Creative Series Full Story

Creative Series Infusion Malts

There are very few innovations to surface from the malting industry in recent years, and even less with a focus on expanding the repertoire of creative and niche malts. How can creative brewers and distillers push new boundaries on recipe development? It starts with innovations in the raw materials. With infusion malts, we have taken malt as a raw ingredient to a new level.

Through combining seasonal and exotic raw ingredient combinations encompassing spices, herbs, botanicals, fruits and more into the malting process, aromatic and flavourful compounds are inherently infused into the starchy endosperm matrix of the malt during endosperm modification.

The result? An unparalleled complexity that brewers and distillers alike are able to layer their recipes with to create a whole new generation of unique and inspired beverages.

Infusion Malt – 1 + 1 = 3

You might be curious about the value of incorporating the goodness of these raw ingredients into the malting process as opposed to directly into the brewing process. Does infusion malt bring any value in this respect?

The simple answer is, overwhelmingly yes!

Research performed by the Faculty of Engineering Technology Laboratory at KU Leuven has conclusively demonstrated the presence of aroma-compounds originating from the exogenous ingredients in the endosperm of infused malted barley using Headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) coupled to gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). These aroma and flavour compounds are robust and, even after husk removal, they persist in the endosperm of the malted barley. Proof that these compounds goes well beyond a superficial husk covering. They feature at the cellular level.

And what’s more…

…We believe this is just the tip of the iceberg. We are only just beginning to understand the implications this process may have on the complex and unique biotransformations stemming from this novel malting process.

Fascinatingly, from a sensory perspective, with the incorporation of infusion malt into a recipe, we observe unique flavour components developed throughout the malting process; a result we believe is greater than the sum of its parts. Flavours and aromas entirely novel to those present in the infusion ingredients coupled with an other-worldly depth of complexity stemming from those ingredient-derived.

With our Infusion malt range, our aim is to provide brewers and distillers with even more exciting possibilities for creating complex, layered depth in their recipes.