ANNAPOLIS, Maryland — Beer is almost as old as time, or at least the time of ancient civilizations. Ancient Greek soldier Xenophon even wrote about beer and the barley malt floating in it. Though malted barley was utilized mainly for beer back then, its products have expanded.
Malted barley plays a large role in the creation of malt liquor. Malt liquor is similar to beer in its production but it generally contains higher alcohol content than beer, usually over 5 percent, according to the Alcohol Epidemiology Program at the University of Minnesota.
Malt liquor utilizes malted barley in the fermentation process but includes sugar, corn, or other products to increase the number of fermented sugars in the batch, writes Beer Advocate.
Malted barley is not restricted to just alcoholic products. Even sweets contain it.
Whoppers by The Hershey Co. are known as “The Original Malted Milk Balls,” and contain malted milk in its ingredients, according to their website. As the name suggests, there are milk products or by-products involved, but what makes it malted? Malted barley.
The malted barley is ground into a powder and mixed with wheat flour and evaporated whole milk. It can be used to create malted milk balls or be added to ice cream and milk to concoct a malted milkshake.
Malt powder was created by the Horlick brothers back in 1873 and was patented in 1883, according to the Horlick website. Now, malted milk powder is easily accessible and can be purchased on Amazon for as little as $4 for 13 ounces.