Whisky Fundamentals
Floor Maltings
Published 22/07/2020
Only a few Scottish distilleries still malt their barley themselves, many malting floors have long been mothballed. All the more exciting, what actually happens there on the remaining malt floors and how the barley is prepared for firing. Why is barley malted before whisky distillation? Before malt whisky is made, the barley is almost always malted. This is because the barley contains the required sugars in an unprocessed starch form. For this sugar to be useable for fermentation it must first be converted into a simple maltose sugar that the yeast can then convert into alcohol.
Floor Maltings
How did distillation come about?
Published 22/07/2020
William Faulkner said that civilization begins with distillation. Taking stock of the progress of a civilization through the prism of its scientific and cultural advances in distillation is commendable. Distillation requires knowledge in many fields - agriculture, chemistry, biology, metallurgy, technology - as well as know-how in terms of conditioning, packaging and logistics. The above are the technical measures, but the cultural and sensory criteria require an audience with experienced taste buds and purchasing power to acquire the finished product and recognize its qualities.
How did distillation come about?
Is whisky gluten free?
Published 22/07/2020
Yes. Only the most allergic risk any issue as the distillation process, particularly of grain whiskies removes most of the protien. All products that contain less than 20 ppm (parts per million) of the protein are considered gluten-free. This whisky can be said to be gluten-free. Those with celiac disease cannot tolerate most grain products and should avoid them. Scotch whisky is also made from grain. In the case of single malts, malted barley comes into the stills, with blends it is a mixture of different types of grain.
Is whisky gluten free?
Mashing
Published 22/07/2020
What is Mashing? Mashing refers to the process by which the sugar within ground barley is extracted during the whisky production process, the process is identical for the production of beer and traditional malt vinegar. For mashing, the barley malted beforehand is ground (grist) and poured into the mash tun several times with water getting hotter and hotter. The required sugar solution (wort) is extracted. Traditionally, the sugar is washed out of the grain with three successive infusions, though a handful of distilleries such as Bunnahhain use four.
Mashing
Image courtesy of Peter Schill
Saladin box
Published 22/07/2020
What is a Saladin Box? Saladin Malting were an early replacement for distillery floor malting for brewing and whisky making. There were two common versions: Saladin boxes and Round Saladin. Saladin boxes are horizontal boxes equipped with a spinner that move through the bed several times a day, increasing the barley thus preventing the roots from getting tangled. As the name suggests, Circular Saladin circular vessels are attached to an arm that rotates around the container.
Saladin box