What factors affect the decomposition of starch during beer brewing?

When a brewery uses beer equipment to brew craft beer, the saccharification process plays a key role, in which the decomposition of starch is the main material change in the brewhouse process. However, what factors will affect the decomposition of starch, among which are the following: degree of malt grinding, malt variety and quality, mashing temperature, mashing time. Our winemakers will share the influence of these factors.

Grinding degree of malt: Proper grinding is conducive to the decomposition of starch. If the malt is crushed too finely, agglomeration is likely to occur, which is not conducive to the decomposition of amylase. Coarse malt should be crushed to make the shell broken but not broken, which is beneficial to the filtration of wort.

Malt variety and quality: Light-colored malt usually has higher enzyme content than dark-colored malt, and the prepared wort has more sugar and less dextrin. The lower the degree. Well-dissolved malt not only has high enzyme content, but also helps to decompose the endosperm cell wall. Amylase is easy to function and fully decomposes starch. The obtained wort is rich in foam and clear and transparent; the opposite is true for poor solubility.

Saccharification temperature: temperature has a great influence on saccharification, so saccharification should be carried out under the action temperature of amylase. In this process, the optimum temperature of α-amylase is 72°C-75°C. If the time is too long, more dextrin will be produced, so that the beer has a low degree of fermentation and rich dextrin; the optimal temperature is 60-65 degrees. If the time is too long, a large amount of maltose will be formed, making the beer more fermented.

Saccharification time: During the saccharification process, the action of the enzyme is not uniform, which can be divided into two time stages: after 10-20 minutes of saccharification, the enzyme reaches the maximum activity; after 40-60 minutes, the enzyme activity decreases rapidly, and then the rate of decline changes slow. Therefore, as long as these factors are strictly controlled during the brewing process, which is conducive to the decomposition of amylase, high-quality beer can be brewed.