Physical tests including the sieving test, thousand kernel weight and hectoliter weight are a part of the barley analysis required by the German Bundessortenamt (federal authority responsible for varieties and seed affairs) for the evaluation of new malting barley varieties.
This method describes how to determine the hectoliter weight of barley.
Barley intended for the production of malt is evaluated on the basis of the hectoliter weight.
The hectoliter weight determines how many kilograms 100 liters of barley weighs. For this analysis, the weight of a defined sample volume of barley is determined, and the corresponding hectoliter weight is calculated.
One hectoliter of malting barley generally weighs between 68 and 75 kg, although higher values are not unusual (up to 78 kg).