Group leader: Dipl.-Ing. Christoph Neugrodda
The key areas are the design of raw materials, cultivation and process/product interactions. This includes multiple cereals and pseudo-cereals, hops and If necessary auxiliary materials. New breedings of different cereals and pseudo-cereals are evaluated with regard on their malting properties, evaluation of their suitability and the optimization of the processing for beverage production respectively. The information gathered is used to define demands set to a future oriented raw material design. The focus of this research is set onto barley used for brewing. The fundamental research is therefore focused on the chemical, physical, functional and quality-relevant properties of the raw material ingredients (starch, proteins, polyphenols) and their conversion/alteration during the malting process and the beverage production. The goal is to determine the functional and quality-influencing properties with regard to the beverage properties (richness, turbidity stability, taste stability, microbial properties, foam stability, etc.).
01IF22515N – Methode development for fast prediction of starch-related processing issues and adaptation of mashing parameters for malts with unfavourable starch properties
The processability of the raw materials is of fundamental importance for beer production to ensure consistent process and product quality. A central process step is the saccharification process of the starch in the mash, which, in addition to the enzymatic potential of the raw material, is significantly influenced by the structural properties and the associated physicochemical properties of the starch in the brewing malt. If starch saccharification is insufficient, this has a negative impact on all subsequent processing steps, including the quality of the end product. The recent above-average hot and dry summers have led to starch-related problems in the brewing industry, with a lasting reduction in process and product quality.
To reduce or avoid processing problems in the future, a practical rapid method for the analytical recording of gelatinization and saccharification behavior is required, as well as technological recommendations for adjusting process parameters to process batches with unfavorable starch characteristics.
IGF_2024-01210 Impact of biotic and abiotic stress on starch synthesis and brewing quality in malting barley
Climate change is increasingly influencing the yield and quality of malting barley due to hot and dry periods. Starch synthesis and the resulting starch structure are particularly affected. At the same time, extreme weather events increase the dynamics and severity of cereal diseases. Abiotic and biotic stress has led to processing difficulties in recent years, such as increased gelatinization temperatures, long saccharification times, lower final fermentation levels, and, thus, economic losses for breweries. At the same time, Fusarium infections significantly reduce grain quality and contaminate the barley with harmful mycotoxins. The influence of abiotic stress and the interaction with Fusarium infections on the grain quality of barley are still largely unknown at the physiological level but are essential for the resulting malting process and malt quality.
The research project aims to investigate starch formation in malting barley under different climatic growing conditions and combined Fusarium infections of the grains. Detailed knowledge of the regulatory mechanisms of gene expression and their impact on the change in starch structure and pathogen response under simultaneous abiotic stress is to be gained. Global gene expression analysis will identify marker genes that correlate with favorable starch properties and increased disease resistance in different barley varieties under stress conditions. The results will serve as a basis for developing new solutions for processing barley batches from years with unfavorable growing conditions. The intended characterization of 30 malting barley varieties for their starch quality under abiotic stress and disease resistance validates the marker genes. It provides suitable candidates for crossing parents to create new breeding populations and variety recommendations for malting barley varieties already available on the market.