The present invention concerns a malting process (steeping, germination and kilning), steeping being at least partially carried out with recycled steep water, barley germination inhibitors having been eliminated therefrom. It also concerns a process for eliminating said inhibitors from steep water from a malt house by passing the steep water into a bioreactor and membrane filtration, and to the use of a bioreactor coupled to an ultrafiltration or microfiltration device to eliminate germination inhibitors. It concerns malt house equipment comprising a steeping tank (1), an aerated bioreactor (2), a filtration device (3), an optional reverse osmosis device (4), means (5, 7, 8, 9, 9', 10, 13) feeding the steep water from the tank (1) to the bioreactor (2), from the bioreactor (2) to the filtration device(s) and from the filtration device(s) (3, 4) to the steeping tank (1).