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