In view of these facts, we can only take into consideration the consumption of barley in the form of malt. The data here offered will be better understood, if it be borne in mind that all light beers of that peculiarly vinous taste which has of late become somewhat popular, are made of malt and rice or corn, as in the case of the excellent Pilsen brands. The prevailing taste, however, still calls for a brewage of a deep reddish-brown color, peculiar to heavily malted beers. This question may as well be dropped, it being one of taste, about which, according to an old proverb, there can be no conclusive arguments.
The production of barley in the United States expands continually, and the repeated increases of the protective duty on the foreign product—pointedly aimed at the Canadian barley—have doubtless given additional impetus to this growth. Necessarily, the business of malting has kept pace with the rapid development of brewing, and one of the inevitable results of the suddenly enlarged demands was the establishment of many separate malt-houses, fitted up with all modern improvements. This progress, in turn, led, in a very large measure, to the discontinuance of malting by brewers. At the present time, a comparatively small number of brewers malt their own barley, it being more profitable and, usually, more satisfactory to draw on the maltster for the requisite supplies.
Concerning the manufacture of malt, we have already said what might appear to be of interest to the reader. The successful pursuit of it requires not only great skill in the handling of the grain while undergoing the interesting process of artificial germination, but also much experience and practice in the selection of the material. There are many species of barley, distinguished from each other by, and named according to, the number of rows which form the ear; thus we have two-rowed, four-rowed and six-rowed barley. Of these and other species a number of varieties exist, and the quality of all varies very materially, according to the character of the soil. In making his purchases the maltster must be able, of course, to determine whether the grain is of the kind that will yield good beer. Sight, touch and taste aid him in this, and enable him to make sure that the grain is fully ripe, of the last harvest, not too hard and smooth, nor excessively husky; but whether it contains the nitrogenous compounds, starch, salts, etc., in the desirable proportions, he is unable to determine, unless he knows the soil where the barley grew and has tested its qualities before. Given good raw material, the maltster’s success depends upon his care and vigilance in preparing for, continuing and interrupting germination at the proper time, and in judiciously handling the grain after these stages. The process begins with steeping and ends with kiln-drying, and its object, as we have already said, is the conversion of starch into sugar. Within the past twenty-five years innumerable inventions have completely revolutionized the old methods of the maltster and placed this manufacture among the most advanced industries. From present indications it appears that the future of malting belongs to the pneumatic process, which is already employed in some of the largest establishments.