Mashing

Mashing is the process of converting malt to a sugar-rich fermentable liquor or wort. Malt grains are first broken, typically by roller mills, to expedite the interaction of mash water with the modified endosperm. The broken grains, or grist, are mixed with hot water which first softens (gelatinizes) and ultimately liquefies the starch, and which activates enzymes that break the starch into fermentable sugars. At the end of an all-malt barley process, spent grains are separated from the sugary wort by filtering the wort through a filter bed comprised of the barley’s husks.