Barley and Malt must meet strict quality criteria to work for various industries, whether it be the Maltster wanting to make barley into a value added malt, or a brewer/distiller wanting to craft a beverage from the malt. Tight specifications of barley and malt are established to ensure good final product quality. Our lab provides convenient, reliable, and affordable testing of the various barley and malt aspects helping to determine selectability of barley for malt and malt for brewing.

Please See Testing Packages Listed Below!

Sample Submission:

Please complete the corresponding form: sampling, shipping & payment instructions are on the forms

Testing Service Agreement:

Parties wishing to submit samples to the MSU Malt Quality Lab must review and sign a Testing Service Agreement

 

Online Payment Portal:

 

Testing Options: 

Grain Quality Testing 

Grain

Test Price

Selection Package:

-Moisture, protein, plumpness, germination energy, stirring number, and DON

$100/sample
Grain Moisture & Protein Content $20/sample

Germination Characteristics

-Germination energy, capacity, and water sensitivity

$40/sample

DON 

$45/sample

Stirring Number (PHS or sprouted grain evaluation)

$35/sample

Cereal Extract:

-base malt suplemented mash protocol

$150/sample

Glycosidic Nitrile (GN0) variety screening (for distilling grain types)

$35/sample

Agronomic Variety Testing

-Yield, protein, plump, test weight, heading date, height.

*Typically grown at 8 or more locations including a mix of dry and irrigated environments. For up to date information on locations this season contact our Field Manager Greg Lutgen at [email protected]

$250/entry

/succesful location

Food Grain Quality Testing

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Test Price

Anthocyanin (antioxident color pigment) 

$30/sample

B-glucan (food fiber)

$30/sample

Malt Quality Testing

Malted Barley
Test Price
Full Analysis - Moisture, assortment, friability, fine extract, coarse extract, F/C difference, B-glucan, FAN, soluble protein, S/T, DP, a-amylase, color, filtration time, clarity, pH $150/sample

*Basic Analysis - Moisture, friability, fine extract, B-glucan, FAN, DP, a-amylase, color, filtration time, clarity, pH, soluble protien, total protein, S/T

*Appropriate for barley, and wheat. Wheat samples will not recieve friability testing.

$100/sample

Adjunct Malt Analysis (rye, oats, spelt, triticale, raw grains, sorghum, maize, millet, rice)

*Mashing includes a pre-boil step and inclusion of base barley malt (sorghum, maize, millet, rice) or grains are tested 1:1 with base barley malt (rye, oats, spelt, triticale, raw grains).  The same results as basic analysis are reported, minus friability, total protein and S/T as  these testing methods are not appropriate for adjunct grains.

$150/sample
Enzymes only-Diastatic Power & a-amylase $50/sample

*Specialty Malt Analysis  - high dried, chocolate and roasted malt–Moisture, extract, color, pH

*SRM 20+ samples

Please specify if sample is

High dried: higher color malt that stills has sufficient enzymes for self conversion (standard mash)

Caramel - requires base malt for supplemental conversion (base malt supplemented mash)

Roasted - high color malts - (no mash - extraction via boiling) Measure: color only

$75/sample

Color only

$35/sample

*Malting w/ Malt Analysis

-Barley samples malted with our system and controls, includes Malt Analysis (Basic Malt w/ out friability)

*Limited availability - please discuss specific project with the lab before submitting samples
$250/sample

Glycosidic Nitrile (for distilling malts)

$225/sample

 Hop Quality Testing

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Test Price

Acids Analysis                                                                                                                                         

-Alpha Acids (as is and 10%), Beta Acids (as is and 10%), Hop Storage Index (HSI), and moisture. Acids determined by spectrophotometric method, ASBC Hops-6. *100g required.

$100/sample

Total Oils

-Determined by steam distillation. Reported as % (mL oil/100g), ASBC method Hops-13. *200g required

 

$100/sample

Moisture Only

-Forced air oven method. ASBC method Hops-4. *10g required

$20/sample

Beer Quality Testing

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Test Price

Nutrition Analysis                                                                                                                                         

-Total sugars, carbohydrates, calories, protein, ABV

$100/sample

Beer QC 

-ABV, SG, RE, RDF, IBU, Color, pH

$75/sample

Gluten screening (Competitive R-Biopharm)

$80/Sample

Total sugars

$25/sample

Free Amino Nitrogen (FAN)

$25/sample

Bitterness (IBU)

$30/sample

Distillate Quality Testing

Whiskey glasses

Test Price

Distillate QC 

-Total solids, apparent proof, specific gravity, true proof

$75/sample

*All testing is conducted using official methods of the American Society of Brewing Chemists

*The Montana State University Barley, Malt & Brewing Quality has been certified by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau for analysis of beer and distillate products.

2024 Lab Schedule

Data Turnaround Time:

Typically, malt data can be expected within 7 or less business days, while grain samples will take closer to 10 due to germinations tests. During normal weeks malt analysis is performed Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday      -or- Monday, depending on demand. Samples received Thursday may not be run until the following Monday or Tuesday at the earliest. Germinations are always started Monday, so grain analyisis will not start till the following week if samples are recieved Tuesday - Friday.

2023 Holiday Schedule

The lab will be closed on the following dates:

Monday January 1 - New Year's Day

Monday, January 15 - Martin Luther King Day

Monay, February 19 - President's Day

Monday, May 27 - Memorial Day

Thursday, July 4 - Independence Day

Monday, September 2 - Labor Day

Monday, November 11 - Veteran's Day

Thursday/Friday, November 28-29 - Thanksgiving

Wednesday, December 25  - Christmas