The process begins when the barley is transferred to
soak in tanks of water which go by the
self-explanatory name of barley steeps; this process
takes two to four days. In the traditional process,
the barley is then spread on a malting floor, to be
turned by hand daily for the next twelve days or so,
allowing it to sprout; now, however, most distilleries
use mechanical devices for turning the sprouting
barley. As the seeds germinate, the starch in the
barley releases some of its sugars. At the appropriate
moment, germination is stopped by drying the cereal
in a malt kiln over a peat furnace or fire. The peat
smoke which flavours the drying barley at this stage
can, depending on its intensity, be tasted in the
final whisky itself. The malt kilns traditionally had
the pagoda-style roofs which were such an instantly
recognizable characteristic of the malt distilleries;
these can still be seen on older distilleries.
