The Factors That Made Barley the Most Preferred Cereal for Base Brewing Malt and the Potential of Malting and Brewing with Other Cereal Grains – A Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70851/jfines.2025.2(3).182.190Keywords:
Malting, Barley, Other cereal species, Brewing, Base malt, Barley grain structureAbstract
Barley (Hordeum vulgure) is the main cereal grain used for producing base brewing malt. Besides, there is growing interest in brewing with other cereal crops. This stems from a desire to produce unique beer types and to ensure continuous brewing in regions unfavorable for barley production or in countries where barley grain importation is restricted. To understand the potential of brewing with other cereal crops, a review of factors that made barley the most preferred, and other cereal species less so, was undertaken. Grain structure, grain chemistry, maltability, processibility, enzyme potential and development during malting and the ability to impart desirable beer characteristics, were found to be the major factors. However, acceptable base brewing malts were produced from the grain of some of these other cereal species when the malting procedure was modified to suit their characteristics. Moreover, acceptable beer was produced from base brewing malts produced from some of these other cereal species when the general brewing method was modified. It was, therefore, concluded that brewing with other cereal species could be made possible by modifying the malting procedure to suit their characteristics and modifying the brewing procedure to suit their malt quality attributes.
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