Date: September 13, 2025 | Location: Strzegom Malting Plant - Viking Malt | Mission: In the heart of the malting plant
Strzegom Malting Plant: malt wasn't produced in a day
Viking Malt: The grain of truth about Strzegom malt
On September 13, 2025, we moved to the world of malt production, which goes from Poland to brewers all over the world. Our destination was the Viking Malt plant in Strzegom – specifically the malting plant, which for over a century has smelled of grain, malt, and Lower Silesian tradition.
First: OHS
We started each group's tour with OHS training – we watched a short instructional video and changed our footwear to OHS shoes, adapted to the requirements of staying on the Malting Plant premises. We met the Shift Managers: Ms. Urszula Wilczyńska and Mr. Wojciech Michałowicz, who did a great job as our guides around the plant.
Do you want to see with your own eyes how century-old drums from 1910 still perfectly measure the time of germinating grain, and the smell of roasted coke in the historic roasting plant takes you straight to the golden era of Silesian industry? Join our upcoming events and discover these and other secrets of unique production plants as part of the HopsVoyage expeditions! Join us, subscribe to the newsletter! Don't be a regular tourist – become Robotized!
The grain enters the game
We started our walk around the plant premises. The first stop was the receiving and purchasing scale at the entrance gate. There we learned the secrets of the barley purchasing process currently underway, including raw material sampling and the functioning of the seasonal laboratory. The grain is not dried – it is accepted in the appropriate specification, which is why it requires proper verification upon receipt.
Silos and huge facilities
Next, we went through the malting plant's storage base – there are several groups of newer and older silos of various capacities, connected by a network of bucket conveyors and elevators. The silos are equipped with ventilation channels, which are used to maintain appropriate conditions for grain storage.
It is worth mentioning that the Strzegom plant accepts grain both for its own needs and for the needs of the second malting plant of the Viking Malt group in Sierpc. Lower Silesia is characterized by good soils, which is why barley for malt production is harvested right here. We visited the receiving hopper along with the control room and imagined the discharge of purchased grain taking place here. This place also has a shipping section, where grain is packed for the onward journey to Sierpc.
Have you ever wondered what it's like to wander through the mazes of a century-old steeping plant full of secret passages, feel the blast of heat and intense aroma during the discharge of grain from a massive roasting furnace, or stand face-to-face with malting drums that have been working continuously since 1910? Join our upcoming events and discover these and other secrets of historical plants as part of the HopsVoyage expeditions! Join us, subscribe to the newsletter! Don't be a regular tourist – become Robotized!
The long path of malt
We further followed the path that the grain takes after arriving in Strzegom. First comes preliminary cleaning – spikes, among others, are separated. The grain passes through a drum cleaner – 4 chambers of different gradation – and subsequent storage bases to the steeping plant. Further cleaning and sorting take place there – separation of stones or corn kernels, as well as – grain halves. The steeping plant is one of the historic buildings of the malting plant, full of stairs and secret passages, and above all – a characteristic, intense smell! In this building, the grain makes its way through sieves to the scale, then to the chain conveyor and into the vat.
Looking into the vats
We also had the opportunity to see the vats up close. The procedure that was taking place in them lasted a total of 31 hours, divided into three phases: the first wet phase, the dry phase, and the second wet phase, during which misting germination takes place. The duration
of individual phases depends on the grain variety, weather, and the final product we want to obtain. Along with the grain, the so-called source documents travel, in which all important information for subsequent links in the chain is recorded.
Drums with history
We went to the next building via a special trestle bridge and could closely observe two pipelines through which the grain travels to the upper or lower drum room. The building houses as many as 16 drums, 8 per floor, the oldest of which was manufactured in 1910! The steeped grain spins in the drums for up to 6 days, and the operator takes a sample to the laboratory every day. We learned the operating principle of the drums there, but also looked inside one of them.
Kiln and roasting plant – malt gains character
The grain continues its journey either to the kiln or to the roasting plant, where colored malts are produced. In the roasting plant, there are 9 large furnaces and one coke-fired furnace, which stands there as an exhibit. It particularly appealed to lovers of industrial history! Roasting plant employees work in 3 shifts, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The grain stays in the furnace from 3 to 6 hours, and we managed to see the moment it leaves the furnace, i.e., the discharge from the furnace!
Since we visited the roasting plant, the kiln could not be missed either. The current, modern kiln replaced an older, 100-year-old one. We also learned a lot about this historic kiln from our guides, and one of the groups could even see its remains with their own eyes – sieve elements protruding from the walls. In the past, the process of drying the grain was done manually – green malt was "spread out" sequentially on three different levels, which took all day. Currently, there is only one drying level, but the drying time has not changed – only the number of people needed to perform this task has changed. From the outside, the kiln resembles a can – inside, drying is ongoing, and it can be previewed on special screens with camera image feeds.
Smokehouse – wealth of aromas
A unique plant and unique malts? Such are created in the smokehouse. Right in front of one group, a smokehouse employee prepared a sample order for smoking, which left the chamber after just 2 and a half hours – it happened so fast that the second group missed the opening! No harm done – thanks to this, we could organoleptically compare different types of wood used in smoking. Did you know that coffee is also sometimes prepared in the Strzegom smokehouse?
Malt sets off into the world
A completely different malting plant building from all the others was the so-called LC, or Logistics Centre. Here we observed the advanced work of machines filling bags, packing them on pallets, or wrapping shipments in foil. During bag filling, any errors are detected – the presence of metals, weight deviations, or incorrect assignment of the label to the packaging. Viking Malt in Strzegom produces over 40 types of malt, including both for special orders of large recipients and retailers. The plant is also very flexible and responds to the needs of customers, who can modify standard recipes. The production minimum depends on the specification, but
there are shipments of products starting from 1 pallet or a big bag! The work in this building is highly automated, but don't let that fool you – every day, employees ensure its safety and reliability!
Laboratory – last but not least!
The last stop on the tour route for each group was the laboratory, where we familiarized ourselves with the work of the laboratory technicians. The second group visiting it asked about almost every experiment and test! Together we verified the color of the malt, checked the germination energy of the grain, and machine-calculated protein and starch. We looked at magnified caramelized grains and "live" ones – colored pink in one of the experiments. At the end, our Host Viking Malt prepared souvenir bottles with various malts for us – thanks to this, we will not forget this trip for a really long time!
We can't wait for the next adventure. In the meantime... see you on the next Zrobotyzowani expeditions! 👋
Acknowledgments – from Zrobotyzowani for Zrobotyzowani!
We would like to express our sincere thanks to everyone who contributed to making our HopsVoyage to the Strzegom Malting Plant such a valuable experience.
First of all, huge applause to the entire team of Viking Malt in Strzegom for their openness, hospitality, and trust. Special thanks go to our guides, Ms. Urszula Wilczyńska and Mr. Wojciech Michałowicz, Shift Managers, who with passion and immense knowledge introduced us to the secrets of malt production. Their passion and commitment made even the most complicated processes understandable and interesting.
We also thank all the malting plant employees we met on our way and who welcomed us with open arms. Their daily work creates this unique product that reaches brewers all over the world.
Last but not least, thank you, dear Robotized Participants! Without you, there would be no such reports, photos, and memories. We hope that, like us, you returned home with heads full of knowledge and hearts full of impressions.
See you on the next technical adventures!
Thank you!
All photos were taken and published with the consent of Viking Malt Sp. z o.o.
Keywords: industrial tourism, Zrobotyzowani, Strzegom, Strzegom Malting Plant, Viking Malt, drum malting plant, malting plant tour, factory tour, malting plant interior, malt production, brewing technology, drum cleaner, bucket conveyor, grain steeping plant, drum room, malting drums, grain roasting plant, malt kiln, malt smokehouse, Logistics Centre, plant laboratory, brewing raw materials, brewing barley, Lower Silesia, one-day guided tour, event report, HopsVoyage, technological monuments, industrial heritage, infrastructure tour, process engineering, brewing behind the scenes, industrial photos, technology from the inside.
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Photos taken by: Paulina Kozłowska, Kacper Groń (Piwna Zwrotnica), Karol Lubaczewski
Report prepared by: Paulina Kozłowska
Design and layout: Magdalena Prosowska