Couch
Couch turns up in 2 fields: paper optics, brewing. Here is what it means to the people in each one.
Couch in paper optics
Suction roll at the end of the forming section where the wet web is dewatered and leaves the wire.
Pronounced cooch, from the French coucher, to lay down. The couch roll pulls a last burst of water from the sheet with vacuum, bringing it to roughly 18 to 25 percent solids before a pick-up felt lifts it into the press section. The couch pit beneath it catches edge trim and the whole sheet during breaks, all of it wet broke.
"Sheet isn't picking up at the couch, check the couch vacuum and the pick-up felt."
Couch in brewing
A thick layer of steeped grain spread out to begin germination during the malting process.
A bed of barley or other grain that has been removed from the steep tanks and laid out on a malting floor to germinate. The grain is piled to a specific depth to retain moisture and generate heat, initiating the enzymatic breakdown of the endosperm. As germination progresses, the maltster must regularly turn the couch to dissipate excess heat and prevent the rootlets from matting together.
"The temperature inside the couch is climbing past 18 degrees, so get the rakes and turn the pile before the grain over-modifies."