Expert: Ed Westemeier - 11/20/2004

Question
sir,

i am from a malting industry, i regulary get complaints of poor wort filtration at the brewery, can u help me in solving that problem at the malting level, or if there is any other method to make the malt quality better.

thanks,

kind regarads,

ukr


Answer
That problem is not normally caused by any problem with the malting process. Instead, that type of problem is the result of improper grinding. If you are supplying pre-ground malt to the brewery, then you should examine the settings on the mills you are using. If the brewery is grinding the malt, then the problem is at their end, not yours.
If the brewery specifies a fine/coarse ratio for pre-ground malt, you should be able to check the results by using laboratory screens. For example, you want a certain percentage of retention on each screen. A typical specification might be as follows:
On #10 screen     13%
On #14 screen     20%
On #18 screen     32%
On #30 screen     24%
Accumulated on #30     89%
On #60 screen     6%
On #100 screen   2%
Through             3%

Each brewery has different specifications, so you need to find out what they are.
Again, this is only your concern if you are providing ground (crushed) malt. Otherwise, the problem is probably at the brewery.