Barley

barley. (bar'-lee)

    A cereal plant (Hordeum vulgare) of the grass family (Gramineae) that also includes wheat, rye, oats, maize, rice, millet, and sorghum. There are two varieties of barley classed according to a number of rows of grain on each of the ears of the plant: two- and six-rowed barley. Barley is the cereal grain preferred for brewing because the corn (or grain) is covered by a strawlike husk that protects the embryo (or germ) during malting and helps to filter the wort during lautering by forming a filter bed. The essential qualities for brewing barley are high starch content, sufficient diastatic power to transform the starch into sugar, low protein content, and germinative power close to or above 98 percent. Because carbohydrates, especially starch, constitute the bulk of the extract, a high nitrogen content of the barley automatically means a reduced amount of starch and sugars; hence, the higher the nitrogen content of the barley, the lower the extract that can can be obtained from its malt. The average weight of the barley grain is 35 milligrams. Substitute cereal grains used in brewing are called adjuncts.