MaltGems™ Heart of the Malt for Clean Flavor

Custom-milled, premium Synergy Select Pilsen Malt

Briess innovative new brewing ingredient, MaltGems™ is now available! By custom milling Briess Synergy Select Pilsen Malt, they removed the majority of husk to create a malt that eliminates the bitter, astringent flavors common with other base malts. What remains is MaltGems™ — the Heart of the Malt — that delivers exceptional performance and lautering due to the removal of fine grit, flour, and water-binding husk. MaltGems™ can be used in any beer style where clean, sweet, well-rounded base malt flavor is desired and is exclusively available from Briess. Expect balanced flavor with subtle bread, cracker, and honey notes along with a remarkably clean finish only achieved by eliminating husk-based polyphenols.

Because MaltGems™ are custom milled, they are crafted to efficiently lauter without reintroducing husks. They have the capability for higher throughput due to the potential for adding 20% or greater grist.

Characteristics:

Color: Contributes light golden color to wort
Flavor: Notes of bread, cracker, and honey

Features & Benefits:

Clean malt flavor resulting from husk removal
Exceptional lautering & performance
Crafted from premium European-style Pilsen Malt
Well-rounded base malt flavor
Moderate enzymes & FAN for control & consistency
High extract due to Synergy Select Pilsen Malt base
Allows 20% greater grist loading for increased throughput & higher gravity options due to lack of flour & water-binding husk

Uses:

Any beer style where clean, sweet, well-rounded base malt flavor is desired
Uniquely suited for high-gravity brewing
Up to 100% dependent upon beer style

Endosperm brewing with MaltGems™ is a great way to create an extremely clean beer without the bitter husk flavors that traditional base malts can impart. But what is endosperm? It is the starchy middle of a barley kernel that functions as an energy source for the growing seed. This starch is bound in a matrix of protein and polysaccharides which require enzymatic modification (malting) to make the starch readily accessible during mashing. Sugars and protein fragments created in this modification interact during kilning to produce the malt’s signature color and flavor. The endosperm is where most of the extract, color, and flavor reside.

Husk and sprouting portions of the malt are not considered endosperm. Husks contain tannic polyphenols that can contribute harshness to the finish of beer, a characteristic some beer consumers have become accustomed to. Acrospires are the sprouted portions of the malt that make their way into finished malt; these contain an elevated level of bitter peptides, which we have also become used to.

By removing the majority of husk and acrospires, Briess has created a product that can easily be used to create endosperm brewed beers. By also removing the flour and fine grits, MaltGems™ can be lautered without the need to add any of the husks back. Coarse, endosperm-rich grits lauter well because the fine materials that can cause doughiness have been removed. One additional benefit of removing husk is that it frees up a lot of mash water; husk tends to soak up water like a sponge (about 4x as much as the endosperm). Without the husks, brewers can process higher grist loads (20% higher) and make higher gravity worts.