Malt, in substantially the same form as we know it today, was an important product long before the days of recorded history. Although its actual origin is buried in antiquity, there is a legend that early Egyptians manufactured malt by placing it in a wicker basket, which was then lowered into the open wells of that time. It was first lowered into the water for steeping, after which it was raised above the water level for germination.

 

 The rate of germination was controlled by adjusting the height of the basket within the well. As germination progressed and heat developed, the basket would be lowered to a lower temperature level thus retarding growth and dissipating heat. To accelerate germination, the basket was simply raised to a higher level. The malt was kept from matting by raising it to the top of the well and agitating the basket. Drying was by natural means, probably a simple process of spreading on the ground, and subjecting it to the direct rays of the sun.

 

The British Museum has in its possession some Sumerian barley, some of which is malted, dating from circa 2OOOBC. How would this early barley have been malted? In the field, barley is sown in moist, warm soil where ii absorbs water and heat and begins to germinate Early maltsters copied this natural process by steeping the barley in containers and then spreading the barley out in a thin layer across a floor to germinate. Once germination was completed, the "green malt" would have been dried over an open fire This was the basis of floor malting, and the principle has remained relatively unchanged to this day.

 

The first brew probably was a mixture of yeast and malt or it has also been argued that brewing began with the baking of malt-grain bread. This malt bread was great for travellers of long distance as the malting process preserved the bread for a longer time, thereby decreasing the chance of spoilage. Another theory of the birth of the malting process is that storage vessels of malted grain had cracks and crevices, providing a home for fungus such as yeast an if water was added to the malt and yeast, the fermentation process began.

 

The use of malt at this time was thought to be exclusively for beverage purposes. Of course, production of malt during this period was limited by the number of wells, and in efforts to increase production, maltsters next employed man-made cisterns and natural caves. These natural processes continued for centuries, because the next advancement in the malting process is found in the middle European countries. There, as the requirement for malt increased, it was found necessary to develop artificial means of controlling the temperatures and humidity.

 

In Britain during the Middle Ages, potable water was scarce and large volumes of beer per head were drunk. Most of this beer would have been home brewed, usually by the lady of the house. Thus every village in Britain would have had at least one floor maltster. The remains of this can be seen today when visiting rural Britain, where nearly every village will have a residence called the "Malt House".

 

The earliest known "malt house" was a simple structure located at the bottom of a hill or mountain adjacent to a stream, which could supply low temperature water by gravity. These houses had massive stone walls with floors of stone or mortar. Small windows set in these heavy walls were the only means of ventilation. Barley would be received into the top of such a house, and dropped into deep cisterns for steeping. From there, it would be deposited in a pile onto the stone floor of the house for germination.

 

As growth commenced and heat was generated, the malt was shoveled from this pile and spread in a thin bed toward the front of the room. Any necessary further cooling could only be accomplished during the cool evenings or night hours when experienced workmen shoveled the first thin layer of malt forward to another spot on the floor, throwing it into the air, and allowing it to fall in a thin shower.

 

 The proper moisture was applied by the simple old-fashioned sprinkling can. The process of shoveling to control temperature gradually moved the bed from the rear to the forward end of the floor, and as each successive steep was deposited onto the floor from the steeping cistern, it followed its predecessor down the length of the floor. In this way there were on each floor, a number of beds of malt in varying stages of germination.

 

When the malt reached the front of the floor, its germination was completed, and it was shoveled by hand through a trap door into wheel barrows beneath, by means of which it was transported to the kiln for drying. The kiln, at that time, was simply a room with a tile floor, under which were crude furnaces. The ceiling of the room assumed the shape of a high tapered dome, in which was located a large duct or chimney to pass off the moist hot air. After the germinated malt was spread on the floors, the fires were started, and drying accomplished by simple heating. The malt was agitated from time to tie by a shovel. Later the tile floors were perforated, so that the combustion gases could pass directly through the grain. All ventilation was by natural draft, and, of course, was influenced greatly by weather conditions.

 

These maltings would be operational for only 8 months of the year, as in summer it was too hot to produce malt. It was only with the advent of air conditioning that floor maltings became year-round producers..

 

The basic principle of these early malt houses again prevailed for centuries, but always with the search for new means of increasing production. It was not until the advent of steam, and later electrical power, that any major change occurred in the malting process. Undoubtedly, some one at some time drove ventilating bellows by water power in an effort to continue malting during the warmer weather, but there is no definite record of such device.

 

With the advent of modern power, the first changes that occurred were the introduction of ventilating fans and water pumps into the older type houses as described. Later, more modern buildings were introduced incorporating the various devices made available by the new power. In these earliest modern houses, steel tanks were substituted for the old-fashioned cisterns, large fans were employed for ventilation, and adequate sprinkler systems installed. However, the old-fashioned masonry drying floor still prevailed, and its size became the limiting factor in successful commercial malt processing.

 

Two Belgians were the pioneers in pneumatic malting plant - Galland and his assistant Saladin. Galland developed "Drum Malting" and built his first plant in 1873 which was a disaster as he made no provision for turning the grain during germination. His second plant was built in Ireland. The drums took up one seventh of the floor space and labour was said to be cut by a third. There were however, many quality and operational problems with this plant as well.

 

Saladin developed the famous box system which is the principle of the majority of modem maItings today. The earliest Saladin plant built in the UK was in 1891. The biggest problem associated with these plants was the weakness of the mechanical turners.

 

The next step was to the modern construction known as the compartment system. Here the steeped barley is deposited on perforated floors in a single bed through which moist cool air is drawn by fans to control temperatures as desired. Agitation is by means of large turning machines that periodically agitate and redistribute the malt. When germination is completed, the malt is scooped into mechanical conveyors by mechanical shovels. The conveyor deposits it in the kiln house, which again has perforated metal floors through which hot air is drawn by other fans. In this case, however, the floors are sectional, so that they can be opened, and the malt dropped through. It is possible in a modern kiln to reduce the moisture content to 3 percent. After drying, the malt is dropped directly from the floor to hoppers located beneath, which feed conveyors, which, in turn, transport the finished malt to the cleaning and storing house.

 

 The prime object of modern houses is not only to give maximum production in a given area, but to decrease manual labor by the use of mechanical devices.

 

Through all of these centuries, malt as a finished product has changed very little, probably only to the extent that better grades of barley have been developed.

 

The Basic Malting process consists of 3 steps.

 Steeping, Germination and Kilning

 

BARLEY STEEPING

Steeping begins by mixing the barley kernels with water to raise the moisture level and activate the metabolic processes of the dormant kernel. The water is drained, and the moist grains are turned several times during steeping to increase oxygen uptake by the respiring barley. Generally, the barley spends about 40 hours in tanks of fresh, clean water, with three intervals during which the water is allowed to drain. Draining is done to remove dissolved carbon dioxide and to reintroduce oxygen-rich water. Steeping is complete when the white tips of the rootlets emerge, which is known as chitting. At this point the grains will have swollen one and one-third times their original size.

 

Steeping is considered by some maltslers to be the most important stage of malting. The time under water, temperature of the water, barley variety and barley maturity are all critical factors in determining water uptake, and the maltster must judge this accurately and skillfully to end up with his steeped barley at the correct "cast" moisture. As stated earlier, floor maltings usually have much smaller batch sizes then pneumatic plants and therefore will have smaller steeping vessels. In the older maltings, steeping was done in a ditch and the wet barley had to be shoveled into barrows for laying the floor. Now, however, most Floor Maltings will have hopper-bottomed steep tanks, usually made of cast iron and the steeped barley can be gravity fed into the barrows.

 

 

BARLEY GERMINATION

In the next step, the wet barley is germinated by maintaining it at a suitable temperature and humidity level until adequate modification has been achieved. Germination is done on floors, in drums, or in boxes. Floor malting is an old process in which the chitted malt is spread on the floor to a height of 10 to 20 cm. Germination in drums is still done, but is not very economical; consequently, only a few plants still use this system .

 

Examine the barley to see when the germination is complete. Look for the new growth stemming out from the end of the kernels and up the back of the grain. This growth is called the acrospire. When the acrospire is roughly the same length as the kernel, the malt is fully modified. If you let it grow longer than the kernel size, the malt is said to be “over modified”. If it is shorter than the kernel size, the malt is “under modified”. Neither under nor over modified malt is desired. Under modified malt still has starch in the grain that could be converted to sugar. Over modified malt has already started consuming the sugars during the normal plant growth cycle.

 

Germination is the area where the largest single difference between floor malting and factory malting occurs. In floor maItings the steeped grain is laid out by hand and spread to a depth of approximately 5" and allowed to germinate. As the grain develops its root system, heat and C02 will be produced as a by-product of respiration. This heat must be dissipated otherwise it will kill the seed germ, and thus the growing barley must be turned twice a day. Traditionally this would be done with a wooden shovel. The "piece" would be moved down the floor, and the barley thrown high to disentangle the roots and dissipate heat. This practice has now been stopped, and the malt is turned with an electrical machine which rotates rubber paddles. Additionally, the floors are "ploughed" by hand to gently turn the grain over and create a lighter bed which allows the heat and C02 to dissipate more easily.

 

 

MALT KILNING

The final step is to dry the green malt in the kiln. Malts are kilned at different temperatures. The temperature regime in the kiln determines the color of the malt and the amount of enzymes which survive for use in the mashing process. For an example of barley malt that has been kilned, refer to Figure 2.1. Low temperature kilning is more appropriate for malts when it is essential to preserve enzymatic (diastatic) power. These malts are high in extract but low in coloring and flavoring compounds. Pilsner and pale ale malts are examples of malts kilned at low temperatures. Malts kilned at intermediate temperatures, such as Munich and Vienna malts, are lower in enzymes but higher in coloring and flavoring compounds. Malts kilned at high temperatures, such as crystal and chocolate malts, have little if any enzymes, thus are lower in extract. 

 

In the kiln a two step process of drying and curing occurs

 

Drying Phase

In the kiln, there are three factors: time, temperature, and ventilation. For the production of pale malts like Pale Ale and Pilsner malt, the temperature is relatively low(40-45C) and ventilation is very high. Moisture is removed rapidly and the malts are therefore dried quite quickly. Once the moisture is below 10%, the temperature can be raised. Raising the temperature earlier would result in significant enzyme loss. The low moisture protects the malt enzymes from denaturing.

 

In the case of Crystal malts, the wet (green) malt is put into the kiln or roaster from the germination tanks and the moisture is kept very high with absolutely no ventilation. Frequent water additions are sprayed to keep the moisture high. The temperature is raised to 60 to 70C for 30 to 40 minutes. Then the temperature is raised to 150C and normal ventilation is resumed for 1 to 2 hours, depending on how much caramelization is desired (i.e. depending on whether 10L crystal or 90L crystal is being made).

During the initial hot, wet heat, the malt effectively converts right in the husk. Because the starches in the crystal malt have been converted to sugars, crystal malts do not require mashing and can be steeped in hot water for use in extract brewing. However, because all the enzymes are denatured during the caramelization process only relatively small amounts of crystal and other toasted grains can be used and still achieve adequate sugar conversion in the mash.

Curing Phase

Pale malts are typically cured at 80-95C for 5 hours. Temperatures above 80C are only used if the malt is not over-modified and was dried at low temperatures. Munich malt is typically cured at 105C for 5 hrs. Aromatic malt is typically cured at 115C.

 

Roasting and Toasting

With the exception of crystal, all malts are dried in the kiln and can optionally go in the roaster. A barrel roaster is the most common type and consists of a rotating drum that‚s heated from below. It also has water sprayers installed that are used to douse the malt (to cool it quickly) when it is done.

 

In the curing stage of kilning, the temperature is raised to 172 to 220 degrees F for another day and half to 2 days (in the 1880s, the preferred temperature was 172, in the 20th century, the practice changed to use 180-220 F).

 

If you are producing lighter colored pale ale malts, your malt is now ready. However, if you want darker colored malts, you would increase the temperature during the curing stage to produce what are called "high kilned malts".

 

Some malt varieties would require some changes in the schedule. For a black patent malt, you would roast the malt in a revolving drum at over 400 degrees for one to two hours. For an amber malt, you would increase the temperature during the last 14 hours of drying time to about 140-150 degrees. To make a crystal malt, you would take the germinated barley and heat it to 150-170 degrees for 2 hours with no ventilation, and then increase the temperature to about 250 degrees F.

 

Biscuit and Victory are often called “toasted” malts. The difference between these and the much darker Chocolate and Black Patent is time and (mostly) temperature. There is some disagreement among maltsters whether damp or dry malt should be used in the roasting drum, but most maltsters use dry malt similar to Pilsner and Pale Ale malt. In the barrel roaster they make Biscuit, Victory, Chocolate, Black Patent and roasted malt.

 

BARLEY

Hordeum vulgare, otherwise known as barley (Figure 1), is a commonly grown grain used as a feed grain for malting, food, and sometimes for forage (McNeil and Core, 1980). It belongs to the grass family Poaceae (Gramineae) which also includes wheat, barley, oats, rice, rye, maize, millets, and sorghum. Gramineae also include plants such as bamboo, sugarcane, and pasture grasses supporting grazing animals (Briggs et al., 1981). Barley is a main component in brewing malts today, a change from the brewing malts of the past where it used to be made from malted peas, beans, potato flakes, potato starch, couch grass rhizomes.

 

In 1315, Edward II of England enacted a law that "beer should be made from grain other than wheat, as so much wheat was being malted for beer that there was a serious risk of famine". Thus in Britain, barley became the favored cereal for brewing.

 

Barley is well suited as a raw material for production of alcohol due to it’s high content of starch, as well as an efficient system for the conversion of starch into sugar. The best barley comes from meager soil since rich soil with a high nitrogen content promotes protein at the expense of starch. Additionally the husk of the barley corn, unlike other grains such as wheat, survives the thrashing process, and is used as a natural filter during the lautering process.

 

Barley in it's natural state cannot be "mashed". The malting process breaks down the starches contained in the barley husk into their component parts and renders them convertible to fermentable sugars by the naturally occurring enzymes collectively known as diastase.

 

Activation of enzymes and formation of new enzymes are essential processes during germination and consequently in malting. Enzymes are already present in abundance in barley. They are set free or formed in ever increasing amounts during germination.

Of the many enzymes and enzyme complexes which are contained in barley and malt the following are the most important:

With the exception of alpha-amylase, which is not yet present in barley, all these enzymes are present in smaller amounts in barley. Enzymes are produced as a result of the action of hormones which are distributed with the penetration of water from the scutellum along the aleurone layer and which cause the release and formation of enzymes. These hormones consist of gibberellic acid or substances similar to gibberellic acid. They cause the release of amino-acids and the production of enzymes first beta-glucanase, then alpha-amylase and proteases. beta-amylase is formed or released in the endosperm. Enzyme formation runs parallel to respiration. A well aerated germinating batch develops enzymes earlier and to a greater extent.

 

 

 


 

 


Anatomy of the Malt Kernel

Amylases are without doubt the most important enzymes in malt. They are responsible for the subsequent degradation of starch during mashing.

 

a-amylase

alpha-amylase is not detectable in ungerminated barley. Most of the alpha-amylase is produced on the 2nd to 4th days of germination. The amount present also increases during the further course of germination.

When very enzyme-rich malts are required, for example for converting large amounts of starch in a distillery, the barley is allowed to germinate for a very long time, as a result of which the alpha-amylase content increases further whilst the rootlets and germinating seed devour the available sugars. Therefore the malting loss become bigger (Destillers malt).

 

beta-amylase

beta-amylase is already present in large amounts in ungerminated barley. After an initial decrease the amount of beta-amylase increases considerably on the 2nd and 3rd day of germination.

The formation of beta-amylase is directly related to the respiration of the corn in the first days of germination. Consequently adequate aeration in the first germination phase is important for the production of beta-amylase.

During germination the seed inside the barley has now started to sprout. It needs nutrition and different enzymes are produced and activated in order to achieve this. Glucanase (cytase) breaks down the cellulose surrounding the starch, thus making it accessible. Amylase (diastase) converts the starch first into dextrin, a soluble form of starch, and then into maltose, a readily soluble sugar.

 

The barley is frequently turned in order to get even temperature distribution and aeration as well as preventing the rootlets from being entangled. The germination takes 8-12 days and is terminated before the seed consumes too much of the dextrin. Our precursor for sugar is now called green malt.

 

Examine the barley to see when germination is complete. You want to look for the new growth stemming out from the end of the kernels and up the back of the grain. This growth is called the "acrospire". When the acrospire is roughly the same length as the kernel, the malt is fully modified. If you let it grow longer than the kernel size, the malt is said to be "over modified". If it is shorter than the kernel size, the malt is "under modified".  Neither under nor over modified malt is desired. Undermodified malt still has starch in the grain that could be converted to sugar. Overmodified malt has already started consuming the sugars during the normal plant growth cycle.

 


 


Common Malt Styles

 

[Only the palest malts contain the enzymes necessary for starch conversion. The bulk of any beer recipe must consist of these malts.]

 

Pilsner Malt

Usually produced from German and Czech barleys. Can be used on it's own provided the ph of the whole mash is correct or in combination with other grains to produce the classic Continental lager beers. The malt is kilned slowly from 50° C to 67° C to completely dry it before it is toasted at 80° C.


Lager Malt

The British version of Pilsner malt. Kilned at temperatures from 55° C to 82° C. Can be substituted for Pilsner malt if unavailable.


 Acid Malt

Very useful malt for producing high class Lagers. Contains lactic acid to lower mash ph giving a softer palate than using gypsum. The inclusion of a small percentage of this malt is recommended for all pale lagers.


CARAPILS MALT

Produced from Bavarian spring barley, this malt is produced by loading the modified grains into a sealed kiln while the moisture content is still around 50%. The grains are then heated to between 65° C and 80° C which enables them to mash themselves and caramelise the resulting sugars. The final kilning is at around 110° C for just long enough to dry the grain without undue darkening. When used in lager beers, Carapils promotes head formation and retention and gives the beer a fuller, rounder flavour.


PALE MALT

The basis of all British and many Belgian ales. Several varieties of barley are used with Maris Otter being the most highly prized, although Halcyon and Pipkin are also excellent matting barleys. Experimentation is strongly advised as the subtle differences between them are difficult to put into words. British Pale Malt is kilned very dry at temperatures between 95° C and 105° C.


MILD ALE MALT

Produced from the Triumph variety of barley used extensively on the continent for lager malt, Mild Ale Malt is kilned slightly hotter than pale to give a fuller flavour. We strongly recommend the use of this malt to obtain the luscious sweetness evident in the best wilds.


VIENNA MALT

The basis for the famous Marzen and Oktoberfest beers, whose characteristics are a golden colour and full malt flavour. Caramelisation is not required for this malt so it is dried fairly cool before being roasted at around 105Q C. Very difficult to find in the U.K., but cannot be substituted.


RAUCHMALZ (Smoked Malt)

Probably the rarest malt of all. It is only produced in Bamberg, Germany and is used to brew that town's world famous Rauchbier. The kilning of this malt takes place over open fires made of beechwood logs. The phenols released from the wood permeate the malt and give it it's smoky taste and aroma. Besides making Rauchbier, this unique malt can add interesting flavour notes to a wide variety of beer styles. It is particularly effective in Brown Ales and Porters which were traditionally brewed with brown malt, also kilned over open fires but no longer available.


MUNICH MALT LIGHT

As the name suggests, this malt is used to brew the famous rich, sweet beers associated with Munich. It can, however, be used in small quantities to enhance the maltiness in other beer styles. Many Belgian ales contain this malt and even some of the more adventurous British breweries are experimenting with it. Munich Malt is kilned while the moisture content is still quite high (about 20%). The gradual raising of the temperature to around 100° C allows for some caramelisation.

 

MUNICH MALT DARK

Produced in exactly the same manner as the light version but finished off at around 118Q C. The primary ingredient in the "Dunkel" beers of Munich, and cannot be substituted by any other malt for this style of beer. In particular its aroma is inimitable.


CARAHELL

This malt is mainly used to accentuate the fullness of flavour in special German festival beers, although it is unsurpassed as a flavour booster in low alcohol lagers. Produced in the same way as Carapils but kilned off slightly hotter. Greatly increases head formation and retention.


BRITISH CARAMALT

The UK equivalent to Carahell, it is produced in a similar manner but using British barley. It's common use is in British style lagers and fairly low alcohol ales. For home brewers it is particularly beneficial in recipes which include sugar as it aids head formation.


MELANOIDIN

Very aromatic malt from Bamberg, Germany. Promotes fullness of flavour and rounds off beer colour. Can be used to good effect in all dark beers. Experimentation is strongly advised.

 

CARAMUNCH

A very special and rare malt only produced in Bamberg in northern Bavaria. It is made in a similar way to Munich Malt except that caramelisation is allowed to progress further and kilning is conducted at higher temperatures. Although only used in small quantities, it has a marked effect on the fullness of flavour and aroma in the darker lager beers.

AMBER MALT

A very rare British Malt. The grain is dried to about 3% moisture and then heated quickly to above 95° C. The temperature is then raised slowly to around 140° C where it is held until the correct colour is achieved. An interesting alternative to crystal malt in bitters and outstanding in dark ales, especially Porters.


CRYSTAL MALT

The classic British body builder and a British invention. Unsurpassed in Bitter beers for adding subtle sweetness to balance the customary high hop rate. It is produced in the same way as Caramalt except that kilning is prolonged until the desired colour is reached. Crystal malts cover a wide range of colours but the usual level is around 120 EBC.

 

BROWN MALT

The modern Brown malt is no longer smoked but is Amber malt kilned for longer to achieve a darker colour. It can be used in the formulation of ales for which a dark copper colour is required. To imitate the traditional smoked brown malt, a proportion of Rauchmalz can be added to the grist.

 

 

CHOCOLATE MALT

A highly roasted malt which when used in small quantities imparts a rich Chocolates flavour to such beers as Brown Ales and Porters. Can also be used to darken Bitters if used carefully.

 

ROASTED CARAMALT

Another Bavarian special malt. Used sparingly in many dark German beers, especially those from Munich and Kulmbach. It is produced by roasting Carahell malt at very high temperatures, ensuring that there is no burning. It could be interesting to experiment with this malt in some British Ales.

 

BLACK MALT

This is produced by roasting British pale malt as far as possible without burning. It is the preferred colour darkener in sweeter Stouts and Porters.

 

OTHER MALTED GRAINS

WHEAT MALT

Wheat is a difficult grain to malt as it has no husk to protect the delicate acrospire. It has, however, many beneficial properties for the brewer to take advantage of. It is generally used only in top fermented beers, especially the Bavarian Weissbiers, but can be used to enhance roundness of flavour and head formation in most other beer styles.

 

DARK WHEAT MALT

Not particularly dark in colour but richer in flavour than the standard Wheat malt, this malt is only produced in Germany. It is used for Weissbiers, Kolsch, Alt and some other top fermented beers. Could be incorporated into many British style recipes, particularly those low in alcohol.

 

CARAMEL WHEAT MALT

A very rare malt from Bavaria, this can be used in all German style top fermenting beers to increase the fullness of body and intensify the wheat malt aroma.

 

ROASTED WHEAT MALT

Roasted to a very high colour, this is only used for top fermented ales such as Alt and dark Wheat Beers. Even in very small quantities it intensifies the beer's aroma as well as it's colour.

 

ROASTED RYE MALT

Although rye is a very difficult grain to malt, it's unique flavour makes it a must for your grain store. It can be used in conjunction with wheat malt to make Bavarian "Roggenbier" or used to increase the complexity of flavour in many other top fermenting styles. Experimentation is strongly advised.

 

UNMALTED GRAINS

Most unmalted grains are best used in flaked form. The flakes are produced by first cooking the raw grains in water until the starches have been gelatinised. They are then dried and passed through offers to flatten them. The starch is then easily converted by the enzymes contained in the malt.

 

FLAKED RICE

The perfect substitute for any recipe calling for the addition of sugar. It is virtually flavourless but Provides some body without darkening the colour. A highly recommended adjunct as it's low nitrogen agent assists in clearing.

Maximum percentage 10%

 

FLAKED BARLEY

versatile adjunct, particularly useful in Stouts. It imparts a lovely grainy flavour and can be used in quite large quantities in black beers. Flaked barley can, however, cause haze problems in paler .styles, where the percentage should not exceed 5%.

 

TORRIFIED WHEAT

Available whole and flaked, this grain is used extensively to promote head retention in Bitters. It's use definitely recommended in all recipes where a good firm head is required.

Maximum percentage 10%

 

ROASTED BARLEY

This is simply raw barley which has been roasted as far as possible to make the darkest of all grains. It's slightly bitter, burnt taste finds favour in Irish type Stouts, it can be used sparingly to darken other beers.

 

FLAKED MAIZE

Derived from corn kernels, this cereal gives a delicate corn taste to beer if used sparingly. It's use is beneficial for clearing purposes due to it's low nitrogen content.

 

 

Beer Trivia and Tidbits

 

In Babylonia, 4,000 years ago, it was the accepted practice for a month after a wedding, that the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is honey beer and, because the calendar was lunar based, this period was called the "honey month" or what we know today as the honeymoon.

Before thermometers were invented, brewers would dip a thumb or finger into the mix to find the right temperature for adding yeast. Too cold, and the yeast wouldn't grow. Too hot, and the yeast would die. This thumb in the beer is where we get the phrase "rule of thumb."

In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts. So, in old England when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them to settle down and mind their own pints and quarts. This is where we get the phrase "mind your P's and Q's."

Beer was the reason the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. It's clear from the Mayflower's log that the crew didn't want to waste beer while looking for a better site. The log goes on to state that the passengers "were hasted ashore and made to drink water that the seamen might have the more beer."

After consuming a bucket or two of vibrant brew they called aul, or ale, the Vikings would fearlessly head into battle often without armor or even shirts. In fact, the term "berserk" means "bare shirt" in Norse and eventually took on the meaning of their wild battles.

Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim or handle of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill they would whistle to get service. "Wet your whistle" is the phrase inspired by this practice