Malt master

Malt masters evaluate and grade different malts on a sensory basis for brewing purposes. They assess the look, the smell, and the taste of raw materials and unfinished products in order to maintain the consistency of products. They use their knowledge to prepare mixtures as part of product development.

The following job titles also refer to malt master:

malting expert
malting master
malter
malt expert

A high school diploma is generally required to work as a malt master.

ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:

• the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
• the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
• the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.

Malt master is a Skill level 2 occupation.

These occupations, although different, require a lot of knowledge and skills similar to malt master.

coffee roaster
master coffee roaster
chocolatier
cacao beans cleaner
cocoa mill operator

These occupations require some skills and knowledge of malt master. They also require other skills and knowledge, but at a higher ISCO skill level, meaning these occupations are accessible from a position of malt master with a significant experience and/or extensive training.

malt house supervisor
animal feed supervisor
distillery supervisor
green coffee coordinator
dairy processing technician

This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of malt master.

• Types of barley: The different types of barley; their characteristics, and quality.
• Colours of roasted malt: Range of brewing materials capable of imparting flavour characteristics as well as controlling the colour of beer.
• Sales promotion techniques: The techniques used to persuade customers to purchase a product or a service.
• Financial capability: Financial operations such as calculations, cost estimations, budget management taking relevant commercial and statistical data into account such as data for materials, supplies and manpower.
• Malting process: The malting process consists of soaking cereal grains, usually barley, and then halting further germination by kilning.
• Quality assurance methodologies: Quality assurance principles, standard requirements, and the set of processes and activities used for measuring, controlling and ensuring the quality of products and processes.
• Food and beverage industry: The respective industry and the processes involved in the food and beverage industry, such as raw material selection, processing, packaging, and storage.
• Sales strategies: The principles concerning customer behaviour and target markets with the aim of promotion and sales of a product or a service.

These skills are necessary for the role of malt master.

• Implement marketing strategies: Implement strategies which aim to promote a specific product or service, using the developed marketing strategies.
• Manage food manufacturing laboratory: Manage laboratory activities in the plant or factory and using the data to monitor the quality of manufactured products.
• Manage staff: Manage employees and subordinates, working in a team or individually, to maximise their performance and contribution. Schedule their work and activities, give instructions, motivate and direct the workers to meet the company objectives. Monitor and measure how an employee undertakes their responsibilities and how well these activities are executed. Identify areas for improvement and make suggestions to achieve this. Lead a group of people to help them achieve goals and maintain an effective working relationship among staff.
• Develop standard operating procedures in the food chain: Develop Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) in the food chain based on the production feedback. Understand current operating procedures and identify best techniques. Develop new procedures and update existing ones.
• Apply haccp: Apply regulations regarding manufacture of food and food safety compliance. Employ food safety procedures based on Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP).
• Roast malt: Roast malt following the adequate procedures, paying attention to the time of roasting to obtain specified colour or hardness. Follow specifications of drying and roasting.
• Assess cereal quality for brewing: Assessing barley variety, germination potential, moisture content, nitrogen content, and screening for grain size.
• Maintain updated professional knowledge: Regularly attend educational workshops, read professional publications, actively participate in professional societies.
• Develop beverage manufacturing procedures: Outline the work routines, procedures, and activities required to be performed for the manufacturing of beverage aiming at reaching the production objectives.
• Implement sales strategies: Carry out the plan to gain competitive advantage on the market by positioning the company’s brand or product and by targeting the right audience to sell this brand or product to.
• Apply requirements concerning manufacturing of food and beverages: Apply and follow national, international, and internal requirements quoted in standards, regulations and other specifications related with manufacturing of food and beverages.
• Apply GMP: Apply regulations regarding manufacture of food and food safety compliance. Employ food safety procedures based on Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP).
• Set production facilities standards: Ensure a high standard of safety and quality in facilities, systems, and workers’ behaviour. Ensure adherence to procedures and audit standards. Ensure that machinery and appliances in the production plant are appropriate for their task.
• Mitigate waste of resources: Evaluate and identify opportunities to use resources more efficiently with continuously striving to reduce waste of utilities.
• Consult to produce single malt beverages: Consults companies using his/her nose to produce exquisite single malt beverages and maintain the consistency of the company’s output, as well as blend new creations.
• Manage flammable substances: Managing flammable substances to roasting operations and ensuring that safety measures are in place.
• Create new concepts: Come up with new concepts.
• Exert quality control to processing food: Ensure the quality of all factors involved in a food production process.
• Operate pneumatic conveyor chutes: Use air-conveyor chutes to transfer products or mixtures from containers to storage tanks.

This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of malt master. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

• Mill operations: Details of milling operations related to grind size, particle size distribution, heat evolution. Milling processes for different cereals and grains.
• Food dehydration processes: The processes by which fruit and vegetables are dehydrated including techniques such as sun drying, indoor drying, and industrial applications for drying food. The dehydration process goes from selection of the fruit and vegetables according to their size, washing the fruit, classifying according to the product, storage, and mixing with ingredients resulting in a final product.

These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of malt master. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

• Inspect silo systems: Inspect silo systems to minimise any harmful emissions during their use.
• Impart training on general quality management supervision: Provide training to production employees, in groups or individually, on standard operating procedures, product specifications, visual quality inspection criteria, production controls, formulas and food safety procedures.
• Exercise patience: Have patience by dealing with unexpected delays or other waiting periods without becoming annoyed or anxious.
• Act reliably: Proceed in a way that one can be relied on or depended on.
• Manage corrective actions: Implementing corrective action and continuous improvement plans from internal and third party audits to meet food safety and quality performance indicators with adherence to agreed timescales.
• Manage delivery of raw materials: Manage reception of raw materials. Receive raw materials from the suppliers. Check for quality and accuracy and move into the warehouse. Make sure that raw materials are adequately stored until they are required by the production department.
• Ensure cost efficiency in food manufacturing: Ensure that the whole process of food manufacturing from receipt of raw materials, production, to food manufacturing and packaging processes is cost-effective and efficient.
• Show confidence: Demonstrate degrees of maturity by fully understanding one’s own qualities and abilities which can serve as sources of confidence in different situations.
• Perform public relations: Perform public relations (PR) by managing the spread of information between an individual or an organisation and the public.
• Assist in the development of standard operating procedures in the food chain: Assist in the development of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) in the food chain by working with line operators. Understand current operating procedures and identify best techniques. Help document new procedures and update existing ones.
• Hire new personnel: Hire new personnel for a company or organisation payroll via a prepared set of procedures. Make staffing decisions and direct selection co-workers.
• Liaise with colleagues: Liaise with fellow colleagues to ensure common understanding on work related affairs and agree on the necessary compromises the parties might need to face. Negotiate compromises between parties as to ensure that work in general run efficiently towards the achievement of the objectives.
• Manage environmental management system: Develop and implement an environmental management system.
• Identify market niches: Analyse the composition of the markets, segment these into groups, and highlight the opportunities that each one of these niches represent in terms of new products.
• Manage kiln ventilation: Managing a product specific and energy efficient kiln ventilation.
• Control of expenses: Monitoring and maintaining effective cost controls, in regards to efficiencies, waste, overtime and staffing. Assessing excesses and strives for efficiency and productivity.
• Liaise with managers: Liaise with managers of other departments ensuring effective service and communication, i.e. sales, planning, purchasing, trading, distribution and technical.
• Ensure compliance with environmental legislation in food production: Make sure to comply with environmental legislation in food production. Understand the legislation related to environmental matters in food manufacturing and apply it in practice.
• Interpret data in food manufacturing: Interpret data from different sources, like market data, scientific papers, and customers requirements in order to research development and innovation in food sector.

7515 – Food and beverage tasters and graders

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References

1. Malt master – ESCO