A fundamental study on the relationship between barley cultivar and hordeins in single cultivar beers

Abstract

The hordein proteins found in beer are not suitable for gluten-sensitive consumers. Hordeins are storage proteins found in barley and have limited solubility in water. It is not currently known if the nitrogen concentration of barley directly impacts on the hordeins present in beer. In this study a controlled malting on eight barley cultivars was performed and a single cultivar model beer was produced from each. The single cultivar model beers were then examined for differences in content of hordeins. The quality of barley and malt was assessed and the parameters measured were compared with the beer hordeins using a Pearson correlation matrix. The results showed significant differences in the content of beer hordeins, depending on the barley malt used. Correlations between results showed a positive relationship to malt nitrogen and a negative relationship to friability. The results suggest it may be possible to optimize the choice of the barley cultivar and the malting conditions in order to produce a beer low in hordeins.

Variation in gluten protein and peptide concentrations in Belgian barley malt beers

“…Gluten in raw barley is carried over into the malt and subsequently into the final beer. As was shown by Taylor and Arendt , two identically brewed malt beers (identical malting conditions) from Propino variety harvested in two separate regions in Ireland (Carlow and Waterford) had significantly different gluten concentrations (on average 60 and 20 ppm gluten peptides respectively). The malting process is also reported as having an influence on the final gluten content in beer .…”

“…NiD 91/676/EEC ] imposed by the European Union that limits farmers in the use of nitrogen fertilizers on barley crops . Nitrogen availability positively affects grain protein content , which in turn leads to an increased C‐hordein (gluten from barley) content in the grain and subsequently affects the gluten content in beer . For improved fermentation, malt quality (modification) has significantly improved over recent years.…”

“…As suggested by Comino et al , the use of different varieties of barley malt and different brewing techniques could explain the wide range of gluten concentrations and the lack of positive correlation. A diverse gluten content is observed in different barley and wheat grain varieties owing to genetic and environmental variability . Gluten in raw barley is carried over into the malt and subsequently into the final beer.…”