Abstract:Objective This study aimed to investigate the impacts of malted highland barley on beer brewing and flavor.Method Three distinct cultivars of highland barley and malted highland barley were used as adjuncts in beer production. The physicochemical properties of the saccharified wort, fermentation parameters of beer, volatile flavor compound composition, and aroma sensory characteristics were systematically analyzed.Result The malting process increased the α-amino nitrogen content in highland barley wort by 54.01%, while reducing the β-glucan content and turbidity by 11.30% and 39.92%, respectively. Regarding fermentation characteristics, the highland barley cultivar ‘Zangqing 20’ exhibited superior performance, with the fermented beer showing higher degree of fermentation (76.8%), ethanol mass fraction (4.1%), and total acid volume fraction (2.4 mL/dL). The beer produced from malted highland barley contained higher mass concentrations of volatile compounds than that from unmalted grains. A total of 73 volatile compounds were identified in the highland barley beer, with 20 key flavor compounds exhibiting odor activity values (OAV) >1. Notably, n-hexanol, phenethyl acetate, phenylethyl alcohol, ethyl acetate, isoamyl alcohol, linalool, and ethyl caprylate were identified as potential aroma markers for distinguishing between the beer produced from malted and unmalted highland barley. Furthermore, partial least squares regression analysis elucidated the significant contributions of these 20 key flavor compounds to various sensory attributes, particularly highlighting the strong correlations of esters with fruity, floral, sour, malty, and grassy aromas.Conclusion In summary, malted highland barley is more suitable as a beer adjunct than unmalted highland barley, and the beer produced with malted highland barley exhibits superior overall quality. These findings provide valuable insights into the fermentation technology of highland barley beer and offer theoretical support for the development and quality enhancement of highland barley beer products.
