e-ISSN:2581-6063 (online), ISSN:0972-5210 Plant Archives Volume 21, No 1, 2021 pp. 1160-1162 DOI Url: https://doi.org/10.51470/PLANTARCHIVES.2021.v21.no1.153 Plant Archives Journal home page: www.plantarchives.org QUALITY ANALYSIS OF MALTS OF DIFFERENT ORIGIN USED IN INDIAN CRAFT BREWERIES Nishant Kumar* and Manju Nehra ABSTRACT Malt is processed barley, produced from barley grains in a process called malting and is used in beer production as a source of starch, contributing to beer’s color and other characteristics. in this study, Four diferent types of malts used in Indian Market for craft breweries were analyzed for Protein content, Hot water extract, diastatic power and friability of malt and evaluated the infuence of variety and locality on malt quality. Keywords: Malted barley, variety, locality, malt parameters. (Date of Receiving-01-01-2021; Date of Acceptance-13-03-2021) Chaudhary Devi Lal University, Sirsa, Haryana-India *E-mail: ngrover11@gmail.com INTRODUCTION Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), a most ubiquitous cereal, is used in the production of malt; the principal material for both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. The most important use of barley is for malting purposes, most specifcally for the brewing industry (Keenan et al., 2007). Barley is the major source for brewing malts, which constitute the single most important raw material for beer production. Beer quality and the efciency of the brewing process is highly determinative by malt’s chemical composition and brewing procedure. Two-row spring and winter varieties are commonly used for malting industry (Gupta et al., 2010). Malt is processed barley, produced from barley grains in a process called malting and is used in beer production as a source of starch, contributing to beer’s color and organoleptic characteristics. The quality of barley plays a major role in Malt quality. Malting quality is dependent upon genotype, environmental fuctuations of temperature and rainfall may also have a strong infuence (Eagles et al., 1995). Under diferent environmental conditions, overall malting quality can occasionally be reduced and superior genotypes are thus more difcult to identify. During brewing, Milled malt is mixed water called mashing, in which polysaccharides (starch, polymerized carbohydrates) of malt are degraded by enzymes at specifc temperatures. Good quality malt is always required by brewers for a successful mash. Controlled malting efects barley’s enzymes and several components that is responsible for the fnal quality of malt. Based on the fact that the malt is one of the main raw materials for brewing, its quality must be rigorously assessed (Savin and Molina-Cano, 2002). The key factors for a good malting depend on the variety of barley. The necessary quality of raw material for each beer type by choosing a barley variety and its malt is determined by the brewer. The aim of this syudy was to evaluate the infuence of variety and locality on the Protein content, Hot water extract, Diastatic power and Friability of malt MATERIAL AND METHODS Diferent types of malts were purchased from local vendors. Four diferent types of malts that used for brewing were analyzed. Malts were chosen on basis of their origin. 6 Row (Indian), Pilsner (Germany), Pilsner (Poland), 2 Row (Canada) were analyzed for following methods. Moisture content Moisture content of malt is determined on a ground sample, as a weight loss after oven drying at 110°C for 2 hr (AOAC, 1990). Protein content Nitrogen was determined using Kjedahl method and protein calculated as total Nitrogen x 6.25 (AOAC, 1990). Hot-water extract Hot-water extract was measured using a rapid, small-scale method, in which coarse ground malt (l.0g) was mashed in hot water (I0 ml) for 1 h at 65°C by mixing every 15 min. The extract was centrifuged at 3000g for 10 min (EBC, 2010). pH The pH of the malt was determined using standard assays (AOAC, 1990). The pH of the malt sample was determined using glass-electrode pH meter. About 50 g of dried malt was ground and homogenized in 100 ml distilled water. The water was decanted and its pH determined after calibration of the pH meter using pH bufer 4.0 and pH 7.0. Diastatic power Diastatic power was determined using the Ferricyanide Method (IOB, 1986). Malt extract was obtained by extracting with water for 2 hours in a temperature- controlled water bath. About 3 ml of the unfltered malt- extract supernatant was transferred in to a 250 ml conical fask containing 100 ml bufered starch solution maintained