Farm406

farm406 26 A bottle containing samples of Dark Crystal barley variety is displayed in the MSU Malt Quality Lab. The lab offers a fee-for-service full malt quality analysis. MSU Photo by Adrian Sanchez-Gonzalez Jamie Sherman, associate professor of plant sciences and plant pathology in the College of Agriculture at Montana State University, discusses the process to discover market qualities of barley malt from a lab sample. MSU Photo by Adrian Sanchez-Gonzalez allow for germination just up to the point before a plant shoot would emerge. Next, the grain is dried in a kiln for 24 hours in a low-heat regime that preserves enzymes required for the grain's starches to form fermentable sugars, which is important later to produce alcohol, Turner said. "Essentially, at this stage, we're pausing the germination process of the grain, which is now considered malt," she said. "The goal at this stage is to dry the grain in a low and slow manner to about 4 percent moisture content, a percentage that grinds and stores well." Next the malt is milled into a fine granular consistency, mixed with water, and heated in a controlled program for two hours to create a sugary liquid called wort, a process known as extraction. "The malt extract is kind of like yield for a brewer and is one of the most important qualities for barley breeding," Turner said. "Greater than 81 percent malt extraction is optimal." The malt extract is then measured in a densitometer, a machine that measures the level of vibration of the wort. The denser the wort, the more sugars it has. Next, a Turbidimeter shines a light through the wort to measure the wort clarity via refraction of the light. Remaining quality tests are automated with a Gallery analyzer, a machine that uses different light wavelengths to determine quality characteristics of the wort such as soluble protein, beta-glucan, free amino nitrogen, color and enzyme levels. "Depending on the end user and their desired quality, there are varying criteria and quality parameters for each test," Turner said. "For example, craft beer producers are looking for lower enzyme levels than a distiller." Sherman said given the decrease in planted barley acreage across the United States, barley growers needed a reliable pipeline of barley lines and genetic research so they can remain profitable and malt barley markets can remain competitive. "We're lucky to have a truly collaborative network of brewers, barley growers and scientists," Sherman said. "Our goal always goes back to the grower in our desire to achieve consistency in quality and environmental stability in barley lines. Testing lines after lines for quality benefits the entire community and allows us more control of our destiny. It's a wonderful thing to be able to test barley lines on site and to know, in a matter of days, if the barley produces good malt."

• Cover