Kinetics of Mashing in Beer Brewing Process

The process called mashing, which steeps malted grain in water at specific temperatures in order to optimize enzymatic sugar production, is critical for the beer brewing process. Each kind of grain used to make beer could have unique optimal mashing temperatures since the α- and β-amylase enzymes that produce the sugars are a result of genetic differences. Beer has mainly been brewed with barley, wheat, rye, and less common grains such as corn and rice. Gluten free beer options are very limited, and this is problematic for those suffering from Celiac disease. Quinoa is the focus grain of this project as it is gluten free. An optimal mashing temperature profile for barley and quinoa was measured by derivatizing the sugars in order to use GC-MS analysis. A calibration curve was produced for the four main sugars (fructose, glucose, maltose, and sucrose) using the method of external standards with an internal standard (2-deoxy-D-glucose). The mashing profile of barley was analyzed to compare with previously found literature values. Quinoa was then analyzed in the same way to produce a mashing profile specific to it