Concierge Blog
In addition to the production of beer the brewery in Vilpian had operated a small malt house for their own use. The brewery was sold in November 1924, the SAPLO (Società Anonima Produzione Lavorazione Orzo, which stands for anonymous society for production and elaboration of barley), which completely transformed the brewery in a malt house. The famous Forst brewery from Algud has been a main shareholder since 1934.
Malt is germinated and dried by a malting grain, primarily barley.
The malt is produced in three steps:
Course: For the duration of 2-3 days, the grain is soaked in water, the grain takes in 35 - 43% water.
Germination: in the thus soggy grain the creation of certain enzymes occurs after 4-7 days, the grain begins to germinate.
Kiln-drying: The sprouted grain is dried, depending on the length of the malt kilning which changes the malt in color and flavor, producing several malts. Pale malts are at 75 ° - 80 ° C kiln-dried, dark malts at 105 ° - 120 ° C.
The most common are the Pilsner, Vienna and Munich malt, all of which are made only from barley. The Pilsner malt forms the matrix of pilsner and lager and light beers. The Vienna malt is darker, the color is due to longer roasting of barley, and used for the production of beer for special occasions and designated times of the year. Even darker the Munich malt and Caramel which are used to produce dark beers. Some older fellows from Vilpiano certainly recall the strange sweet smell in memory, which originated in the manufacture of particularly strong Caramelmalt and was perceived very intensely on some days.
The brewery Forst in Algund was from 1928 the main buyer of malt from the malt house in Vilpiano. For the first order, it was a load of Pilsner malt. Until the closure of the Vilpianer Malthouse in 1986, Forst Pilsner, Munich and Caramel malt were obtained from the malt house in Vilpian for the brewery.
Following the closure of malting, the entire area passed into the possession of the Autonomous Province of Bolzano, where the regional fire school has been built, still maintaining some original buildings.
Text by Dr. Arch. Irmgard Mitterer provided by the society for culture and home care in the Adige Valley.
