The relationship between wort beta-glucan, malting conditions and malt analysis.

Smart, J.G., Lukes, B.K., Tie, E.C. and Ford, A.T.

Abstract
In a study on the relationships between malting conditions, malt composition and wort beta glucan levels, samples from each of four batches of barley were malted in a "Phoenix" automatic micromalting apparatus, using every combination of five moisture levels at the end of steeping and four steeping/germination temperatures. The resulting malts were analysed using EBC standard methods and the beta glucan contents of their worts determined by fluorimetric flow injection analysis. It was found that the wort beta glucan content decreased with rising moisture and/or temperature during malting. Further studies were then conducted to investigate the effects of differences in equipment and processing conditions in commercial maltings on wort beta glucan levels, in which variations in conditions produced similar effects to those observed in the micromalting trials. Analysis of both pilot and commercial malts showed a significant correlation between various indices of modification (fine/coarse extract difference, wort viscosity, friability, Kolbach index, etc.) and the beta glucan contents of the corresponding worts.
Keywords : analysis beta germination glucan malt malting modification moisture content steeping temperature wort