2026/04/03 by D. R. S. Gielens, C. F. De Schepper, B. De Ketelaere +3 · 1 voice
Nursing · Materials Science · Engineering · #Food composition and properties #Nanocomposite Films for Food Packaging #Freezing and Crystallization Processes
paper · doi:10.1080/03610470.2026.2642475
openalex publication_date 2026/04/03 · openalex created_date 2026/04/08 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/02
To ensure a high conversion of starch to fermentable sugars and dextrin during mashing, brewers must cope with inherent variability in barley malt properties. In this work, the impact of barley malt starch gelatinization behavior, amylose content, small starch granule volumes, α-amylase activity, beta-amylase activity, and limit-dextrinase activity on the starch conversion yield is studied. Forty-two malts (N = 21*2) were characterized and mashed on laboratory scale. Large variations in the starch properties and amylolytic enzyme activities were observed between the malt samples. After mashing, the fermentable sugar yield ranged between 73.5% and 91.3% and the dextrin yield between 8.3% and 20.0%. Partial-least-squares regression models showed a strong negative impact of small starch granule volumes and high gelatinization temperatures on the fermentable sugar yield and maltose production. On the contrary, high amylolytic enzyme activities and amylose contents positively benefited the conversion of starch to fermentable sugars. Opposite effects were observed in the model for dextrin yield. The results suggest considering small starch granule proportions and starch gelatinization behavior when selecting malt for brewing purposes to ensure high fermentable sugar yield after mashing.