Malt Whisky

Whisky, or Whiskey, refers to a broad category of alcoholic beverages that are distilled from fermented grain mash and aged in wooden casks (generally oak). Different grains are used for different varieties, including barley, malted barley, rye, malted rye, wheat, and maize (corn).The first written record of whisky comes from 1405 in Ireland,[1] it is also mentioned in Scotland in 1496.

Malt Whisky is whisky made entirely from malted barley and distilled in an onion-shaped pot still.

Single Malt Whisky
- Whisky that is made from 100 % malted barley in one distillery. Each single malt whisky is different and depends on the location of the distillery, the ingredients used and the skill and experience of the distiller.
- Single malt whiskey, sometimes spelled whisky (depending on its origin), is an alcoholic beverage which comes from a single distillery, in which all the grain used for the mash has been malted. Many quality whiskies (Single malt Scotch for example) are single malt whiskies. Most single malt whiskies are distilled using a pot still.
- Single Malt whisky is from a single distillery, but will usually contain whisky from many casks, so the blender can achieve a taste recognisable as typical of the distillery (unless the whisky is described as "single-cask"). In most cases, the name of the whisky will be that of the distillery (Glenlivet, Glenmorangie, Glenfarclas), with an age statement and perhaps some indication of some special treatments such as maturation in a port cask. Especially expensive malts may have a special name.

Scotch Malt Whisky - Scotch Whiskey distilled in Scotland; especially whiskey made from malted barley in a pot still .

Vatted Malt- A mixture of malt whiskies from more than one distillery, these can be very interesting and quite good fun - try Sheep Dip or Pig's Nose.Vatted Malt is blended from malt whiskies from different distilleries. If a whisky is labelled "pure malt" or just "malt" it is almost certain to be a vatted whisky. This is also sometimes labeled as "Blended Malt" whisky.

Wheat Malt

Wheat malt is often used in non-wheat beers at about 5% of the grist to promote head retention. It has low colour values and is relatively high in enzymes. Used at higher concentrations, wheat's higher protein and fat content as well as its lack of a husk require special precautions. Use wheat with at least 1/3 of the mash being two-row barley. Rice Hulls are also a good idea (in fact you can make 100% wheat beer with the help of rice hulls).

Bavarian-style Weizen beers are available in unfiltered form or filtered . All are made from at least 50% wheat malt, with 66% wheat malt being typical. Because they are such complex and richly-flavored beers, they express themselves best at about 45-50 °F. Fruit garnish is quite unnecesaary, and actually hurts the head retention and flavor balance of the beer. Only the most touristy Bavarian bars serve Hefeweizen with lemon.

Wheat malt is only permitted as an ingredient in top-fermented beers, yet many hefeweizen beers are bottled with a bottom-fermenting yeast. As this yeast will be continuing the fermentation in the bottle, it's a matter of debate whether the end result is a pure top-fermenting beer.

WHEAT MALT EXTRACT is made from 60% malted wheat and 40% malted barley. This is not a blended product, but rather the wheat and the malted barley are mashed together, producing a clean and light colored extract. The resulting beer is an authentic WHEAT BEER. If you want a true WHEAT BEER without mashing - this is the product to use.

Beer brewed in the German Hefeweizen style rely mostly or entirely on malted wheat as a grain, as does Belgian witbier. Lambic also makes heavy use of wheat. Under the Reinheitsgebot, wheat was treated separately from barley, as it was the more expensive grain.

Note :- Information based on collected from many resources.

Barley Malt

Barley is one of the seven grains high in natural sugars and easy to digest. It has been used medicinally for many centuries in the form of barley water for digestive problems.

Majority malt is produced from barley. In India six-row barley is commonly available and used to produce malt. Barley is available in many forms. In the United States, the majority is ground or rolled for use in mixed feeds for animals. Pearled barley is the most commonly available barley. Often the pearled barley found in natural food stores has undergone fewer pearlings than that found in a supermarket, as indicated by its larger size.

Barley malt technically refers to malt sugar, which is a buff-colored crystalline powder. It is made by evaporating the water out of barley malt syrup. Malt sugar is becoming increasingly available in health food stores as a superior sugar replacement that is less sweet but adds a better texture and pleasing nutty flavor to baked goods.

Liquid barley malt is available in barley extract and barley-corn malt. The extract is 100 percent barley malt and usually tastes as strong as blackstrap molasses. Barley malt is mostly carbohydrate although it contains small amounts of vitamins and minerals. It is the least expensive of the quality natural sweeteners.

The basis of Scotch whisky is the heather-flavored ales made from barley malt that the Picts and their prehistoric ancestors brewed. Archeologists have found evidence of such brewing dating back to at least 2000 B.C. This ale (which is still produced today by at least one Scottish microbrewer) was low in alcohol and not very stable.

Source:- http://www.barmalt.com