Malted Barley

Milling is where the whole brewing process begins. The malted barley is cracked open during milling, enabling the starches to later be extracted from the grain during mashing. Once cracked open, a small elevator carries the malt up into a hopper where it will later enter the mash tun. During milling, it is essential the malt is not ground but only cracked open. If too fine, the resulting beer will be extremely cloudy and contain many off-flavors from the husks. Gently cracking the malt allows sugars to be extracted and the husks to act as a natural filter, clarifying the wort in the mash tun.