Significant negative inter-varietal correlation coefficients between steeping time and barley saccharifying (− 0.706), malt saccharifying (− 0.814), starch-liquefying (− 0.954), autolytic diastatic (−0.937), and proteolytic (−0.822) activities are shown to be dependent on the same fundamental barley properties as similar positive coefficients between these activities and salt-soluble barley nitrogen. Barley and malt saccharifying and proteolytic activities are equally associated with both salt-soluble nitrogen and steeping time, but starch-liquefying and autolytic diastatic activities are more closely associated with the latter property. Significant inter-varietal correlation coefficients were obtained between liquefying, autolytic, and proteolytic activities and malt extract and malting loss. Partial correlation studies indicate that only the simple coefficient between malting loss and proteolytic activity (0.915) represents a real relation independent of salt-soluble nitrogen and steeping time.With the exception of autolytic diastatic activity, highly significant intravarietal correlation coefficients were obtained between malt extract and enzymatic activities. Partial coefficients, independent of total nitrogen, show that proteolytic, liquefying, and autolytic activities are associated with malt extract. Simple intra-varietal correlations of malting loss with barley saccharifying (0.671), malt saccharifying (0.702), and proteolytic (0.701) activities reflect mainly the effects of total nitrogen. Enzymatic activities are negatively correlated with steeping time within as well as between varieties, and partial correlation coefficients suggest a real relation between liquefying activity and steeping time.