percent At that point he uses the grain vac to move the germinated grain to the kiln     For the kiln Stiegman installed a false flat perforated floor in a bulk feed tank and connected it to a propane-fired house furnace     “I had to modify the furnace so it wouldn’t shut down at high temperatures ” says Stiegman “I also added a small grain bin fan and devised controls for the burners and the fan Insulated ducts recirculate the exhaust air through the furnace plenum ”     The kiln roasts the grain at 140 to 220 degrees depending on the type of beer to be brewed Once roasted the grain is vacuumed out and run through a fanning mill to remove any roots After aging it in 50-bu bags for 3 weeks to a month to release gasses the malted barely is ready to be crushed for the brewing process     Stiegman has recently added a rotating-drum peanut roaster from China as a second kiln It will let him produce darker more flavorful malt     Based on current demand Stiegman is considering expanding his operation This would require adding more modules or replacing what he has with larger equipment “I attended a master maltster conference in February and of the 170 people there every one wished they had designed larger systems ” says Stiegman “Craft malting has really taken off People interested in malting should contact the North American Craft Maltsters Guild They are a great source for information craft malt sources training courses and other events ” he says     Contact: FARM SHOW Followup North American Craft Maltsters Guild 12 Gerber Rd Suite C Asheville N C 28803 www craftmalting com

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