Unlock cost savings and sustainability with barley brewing
Using barley over other cereal adjuncts offers significant advantages to the brewer. Because its starch has a similar gelatinisation temperature (53-58˚C) to malted barley (61-65˚C), it can be easily incorporated into conventional malted barley mashing procedures. Its endogenous ß-amylase ensures maltose production during mashing. Likewise, the presence of a husk can aid mash filtration through a traditional lauter tun. However, because of its low endogenous enzyme levels and high levels of unmodified cell wall components, brewing with raw barley can present many processing difficulties to a brewer.
Barley brewing also has a significantly positive environmental advantage over malting, because it is a less energy-intensive process. The potential savings for brewing with barley, and the decision at what level to brew with, depend on several factors, including:
- Raw material prices
- Percentage of barley used
- Quality of barley (and malt)
- Process design (milling, mashing, brewhouse lautering/filtration system) and final product specifications (e.g. taste panel and consumer acceptance)
| Barley % | € Savings/1000hl |
| 0 | 0 |
| 10 | 180 |
| 20 | 340 |
| 50 | 690 |
| 80 | 1080 |
| 100 | 1390 |
Kerry portfolio for brewing processes - Barley
| Typical Barley Brewing Problem | Kerry's Solution |
| Poor mash or beer filtration | Promalt, Bioglucanase |
| Insufficient levels of free amino nitrogen | Promalt, Bioprotease |
| High mash viscosities and starch positive wort | Hitempase |
| Wort clarity | Whirlfloc |
| Limited vitamins, essential salts and amino acids for yeast | Yeast nutrients |
| Beer clarity/stability | Biotannin™, Profix |