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1. • CommentAuthorhugh
   • CommentTimeSep 9th 2009

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   THOUGHTS ABOUT MICROMALTING
   
   
   Over the years of coming to your laboratories I noticed how you do micromaltings, what’s important to you, the kind of things that as a maker of micromaltings I need to know, but tend to get in retrospect.
   
   So, given this downturn in the economy, and my need to generate some orders or at least positive interest I can take to the bank, and knowing that some of you have been thinking about new micromaltings, we have been doing some rethinking about ways of reducing the cost of systems in a radical way.
   
   In this process, we have come to realise that really it’s you, individually and/or collectively, who decide what we build. Our field of knowledge is in what metal to use, how much electronics to put in, how to humidify air, the nuts and bolts. Your input is, in a way, the route map of how and where you want to get to.
   
   I know that there are collaborations between you, and I also know when there is a need to hold on to a commercial competitive edge. You have agreed on mashing bath standardisations and colour measurements and a whole host of other analyses, but it doesn’t mean you know each others results for a delivery of malt to a specific customer (I don’t think!). Is it worth considering a micromalting standard, and if so can I be involved please?
   
   So, here’s what we have come up with as a starter for debate. It may be that at the end you go off to Seeger or Phoenix or Joe White. Good luck and I wish you well. I’ll always try and help no matter where you go.
   
   We believe we have got a good system now. Steep combined with germinator then a separate kiln. We have always been 2, 3 or 4 tank systems. We have evolved over time to include automatic turning, much better kilns etc, etc. BUT, we are expensive in today’s world.
   
   On observing you, we have seen that it’s possible to set up our equipment such that coming in over a weekend is no longer necessary, so what else isn’t necessary? If you structured the work we have seen that you could cut the equipment down to say 4 steep/germinator tanks, but only 1 kiln( rather than 4). And if we are building only 1 kiln tank, then why not start with just 1 steep/germinator tank? So, we would like to offer this modular system, where each module handles 4 standard size samples. Much of the cost of current system is in providing the substantial frames and distributed plumbing and pneumatics to hold and service the 4 tanks.
   
   We then started thinking about washing machines and why they are only around £250 or so. Ok, we are never going to sell 100,000 steep/germinators, so it’s a limited supply number. (although we have been thinking about other uses; beansprouts, wholefood shops or restaurants, Barbie’s clothes washer for really spoilt children.) For your £250 you get perhaps up to 10 programs, temperature control, 2 or 3 rinses, some way of turning the washing. It’s not a million miles from a steep/germinator, although there is a timing difference, no one would buy a washing machine that took 7 days. If we made a system which was modular in concept, so that it was expandable; it was simplified (if required) to carry out the malting at say one temperature, with one presettable steep regime and germination phase, and then a kiln which similarly did perhaps a 2 temperature cycle. Would this be of interest to you? This then is the bottom line, the starting point. And if we said we could do the steep/germinator for £7,500 and the kiln for £3,500, so that for £11,000 you could start micromalting and do 4 samples per week. Another steep/germinator and you are up to 8 samples per week. If you then went for another steep/germinator which included a more advanced programming system that’s then 12 samples a week and the ability to answer those “what if we tried….” type of questions production directors are prone to ask.
   
   Our machines will always be hand made, the limited number of sales means any kind of automated manufacture is simply not worth it, so I cannot realistically make a steep/germinator for £250 ( the circulator pump alone costs us £220), but I think you will see that we have moved significantly pricewise. You will see that we are offering quite a few options. If there are items or ideas we have overlooked, please let us know. We will hold the special prices for the next 2 months. I know you all work to budgets set up to years in advance, and I know you are all hard pushed, but if you can show you have a serious interest to order up to a year from now, I’ll hold that special price for you.
   
   hugh alexander