Impact of Specialty Malts on Wort and Beer Characteristics

Luis F Castro,Abigail D Affonso,Renata M Lehman

doi:10.3390/fermentation7030137

Luis F Castro, Abigail D Affonso + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation7030137

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Journal: Fermentation	Publication Date: Jul 29, 2021
Citations: 15	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: California Polytechnic State University

Abstract

Specialty malts are commonly used in brewing to provide flavor, aroma, and color to wort and beer. The use of specialty malts contributes to the variety of beer products; therefore, it is important to understand their effect on the characteristics of wort and beer. This study investigates the impact of various specialty malts on wort and beer properties. A control beer was prepared with 100% base malt, and four beer treatments were prepared with the addition of kilned, roasted, and caramel specialty malts. For each treatment, 20% of the base malt was substituted with the various specialty malts when preparing the wort. The fermentable sugars and free amino nitrogen (FAN) content for each wort were analyzed. Alcohol by volume (ABV), international bitterness units (IBU), diacetyl, and polyphenol content of each prepared beers were subsequently analyzed. Results showed that wort prepared with the addition of roasted and caramel malts contained a lower concentration of fermentable sugars and FAN than wort prepared with the base and kilned malts. Beers prepared with the addition of roasted and caramel malts exhibited the lowest levels of ABV, as well as the lowest levels of diacetyl. These beers also exhibited higher levels of total phenolic compounds compared to the other beer samples. No change was observed in IBU levels as a result of brewing with the different specialty malts. This study illustrates how the use of specialty malts impacts wort and beer properties, providing useful information to aid in the production of quality beer products.

Highlights

Beer is a fermented beverage produced from water, malted barley, hops, and yeast.These ingredients, as well as the brewing process, will determine the final characteristics of the beer product [1]
Results from this study indicate that the substitution of 20% base malt with various specialty malts during wort production influences the properties of the wort and the beers produced from these worts
Worts prepared with the addition of caramel and roasted malts had lower levels of fermentable sugars and free amino nitrogen (FAN) compared to the other wort samples and the control

Summary

Introduction

Beer is a fermented beverage produced from water, malted barley, hops, and yeast These ingredients, as well as the brewing process, will determine the final characteristics of the beer product [1]. In addition to base malts, brewers can use specialty malts to add flavor, aroma, and color to beer These malts add complexity and diversity to a beer and are responsible for many of the different beer styles found in the market [2,3]. Specialty malts are produced using the same malting process as base malts but are subjected to higher kilning and roasting temperatures. The intensity of these kilning and roasting conditions is responsible for their characteristic colors and flavors. As a result of the high kilning and roasting temperatures, specialty malts lose their enzymatic activity—and are, used only in small amounts compared to the base malts, which retain their enzymatic activity [4,5]

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