Improvements in Malting Floors.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Dec., 1892-Accepted, 7th Jan., 1893
Improvements in Malting Floors.
A communication from C. CH. LESENBERG, of Rostock, Mecklenburg, in the
Empire of Germany, Consul.
I, ALFRED JULIUS BOULT, of 323 High Holborn, in the County of Middlesex,
M.I. Mech. E., and Chartered Patent Agent do hereby declare the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
In order to appreciate fully the importance of a rationally constructed malting
floor in the present condition of the brewing industry, it may not be amiss to briefly
recapitulate the main operations involved in the treatment of malt.
Malt and the treatment thereof are of the greatest significance to the brewer,
since it alone supplies him with all the material from which he obtains what is
known as the "mash," and consequently forms, too, the essential ingredient or
substance of the wort. It is malt, in fact, that gives the beer its colour, taste and
flavour, and to its treatment therefore the most careful attention should be directed.
The germinating operation, in addition to the diastase which it incidentally yields,
has for its main object the transformation of the insoluble albumen into soluble and
readily diffusible bodies containing nitrogen and capable of feeding or maintaining
the vitality of the yeast. Now the success of this operation mainly depends on the
condition of the chamber or room in which it is performed, and which should as far
as practicable be safe from external influences.
It being impossible, while the malt is being steeped, (to make it swell with a view
to germination) to introduce into it quite as much moisture as it should absorb if it
is to germinate in a slow, uniform and complete manner, the primary requirement
is that the floor of the chamber should be so constructed as to supply the malt with
controllable quantities of moisture according to the requirements of the germinating
process.
The object of this invention is so to arrange the floor that the malt heaped upon
it may be permeated by, or soaked with, controllable quantities of humidity, while
at the same time the temperature may also be varied or adjusted in a reliable
manner according to the temporary requirements of the germination; the object
being to ensure that, whatever the nature of the malt employed, it should bring
about no alteration in the colour of the barley and that all grains should uniformly
germinate so as ultimately to improve the flavour of the beer.
Malt floors of various descriptions have been devised before, but my corre-
spondent is not aware that any of them have been received with favour or applied
with success, mainly for the reason that instead of offering a simple and natural
solution of the problem in question, they have afforded means of too complicated
and roundabout a nature to render their general adoption desirable.
The construction of this improved malt germinating floor will be best understood
by reference to the accompanying drawings in which,
Figure 1 is a cross-section of the floor.
A are concrete stones or flags of suitable width having longitudinal grooves or
channels B of half-circular section formed in them and also carrying longitudinal
ribs a a¹. These concrete blocks are fitted together so that their side faces meet
and no joints are apparent. The bed or foundation of the plant being thus laid,
flags or plates C of concrete or cement are placed over it, and over these are placed
the covering plates D. The flags C are provided with a groove on their lower
side, adapted to receive the ribs a a¹ of the bed. The upper plates D have
longitudinal channels J which as shown, extend from right to left, gradually
flattening down to side channels, leaving a scarcely perceptible interstice opening

page_text: the communication with the vertical orifices or channels H. The plates or flags C
and D are so superposed that conical, vertical orifices or channels H G form at
equal distances apart, in the direction of the length of the floor between each pair
of adjoining flags C D. The germinating iron floor proper E F is placed over the
stone-flags D.
Figure 2 is a plan of this floor.
Figure 3 a plan of the floor after the removal of E and Figure 5 is an inverted
plan of the lower floor formed of the flags C.
The arrangement shown in Figure 4 shows, in elevation, the water and air
admitting pipes which may be employed in connection with this form of malt floor.
The uppermost floor F of the entire plant is preferably made of sheets of iron,
about 3 millimetres thick and provided with conical perforations. Underneath
this floor F is provided the main air-chamber, through which are conveyed, first,
the damp, cool air, and next the barley, thus naturally developing germination.
The stone-like material employed in carrying out this plant is an artificial
cement stone of sufficient hardness to resist the strain of prolonged operation
without wear.
The working of this plant or malt-floor is based on the principle of producing
humidified air by saturating it with moisture in the condition of spray; such air
being intended to impart a uniform, cool temperature to the steeped barley. The
germs of malt are by this means prevented from raising their own temperature as
they tend to do, and are thereby protected from mildew. This also enables
higher heaps of barley to be formed than hitherto without stirring them more
often; on the contrary they need not be turned over so many times as has hitherto
been requisite.
By this arrangement about 50% of the space necessary for malting is saved, as
about double the quantity of malt is produced and treated in a given time, while at
the same time the product obtained is more uniform and of better quality than that
which has been obtainable up to the present.
Owing to the exceedingly advantageous arrangement of the water and air a
channels, the temperature may be controlled exactly as may be required, the
maltster being at liberty to admit warm or cold air as he chooses, thereby enabling
the maximum amount of sugar to be obtained from the barley.
A further advantage is that the malt-floor is composed of a number of parts
which may be readily disconnected, and consequently with equal advantage fitted
up, and operated on different levels, or storeys of a building, to suit the conditions
of different seasons of the year, or of different climates, the removable floor being
readily transportable to any country, and easy to fit up on any spot.
The consumption of water in malting on this floor is quite insignificant, as that
portion of the water which is not converted into spray may flow back into a
reservoir where it may once more be utilized.
The same floor may, of course be made serviceable also for drying the malt, as
it allows of the air being readily supplied at the temperature required for drying.
Thus it will be seen that the plant herein described fully answers all the
requirements of the whole process of preparation of malt for brewing purposes, its
construction having besides the advantage which alone is sufficient to recommend it
as preferable to other structures of a like nature, viz., its comparative cheapness.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is :-
A malt-floor or plant being a combination of a number of superposed
floors A. C D of artificial cement stone or other suitable material provided with
longitudinal and transverse channels J discharge-channels B and tapering vertical
orifices H G substantially as described and illustrated in the accompanying
drawings the arrangement being such that the evenly distributed current of air
rising from a space or chamber provided under the top-floor, passes through

page_text: tapering perforations in the top plate F the quantity of moisture it carries with it
being controlled at will and according to the requirements of the malting process
by mixing it with air saturated with water in the condition of spray.
Dated this 7th day of December 1892.
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Of London, Liverpool, Manchester, and Nottingham,
Agents for the Applicant