Effect of cold shock on the enhancement of β ‐amylase activity during malting and malt processability for a red sorghum intended for brewing use

The low β ‐amylase activity of sorghum malt is a major concern when malts are intended for use in brewing. Several studies have shown that the germination temperature plays an important role in β ‐amylase synthesis. In this study, the cold shock treatment was envisioned as a means of improving β ‐amylase synthesis during red sorghum malting. The results show that, when a high‐frequency decrease in the germination temperature is used, the obtained malt exhibits a significantly increased β ‐amylase activity. This study shows that this increase is not sufficient to consider cold shock as a means of improving β ‐amylase activity for red sorghum brewing use, as the processabilty of the malts is unsatisfactory. Copyright © 2015 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling