ABSTRACT

Malting of the wild barley cultivar Hordeum spontaneum to provide a food source for humans and accidental microbial infection of the resultant limash to produce an alcoholic beverage probably occurred in Neolithic times [1]. Intentional malting was accomplished on table makings for generations after that for domestic use in baking, brewing, or distilling. Malting was necessary to convert hard, insoluble cereal grains to softer, sweeter kernels by allowing them to germinate in thin layers with frequent manual turning. Drying of the germinated grain was frequently left up to the sun’s rays or to small wood- or peat-fired kilns. Later, floor makings that handle several tons of barley per batch were built alongside small breweries and distilleries and are still used today in some locations.