The Effect of Wheat Malt on Craft Beer

The addition of wheat malt to beer is no longer exclusive to white beer, other types of craft beer are also gradually starting to add wheat malt, and the taste of the brewed beer is more aromatic.

If you have been brewing craft beer, do you know about wheat malt? The amylase produced by wheat malt is perfect for making craft beer, and wheat has a high enzyme activity. The wheat seeds are more uniform and the germination condition is more consistent.

Quality

• Wheat seeds should be full, with strong germination, good maturity, smooth surface and free from diseases.

• The protein content should be low, not more than 13% at the highest.

• Malt leachate should be high, more than 84% is good.

How do the properties of malt relate to the quality of craft beer?

The components of wheat malt that have an important impact on craft beer and the brewing process include: starch, protein, peptides, phosphates, polyphenols, polysaccharides, vitamins and enzymes.

The effect of protein on the quality of craft beer: Protein is one of the main components of wheat malt, and its content and type affect the flavor, foam, and palatability of craft beer. Soluble gluten protein in wheat malt adversely affects craft beer cloudiness, which is why the white beers we see are somewhat cloudy.

What are the advantages of adding wheat malt to craft beer?

• Wheat malt is rich in enzymes, especially high in alpha-amylase, so it also has a high saccharification capacity.

• Wheat malt has no hull, so the leaching rate is relatively high, which also improves the saccharification rate.

• The high glycoprotein content of wheat malt helps to enhance the foaming properties of craft beer.

• The low polyphenol and anthocyanin content of wheat malt is beneficial to saccharification and lees washing, which improves the abiotic stability of craft beer.

With the addition of wheat malt there are also disadvantages that arise, so what are the disadvantages?

• The high protein content and low solubility of wheat malt can cause turbidity in the wort and affect the abiotic stability of craft beer.

• Wheat malt has no hull and high β-glucan content, so it is easy to agglomerate during saccharification and the mash is highly viscous, making filtration more difficult.

What determines the taste of beer?

There are many different tastes of beer, green beer, white beer, fruit beer, dark beer, red beer, etc. Each has its own taste. So do you know what determines the taste of beer in the process of brewing beer in craft beer equipment plants?

Generally speaking, the higher the concentration of the original wort, the more malt ingredients are put into the beer, and the more “beer flavor” there is. A traditional lager must be at least 10°P to be considered a “watery beer”.

Next is the alcohol content, which is better understood, there is a wheat flavor, but also a wine flavor! The molassed wort is fermented by yeast, which converts the sugar into alcohol, carbon dioxide, and other esters and alcohols. The variety of hops and the amount of hops put in determine the most important “bitterness” in beer, which is the full-bodied taste. Generally speaking, the higher the initial wort concentration, the higher the final alcohol content after fermentation. The beer we usually drink is basically below 4 degrees, and 4-5 degrees of alcohol is the basis of a beer. Of course, the higher the alcoholic strength and malt concentration, the stronger the wine will be, so we can’t drink it freely.