K. L. CHRISTIANSEN (1), W. Haisch (1), R. Lahlum (1), X. Yin (2), J. McCann (2);
(1) Cargill Malt, Spiritwood, ND, U.S.A.; (2) Cargill Malt, Wayzata, MN, U.S.A.
Technical Session 7 - Malt and Grain
Tuesday, June 16
8:30–10:15 a.m.
Fiesta 3,4,6,8
Given the pre-harvest rains that occurred in some barley growing regions in North America in 2014, a large percentage of the malting barley crop suffered sprouting damage. While there are methods like RVA to measure germination viability, they are unlikely to predict if or when grains will lose germination energy while in storage. Decreasing germination energy negatively impacts the malting process, malt quality, and ultimately brewing parameters such as extract yield and filtration time. Germination tests and micromalting can provide some guidance for commercial malting recipes to maximize malting potential; however, it is likely there will be malt with lower enzyme activity, lower extract, and higher viscosities. This study focused on leveraging various commercial enzymes to determine the impact of the enzymes on micromalted batches with varying levels of sprout damage (40–5%) on extract, β-glucans, and viscosity. Given the poor crop, being aware of other enzymes that solubilize β-glucans in wort, it would be valuable to know what challenges are present that cannot be affected by kilning. Additionally, to understand the countering effects of enzymes that solubilize β-glucans, those enzymes were measured in selected batches. With commercial enzymes applied in germination or in the mash, the sprout damaged batches saw improvements of 1–7% increase in extract, 10–60% decrease in viscosity, and 50% plus decrease in β-glucans. Finally, while no differences in enzymes that solubilize β-glucans were observed between sprout damaged and sound kernels, differences were detected between the varieties Metcalfe, Copeland, Meredith, and Tradition.
Katrina Christiansen received a Ph.D. degree in agricultural engineering from Iowa State University in Ames in 2011. She began working with Cargill Malt as the pilot project lead in Spiritwood, ND, that same year, supervising the innovation efforts in both the pilot malting and brewing facilities.
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