A tour of Warminster Maltings, 39 Pound Street, Warminster, Wiltshire, BA12 8NN.

Malt is grain, mostly barley, which has been artificially germinated in order to ‘kickstart’ the conversion of it’s high starch content into fermentable sugars, which brewers and distillers complete, to produce alcoholic beverages. We select our barleys by eye, and make our malts by hand. These are the procedures which have prevailed at our malthouses for more than 170 years, and are fundamental to their very special quality.

Warminster Malts stand out for their very low carbon footprint. Barley grown sustainably on local Icknield soils, continues to be modified naturally by hand, just as it has been for more than 170 years. Our very traditional and visible procedures deliver both pronounced quality and character.

Like all food processing, slower is better. Our maltings was designed to follow gentle procedures, allowing for the optimum expression of the barley’s properties. Our germination floors are the perfect environment to optimize the ‘modification’ of the barley’s starch into fermentable sugars.

Water comes from our own well, sunk deep below the malthouse into the chalk substrata. The temperature of this water is a stable 52F, winter and summer alike, perfect for the first stage of the malting process. Steeping the barley in water over 3 days is critical to triggering germination, the next stage in the process.

Ventilation and temperature control of the germination floors is vital to the ‘modification’ of the ‘green malt’. We work with the ambient temperatures, closing the window shutters when it is cold, and opening them when it is warm. The layout of the malthouses with its central wedge-shaped courtyard is a blueprint of the classic Victorian maltings. The complex was designed for purpose, exploiting nature’s elements.

Passage of the green malt through the process still depends more on manpower than on fossil fuels. The maltsters are permanently armed with a malt shovel, from steep to kiln, with other hand tools (malt ploughs, turners and levellers) completing the inventory of processing aids. At Warminster, manpower is one of our most valuable, versatile and sustainable resources. It is why our customers refer to our team as “the Malt-Stars of Warminster”.

Note that the tour will not suit anyone who is infirm; steps, wet floors, low ceilings and mediaeval machinery crowding viewing spaces. Understandably, the Maltings was not built (1855) with tourism in mind.

There will be the usual coach pick up points, aiming to arrive about 12 noon for a buffet lunch (allergies cannot be accomodated) prior to the tour of the maltings.

Bookings will not be taken until June.