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Malt Milling
Malt Handling and Storage
Malts can be purchased either in bags or in bulk shipments. Small craft breweries are more likely to purchase their malt in bags that weigh 50 to 55 lbs, which is particularly the case when purchasing specialty malt. Almost all other breweries purchase malt in bulk shipments transported either by truck or rail as bulk shipment offers the greatest savings in malt price. For larger breweries, a typical flow of malt upon arrival at the brewery begins by weighing the vehicle on the weigh-bridge and unloading the malt via a hopper. After unloading, the vehicle is tare-weighted, with the difference in weights being the weight of the malt. Alternatively, an in-line tipping conveyor can be used for recording weights. The malt is then run through a sieve cleaner (Figure 8.1) to separate oversize malt and to separate magnetic impurities, i.e. iron and steel fragments, using a magnetic separator. Dust is separated by an aspirator by means of an intake fan and dust collector. Once weighed and cleaned, the malt is conveyed to silos for storage. Silos are constructed of either corrugated galvanized steel (Figure 8.2), which is considerably cheaper, or welded steel, which reportedly offers a higher level of protection from moisture. The minimum size for silos is usually 800 cubic feet, large enough to accommodate one truckload of malt.
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