Types of commonly used malt auxiliary materials are as follows:
Rice
Rice is the most commonly used auxiliary material in light-colored beer production. It has a high starch content, the highest among all grains. Rice has a high anhydrous leaching rate, no anthocyanins, low fat content, and more glycoproteins (foaming proteins). Light-colored beer brewed with rice has a light color, pure and light taste, white and fine foam, good foam retention, and high non-biological stability. Adding rice can reduce malt usage, increase wort yield, and lower production costs. Typically, rice constitutes 25% to 50% of the total ingredients in domestic brewing.
However, excessive rice usage leads to low a-amino nitrogen content in the wort. This affects yeast reproduction and fermentation, resulting in slow fermentation, yeast aging, and beer spoilage after consumption.
Corn
Corn kernels weigh between 50g and 400g, with an average weight of 250g, and a volume mass of 625kg/m³ to 750kg/m³. Corn has a wide planting area and is the world’s largest grain producer. In beer brewing, corn imparts a mellow taste and good foam performance.
Corn is also commonly used as an auxiliary material internationally. However, its high fat content requires defatting before use in beer production. Fat acts as a defoamer and impacts foam performance. Additionally, fats are prone to oxidation, leading to flavor deterioration and reduced shelf life of the finished beer.
Wheat
Wheat belongs to the Gramineae family, with a relative density of 1.33 to 1.45, a thousand-grain weight of 15g to 28g, and a volume mass of 660kg/m³ to 830kg/m³. Wheat is abundantly produced in China and serves as a significant auxiliary material in brewing.
Using wheat offers the following advantages:
(1) Wheat has a high glycoprotein content, contributing to good foam performance in beer.
(2) Low anthocyanin content in wheat benefits the non-biological stability and flavor quality of beer.
(3) Wort derived from wheat has high assimilable nitrogen content, leading to faster fermentation and a lower final pH of the beer.
Starch
In recent years, beer companies have started using corn starch as an auxiliary material due to advancements in the starch industry.
The advantages of using starch are:
(1) Starch has high purity with fewer impurities, low viscosity, and no residue.
(2) It allows for the production of high-concentration and high-fermentation beers.
(3) Wort made from starch is easy to filter.
(4) The flavor and non-biological stability of the beer meet industry requirements, even though the unit price may be slightly higher. Overall, it offers significant economic benefits that align with social development needs.
Sugar or Starch Hydrolyzed
Syrup is added to adjust the sugar ratio in the wort, producing highly fermented beer or increasing the yield of each wort batch. Sugar (sucrose, glucose) and starch syrup (such as barley syrup or corn syrup) are typically directly added to the boiling pot. The amount of sugar added is usually 10% to 15%, while syrup can go up to approximately 30%. Caramel can also be added to adjust the color of dark beer.
Starch syrup can be categorized as medium invert syrup (also known as “standard” syrup), high invert syrup, high maltose syrup, and oligosaccharide syrup based on the degree of starch conversion. Currently, invert syrup has the highest output in China’s starch syrup industry.
In wort boiling, high invert syrup and high maltose syrup with a glucose value above 62 are suitable as beer auxiliary materials. High invert syrup typically has a finished product concentration of 80% to 83% and a relative glucose value between 60 and 70. Acid or enzymatic transformation results in high maltose content, making it more suitable as a beer auxiliary material.
