Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2024 Nov;23(6):e70069.
doi: 10.1111/1541-4337.70069.

Reassessing the importance of barley starch and amylolytic enzyme properties in malting and brewing

Charlotte F De Schepper  1 , Christophe M Courtin  1
Affiliations
Review

Reassessing the importance of barley starch and amylolytic enzyme properties in malting and brewing

Charlotte F De Schepper et al. Compr Rev Food Sci Food Saf. 2024 Nov.

Abstract

Efficient conversion of starch to fermentable sugars and dextrins is essential during brewing as it drives process efficiency, resource efficiency, and the quality of the end product. Recent changes in barley growth conditions due to climate change challenge brewers in maintaining these essential aspects of the brewing process. The main component of barley, starch, is also undergoing changes, which can lead to detrimental effects on the brewing process. Additionally, variations in barley genotype and preparatory processing, such as malting, can affect starch properties of the barley malt. These changes in and fluctuations of the raw material barley for brewing have led to recent research focusing on the importance of starch granule proportions, starch structure, and starch behavior as a means to cope with these new challenges. In this review, we summarize the main findings regarding starch properties and behavior from barley to beer, discuss the importance of balancing starch gelatinization and starch hydrolysis during the mashing process, identify research gaps, and suggest potential trajectories for future research.

Keywords: amylolytic enzymes; brewing; gelatinisation; granules; malting.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Ajandouz, E. H., Abe, J., Svensson, B., & Marchis‐Mouren, G. (1992). Barley malt‐α‐amylase. Purification, action pattern, and subsite mapping of isozyme 1 and two members of the isozyme 2 subfamily using p‐nitrophenylated maltooligosaccharide substrates. Biochimica Et Biophysica Acta (BBA)‐Protein Structure and Molecular Enzymology, 1159(2), 193–202. https://doi.org/10.1016/0167‐4838(92)90025‐9
    1. Allan, M. C., Rajwa, B., & Mauer, L. J. (2018). Effects of sugars and sugar alcohols on the gelatinization temperature of wheat starch. Food Hydrocolloids, 84(1), 593–607. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodhyd.2018.06.035
    1. Andriotis, V. M. E., Rejzek, M., Barclay, E., Rugen, M. D., Field, R. A., & Smith, A. M. (2016). Cell wall degradation is required for normal starch mobilisation in barley endosperm. Scientific Reports, 6(1), Article 33215. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep33215
    1. Ao, Z., & Jane, J. (2007). Characterization and modeling of the A‐and B‐granule starches of wheat, triticale, and barley. Carbohydrate Polymers, 67(1), 46–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2006.04.013
    1. Asare, E. K., Jaiswal, S., Maley, J., Båga, M., Sammynaiken, R., Rossnagel, B. G., & Chibbar, R. N. (2011). Barley grain constituents, starch composition, and structure affect starch in vitro enzymatic hydrolysis. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 59(9), 4743–4754. https://doi.org/10.1021/jf200054e

LinkOut - more resources