FLOOR MALTING

With support from a WSDA processing & infrastructure grant, Chimacum Valley Grainery constructed a locally-scaled, traditional floor malting facility on the farm— which we will use for baking sprouted grain goods and for brewing locally grown beer.

Malting is a form of stimulating the primordial process of plants sprouting— by steeping, germinating and drying grains to activate new possibilities!

Traditional floor malting starts by soaking the grains in a steep tank, where the seeds start to germinate. At a specific moisture level, the grains are then drained and spread out onto the floor so they can continue to germinate in a thin layer. There the pile is manually raked and turned — by humans with a shovel— to keep the sprouting grain loose and aerated. Through malting, enzymes develop within the grain that starts pre-digestion, a marvelous biochemistry that makes more nutrition and flavor available when you bake or brew them.

We will primarily be malting our locally grown, organic barley for brewing and a range of our other whole grains, like wheat, spelt and rye, for sprouted flour baking.