Kilned malts are the base of all beers. They provide starch and biological catalysts (enzymes) to convert starch to sugar. The name derives from the malt kiln, a large drying oven. They are dried at low temperatures to keep the enzyme systems viable. Czech malt is Europe’s most expensive, about 25% more than German, English, French, and Belgian. There are no government subsidies for Czech malt as there is for German (which is about $.05/lb).

10 June, 2003