Supplier viewpoint: Crisp Malt
Malts from the past for beers of the present Crisp Malt takes a look at how using heritage ingredients from the past can help product distinctive modern beers for today’s consumer more interested that ever before in the provenance of what they eat and drink… More and more people like to know what goes into their food and drink. There is much interest in ingredients, provenance, sustainability, craft. Hence the proliferation of foods containing ‘ancient grains’. Hence the opportunity for beers containing ‘heritage malts’. These malts are from historic barleys, which had been preserved in a specialist seed bank. A few years ago, our collaborating partners used a handful of seeds for propagation. Fast forward to now and there is enough grain for each variety to take its turn in the traditional floor maltings at Crisp. “Grains of heritage barleys that have been floor malted are different from other malts,” says Crisp technical director, Dr David Griggs. “Biting into them, you get subtly different flavours and character. Brewers use them to add real depth of flavour to their beers.
"Many brewers who start off by trying heritage malts for historic beer styles end up loving them so much that they include them in other beers where they are looking for stand-out flavour.”
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“Over and above the intrinsic benefits of hand turned, floor malted malts, there are also the benefits of historic authenticity. Brewers looking to faithfully reproduce beer styles from the past base their recipes on heritage malts for credibility – and the story. “Interestingly though, many brewers who start off by trying heritage malts for historic beer styles end up loving them so much that they include them in other beers where they are looking for stand-out flavour.” Crisp produces four different Heritage Malts, hand turned on their historic floor maltings– and there are likely to be others in the future. “Forgive the wait for any future additions,” he says, “but they take years to develop. Not every heritage barley we trial is going to reach our exacting standards for malt.”
Summer 2021 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk
