Dados do Trabalho

Título

CHARACTERIZATION OF MALT FROM BARLEY GROWN IN THE STATE OF RIO GRANDE DO SUL: A PRELIMINARY STUDY

Introdução

Malt is the product obtained from the germination of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) seeds under controlled conditions and is the main ingredient in the brewing industry. Therefore, aiming to meet the Brazilian national brewing industry demands and reduce costs, efforts have been made to produce barley domestically, and light supplementation (LS) can be a useful tool to improve the productivity and quality of this cereal. This study aimed to characterize the physicochemical and quality parameters of malt from barley cultivated in the northwest region of Rio Grande do Sul.

Material e Métodos

BRS Cauê barley from two types of cultivation (with and without LS) and two harvests (2022/2023) were used to produce malt on a laboratory scale. For physicochemical characterization, centesimal composition and free, bound, and total phenolic compounds (PC) were determined. The quality parameters evaluated were friability, glassy grains, unmodified grains, saccharification time, EBC color, pH, total and soluble nitrogenous, Kolbach index, and free amino nitrogen (FAN). Samples were prepared and analyzed according to standardized methods.

Resultados e Discussão

The malt produced from different barley samples showed no significant difference in moisture, ash, proteins, fiber, and non-fibrous carbohydrates (p<0.05). For malt free and bound FC content, a significant interaction between harvest x type of cultivation was observed (p<0.05). The highest total and free FC content were observed in 2022 with LS (180.3 and 163.2 mg GAE/100g, respectively), while for bound FC was observed in 2023 without LS (19.4 mg GAE/100g. Regarding malt quality analyses, there was an interaction between the type of cultivation x harvest for malt extract, EBC color, pH, and FAN (p<0.05), where the best values were observed for the 2022 harvest with LS. Friability, Kolbach index, and soluble nitrogen levels were only affected by the harvest (p<0.05), with the values for 2022 being the best.

Conclusão

Barley is a winter crop, which greatly benefits from years with the La Niña climate effect, as occurred in 2022. Additionally, malt quality was positively affected by the use of LS during barley cultivation, pointing out that this tool can assist in the production of brewing barley.