Steeping
The first stage in the malting process, after drying and cleaning is the steeping of the barley in the cistern to begin germination. Early 16th and 17th century steeping cisterns were often lead vessels and not a built-in part of the structure of the malthouse. From at least the end of the 17th century the most usual type of steeping cistern, until the last quarter of the 19th century, was a rectangular trough constructed of stone or brick and made water tight with either lead or later, cement or tiles.
At various periods, the dimensions of steeps, and even the slope of their floors, were controlled by the provisions of the Malt tax. Then, in the last quarter of the 19th century there were two crucial developments.
Steeps were still rectangular in shape but were constructed of cast iron and flat bottomed. Then, with the repeal of the Malt tax in 1880, self emptying hopper bottom steeps, also made of cast iron were introduced. Today, self-emptying steeps are of steel, and round as opposed to square in shape, with conical hopper bottoms.
The water in the cistern was ideally about 54°F (12.5°C). At a temperature lower than this growth would be retarded and at a higher more water would be taken up. The steeping period generally lasted between two and three days, or 60 and 72 hours. Today, in the more mechanised maltings it is common to steep for just 48 hours.
The steep water is changed several times during the steeping process, and the grain is rested for 8 and 12 hours between each wetting. This practise of resting the grain has not always been in operation, and until at least the 1820s it appears to have been more usual to allow the barley to remain in the water for the whole period of the steep, with out any rest periods or any change of water.