Abstract
Most Scotch whisky is marketed as blends between malt and grain whiskies, the latter comprising between 50 and 80% of the blend. These are produced using high-diastase barley malt as a source of enzymes to break down starch from a cereal-based adjunct, prior to fermentation and distillation. As the husk dilutes expression of endosperm components, hull-less types have potential for higher enzyme activity. Beta-amylase, a major part of diastatic activity, can be measured in un-malted grain, providing a rapid screening test. Lines from a mutant population in the hull-less variety, Penthouse, were grown, in replicated trial, over two seasons. Analysis of variance showed highly significant effects of genotype and season, plus significant genotype × season interaction for beta-amylase activity, but not grain nitrogen. Six lines, showing a range of beta-amylase levels, were malted, using four different steep regimes, followed by 4 or 5 days germination. Highest levels of diastatic power occurred with the longest malting regime, while one line showed relatively high diastatic power, despite moderate levels of grain beta-amylase. Phenotypic testing will be extended to a wider population of the mutants, as it appears likely that lines with enhanced enzyme activity can be detected.
Presenting author, John Stuart Swanston
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Aastrup, S. (2010). Beer from 100% barley. Scandinavian Brewers’ Review, 67, 28–33.
Agu, R. C., Bringhurst, T. A., Brosnan, J. M., & Pearson, S. (2009). Potential of hull-less barley malt for use in malt and grain whisky production. The Journal of the Institute of Brewing, 115, 128–133.
Allison, M. J., & Swanston, J. S. (1974). Relationships between β-amylase polymorphisms in developing, mature and germinating grains of barley. The Journal of the Institute of Brewing, 80, 285–291.
Allison, M. J., Ellis, R. P., Hayter, A. M., & Swanston, J. S. (1979). Breeding for malting quality at the Scottish Plant Breeding Station. Scottish Plant Breeding Annual Report, 58, 92–139.
Arends, A. M., Fox, G. P., Henry, R. J., Marschke, R. J., & Symons, M. H. (1995). Genetic and environmental variation in the diastatic power of Australian barley. Journal of Cereal Science, 21, 63–70.
Bathgate, G. N. (1989). Cereals in Scotch whisky production. In G. H. Palmer (Ed.), Cereal science and technology (pp. 243–278). Aberdeen: Aberdeen University Press.
Bendelow, V. M. (1981). Selection for quality in malting barley breeding. In Proceedings of the Fourth International Barley Genetics Symposium (pp. 181–185). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Bhatty, R. S. (1996). Production of food malt from hull-less barley. Cereal Chemistry, 73, 75–80.
Briggs, D. E. (1998). Malts and malting. New York: Blackie Academic and Professional.
Bringhurst, T. A., Glasgow, E., Agu, R. C., Brosnan, J. M., & Thomas, W. T. B. (2010). Varietal and site interactions in the growing of malting barley for brewing and distilling. In Proceedings of the Tenth International Barley Genetics Symposium (pp. 416–427). Aleppo: International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas.
Bryce, J. H., Goodfellow, V., Agu, R. C., Brosnan, J. M., Bringhurst, T. A., & Jack, F. R. (2010). Effect of different steeping conditions on endosperm modification and quality of distilling malt. Journal of the Institute of Brewing, 116, 125–133.
Eglinton, J. K., Langridge, P., & Evans, D. E. (1998). Thermostability variation in alleles of barley beta-amylase. Journal of Cereal Science, 28, 301–309.
Evans, D. E., Collins, H., Eglinton, J., & Wilhelmson, A. (2005). Assessing the impact of the level of diastatic power enzymes and their thermostability on the hydrolysis of starch during wort production to predict wort fermentability. Journal of the American Society of Brewing Chemists, 63, 185–198.
Hayter, A. M., & Allison, M. J. (1976). Breeding for high diastatic power. In H. Gaul (Ed.), Proceedings of the Third International Barley Genetics Symposium (pp. 612–619). Karl Thiemig: International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas.
Hayter, A. M., & Riggs, T. J. (1978). The inheritance of diastatic power and alpha-amylase contents in spring barley. Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 52, 251–256.
IOB. (1982). Recommended methods of analysis. London: Institute of Brewing. Revision of 1977 Edition.
Kaneko, T., Zhang, W., Takahashi, H., Ito, K., & Takeda, K. (2001). QTL mapping for enzyme activity and thermostability of β-amylase in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). Breeding Science, 51, 99–105.
Li, C. D., Langridge, P., Zhang, X. Q., Eckstein, P. E., Rossnagel, B. G., Lance, R. C. M., Lefol, E. B., Lu, M. Y., Harvey, B. L., & Scoles, G. J. (2002). Mapping of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) beta-amylase alleles in which an amino acid substitution determines beta-amylase isozyme type and the level of free beta-amylase. Journal of Cereal Science, 35, 39–50.
Molina-Cano, J.-L., Roca de Togores, F., Royo, C., & Perez, A. (1989). Fast germinating low β-glucan mutants induced in barley with improved malting quality and yield. Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 78, 748–754.
Molina-Cano, J.-L., Sopena, A., Swanston, J. S., Casas, A. M., Moralejo, M. A., Ubieto, A., Lara, I., Perez-Vendrell, A. M., & Romagosa, I. (1999). A mutant induced in the malting barley cv Triumph with reduced dormancy and ABA response. Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 98, 347–355.
Schwarz, P., & Li, Y. (2011). Malting and brewing uses of barley. In S. E. Ullrich (Ed.), Barley: Production improvement and uses (pp. 478–521). Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
Swanston, J. S. (1980). The use of electrophoresis in testing for high diastatic power in barley. The Journal of the Institute of Brewing, 86, 81–83.
Swanston, J. S., & Middlefell-Williams, J. E. The influence of steep regime and germination period on the malting properties of some hull-less barley lines. The Journal of The Institute of Brewing. submitted.
Swanston, J. S., & Middlefell-Williams, J. E. (2010, April 6–8). Hulless barley mutants may improve alcohol yields and reduce energy use in malt whisky distilling. Abstract Proceedings of the EUCARPIA Cereals Meeting, Cambridge, UK.
Swanston, J. S., & Molina-Cano, J.-L. (2001). Beta-amylase activity and thermostability in two mutants derived from the malting barley cv. Triumph. Journal of Cereal Science, 33, 155–161.
Swanston, J. S., Middlefell-Williams, J. E., Forster, B. P., & Thomas, W. T. B. (2011). Effects of grain and malt β-glucan on distilling quality in a population of hull-less barley. The Journal of the Institute of Brewing, 117, 389–393.
Acknowledgements
The James Hutton Institute is supported by the Scottish Government Rural and Environment Science and Analysis Services (RESAS) Division. The authors also thank the Scottish Society for Crop Research (SSCR) for the additional funding.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Zhejiang University Press and Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this paper
Cite this paper
Swanston, J.S., Middlefell-Williams, J.E. (2013). Screening Hull-less Barley Mutants for Potential Use in Grain Whisky Distilling. In: Zhang, G., Li, C., Liu, X. (eds) Advance in Barley Sciences. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4682-4_14
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4682-4_14
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-007-4681-7
Online ISBN: 978-94-007-4682-4
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)