Malting barley

Why don’t people say hops and barley, but rather hops and malt?
Because malt is made by “malting” malting barley. Malt gives the beer its flavourful body and its colour.

During the malting process, the barley is soaked in water and allowed to sprout. The sprouting process releases enzymes which later turn the starch thus released into sugar. The sprouting process is stopped by drying the grain. The colour, and even the flavour of the malt, depend on the temperature or even degree of roasting occurring in the drying process. For this reason, our master brewers have a wide range of colours and flavours which they expressly produce and continue to develop for the different varieties of Appenzeller Bier.

The results of the brewing process depend also on the quality of the grain used.
Excellent barley can be sourced from Switzerland, Bohemia, England, Upper Silesia, Upper Franconia, Denmark and Austria. We place great value on sourcing our barley locally. The Brauerei Locher AG therefore uses malting barley from the Appenzell region and other mountain regions in Switzerland. Our demand, however, exceeds supply. This has made us even more determined to continue promoting Swiss cultivation regions, an advantageous proposition for mountain farmers which also helps improve the quality of our beer for our customers.