Bioresource Technology 66 (1998) 253-261

1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved

Printed in Great Britain
0960-8524/98 S--see front matter
ELSEVIER

PI I:S0960-8524(98)00047-9

A R E A S S E S S M E N T OF S O R G H U M FOR L A G E R - B E E R
BREWING
R. C. Agu* & G. H. Palmer
International Centrefor Brewing and Distilling (1CBD), Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK
(Received 17 December 1997; revised version received 4 February 1998; accepted 11 February 1998)

more are being developed of desired grain quality

(Haln, 1966). However, the two most important
species are Sorghum bicolor (L) Moench and
Sorghum vulgare cv Fara fara. As a world food grain,
sorghum is ranked fifth (Pomeranz, 1987), after
wheat, maize, rice and barley. It is also the third
largest cereal crop in the United States of America
(Rooney, 1967), where it finds wide application in
animal feed production (Rooney et al., 1986).
Sorghum is also produced in large quantities in
China, India, Argentina, Nigeria, Mexico and
Australia.
Sorghum is the main food grain in parts of India
and Africa, where it is mainly used in making bread,
porridges and opaque alcoholic beers (Rooney et al.,
1986; Serna-Saldivar et al., 1988; Bello et al., 1990;
Mohammed et al., 1993). Although sorghum has
been used for centuries to brew traditional (opaque)
beer in Africa (Faparusi, 1970; Novellie, 1977;
Ogundiwin and Tehinse, 1981), in recent times
sorghum beer brewing has developed into a major
industry. These types of beers differ from European
(lager) types in that lactic acid fermentation also
occurs during sorghum beer processing. Also, the
alcoholic drink is consumed while still fermenting,
and it contains large amounts of insoluble materials
(Rooney and Serna-Saldivar, 1991). These are
mainly starch fragments and dextrins which are not
digested during mashing and fermentation (Glennie
and Wight, 1986).
Although sorghum grain has always been a potential source of industrial brewing material, it was not
until World War II, when brewing materials were
scarce, followed by extensive discussion in 1943 on
brewing with sorghum, that sorghum was offered as
a brewing adjunct (Haln, 1966). Brewing with
sorghum grits as adjunct faded out immediately with
the end of World War II. The large quantity of
sorghum grain and its usually low price (Haln, 1966)
has enabled sorghum to remain as an important
source of starch and protein.

Abstract

The out-of-steep moisture of sorghum is lower than

expected (33-36%), but is adequate for enzymic
modification of endosperm substrates of sorghum,
producing sufficient amylolytic enzymes for brewing
lager-type beers. The 65C standard mashing procedure
fimited extract recovery from sorghum malt due to
inadequate gelatinization of sorghum starch. The 65C
mashing was, however, optimal for nitrogen solubilization and hydrolysis of the soluble proteins, yielding
high levels of peptides and amino acids. In order to
obtain optimal extract yield containing sufficient mashtun sugar~protein extracts from sorghum malt, a
controlled temperature mashing regime would be
required. /t high germination temperature of 30C is
required for optimal sorghum malt qualities, even
though excessively high respiratory and carbohydrate
malting loss occurred at 30C germination. This
notwithstanding,
sorghum germinated at 30C
contained higher nitrogen materials in the embryo than
in the roots. Also the presence of minerals in the
embryo of sorghum may, in part, influence the enzymeproducing potentials of the embryo of sorghum.
1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved
Key words: sorghum, malting, lager beer, enzymes,
extract yield.
INTRODUCTION

Sorghum, an indigenous African cereal, is very well

adapted to the semi-arid and sub-tropical conditions
prevailing over most of the African continent. Like
rice and barley, sorghum belongs to the grass family
- - the Gramineae. An advantage of sorghum is that
it can yield a crop under harsh environmental stress,
such as drought, where temperate cereals fail to
grow. This property is important, especially in a
world that is regarded in some quarters as getting
hotter. Over 10000 cuitivars of sorghum exist and
*Author to whom all correspondence should be addressed
253

254

R. C. Agu, G. H. Palmer

It is noteworthy that in countries like Mexico,

Cuba, Nigeria and Israel, the commercial value of
sorghum is shifting from a food source for humans
and animals to the raw material for the industrial
production of European-type lager beer (Palmer et
al., 1989). This recent development in the commercial value of sorghum in lager-beer brewing should
encourage radical agricultural mechanization in the
growing of sorghum (Palmer et al., 1989). This is
more so for a country like Nigeria where only
sorghum and maize are used to brew large volumes
of European-type lager beer. For example, prior to
the commercial use of sorghum in lager-beer
brewing in Nigeria, the annual production figure for
sorghum for 1967/70 was 4 million tonnes (Olayide
et al., 1972), rising to between 4-8 and 5 million
tonnes in 1988/89 (Aisien, 1988; Palmer et al., 1989).
In recent times, however, a dramatic change in
the trend of sorghum production in Nigeria has been
reported, probably reflecting the commercial use of
sorghum in beer production in Nigeria (Anon,
1993). Recent reports show that the supply and
demand statistics for sorghum grown in Nigeria in
1991 was estimated at 10 and 12million tonnes,
respectively. These figures are significantly higher
than the production figures reported for 1970 or
1989. Notwithstanding this rise, these production
figures are far below the 21 million tonnes produced
in the United States of America (Palmer et al.,
1989).
The literature is filled with brewing-related
studies on sorghum, especially with a view to substituting barley malt with sorghum malt (Skinner, 1976;
Okafor and Aniche, 1980; Aisien and Muts, 1987).
However, some studies have suggested that the use
of sorghum malt in lager-beer brewing is not likely
to succeed because of some inherent problems
associated with sorghum (Aisien, 1982, 1988;
Glennie et al., 1983; Glennie, 1984; Morrall et al.,
1986; Dale et al., 1989, 1990; Bajomo and Young,
1990; EtokAkpan and Palmer, 1990a,b; Palmer,
1991). The present purpose is to report further
research findings on the use of sorghum and malt in
brewing clear lager beers. Some important physiological differences between sorghum and barley will
also be highlighted, which should be of value for
both the food and brewing industries.

wine made from barley, while liquor made from

corn and water was brewed in Germany and Spain.
Although brewing was introduced into ancient
Greece and Italy, it does not appear to have ever
been used extensively in these countries. The
manufacture of ale is an old tradition in England.
Other countries too, including Russia and some
African countries, have ancient records of the
preparations of intoxicating liquors from a variety of
cereals.
"All the nations" says Pliny, "who inhabit the west
of Europe have liquor with which they intoxicate
themselves, made from corn and water (fruge
madida). The manner of making this liquor is
somewhat different in Gaul, Spain and other
countries, and it is called by many various names;
but its nature and properties are everywhere the
same. The people of Spain, in particular, brew this
liquor so well that it will keep good for a long time.
So exquisite is the ingenuity of mankind in gratifying
their vicious appetite, that they have thus invented a
method to make water itself intoxicated".
It is clear that from the onset the brewing
industry depended to a great extent on cereal grains,
the primary raw material. In modern brewing,
however, barley has acquired an international
acceptance as the brewing grain of choice, probably
due to some inherent special qualities it has, or due
to extensive research conducted on barley which has
resulted in a considerable improvement of the
brewing qualities associated with barley. Beer is
therefore defined as a beverage obtained by
alcoholic fermentation of malted cereal, usually
barley malt, with or without other starchy materials
and to which hops have been added (Jasper and
Philip, 1974). Hoyrop (1978), on the other hand,
defined lager beer as a brew from barley malt, which
is stored for a period of time for maturing. But beer
is also considered as the generic term for liquors
made from malted barley, variously called beer, ale,
stout, porter and lager. Lager and ale are usually
produced using bottom- and top-fermenting yeasts,
respectively.

B R I E F HISTORY OF THE G E N E R A L USE OF

GRAINS IN BREWING

The chemical compositions of cereal grains are

similar, suggesting their general use in brewing. This
is illustrated in Table 1. The similarity of grain
composition notwithstanding, some factors and/or
variations in different parameters may, however,
limit the grain for use in brewing. For example,
although rice is slightly higher in starch due to the
low protein and fat content, its value as a staple
food in most countries of the world will limit
expanded use of rice as a brewing cereal. Wheat is
characterized by its high content of expandable

The manufacture of alcoholic liquor is at least

6000years old. Some of the oldest records of
brewing are from Egypt, China, Greece and Rome
(Jasper and Philip, 1974). The manufacture of
alcoholic drink was practised at least 5000 years ago
by the Egyptians (Anon, 1973). In the middle ages,
brewing was associated with the monasteries.
Horodotus (450 BC) recorded that Egyptians drank

USE OF VARIOUS C E R E A L S A N D POTENTIALS

OF S O R G H U M IN M O D E R N BREWING

Reassessment of sorghum .for lager-beer brewing

Table I. Percentage average composition of cereal grains
(dry basis)

Starch
Protein
Fat
Fibre
Ash

Sorghum

Corn

Wheat

Barley

Rice

7 l" I
10-5
3-0
2-0
1-5

72" l
9.5
4.5
2.0
1"5

69-8
13-2
1-9
2-6
1-8

67"11
12.7
1.9
5.4
2.8

73-0
9-2
1.4
2-7
1-8

Source: Haln (1966).

proteins (Briggs et al., 1981; Palmer, 1989) and this

may present a serious problem during the brewing
process, especially with regards to lautering and
haze. Corn is used internationally as a brewing
adjunct. Sorghum is similar to corn in chemical
composition (Table 1), except that the fat content of
sorghum is lower than corn, which is advantageous
in brewing.
As regards fermentable carbohydrate extracts,
sorghum is similar to the corn and rice used internationally as brewing adjuncts. The high starch
content of sorghum, if converted to sugars, and the
low price of sorghum (Haln, 1966), would offer not
only a rich source of fermentable extracts, but would
reduce brewing costs. Although, unlike barley,
sorghum does not contain a husk, a disadvantage in
standard brewhouse mash filtration, this would not
present any problem with modern mash filters. It is
interesting to note that a number of large breweries
have used endosperm grits of the type shown in
Table 2 for the production of lager beer, with good
results (Haln, 1966; Canales and Sierra, 1976;
Canales, 1979; Palmer, 1989). From the brews of
each type of adjunct and malt and the wort
fermented separately, the data given in Table 3 were
obtained. It is clear from Table 3 that sorghum
furnished a higher amount of ~-amino nitrogen than
other adjuncts (Haln, 1966). The importance of this
is that a-amino nitrogen is required by yeast during
fermentation so that yeast can grow and produce
alcohol and flavor compounds. The use of cereals
other than barley in brewing is becoming widely
accepted. It is interesting to note that wheat is used
in the production of Weissbier (wheat beer).
Table 2. Properties of brewer's grits (dry basis)

Moisture (%);'
Oil (%)
Extract (%)
Protein (N 6.25)
Fibre (%)
Ash (%)

Sorghum

Corn

Rice

11.7
0.72
91.4
10.40
0'75
0"30

1 i.6
0-92
91.1
9.65
0'80
0"35

12-2
0-78
93'6

Source: Haln (1966).

"Grain moisture reflects the level of moisture at which the
grain will keep safe without deterioration when stored.

255

USE OF SORGHUM MALT IN MODERN BEER

BREWING
Enzyme generation by sorghum malts
One serious problem usually highlighted in experimental studies of brewing with sorghum malt is
insufficient enzyme levels. Early studies (Kneen,
1944, 1945) led to the incorrect view that because
sorghum malt contained little or no fl-amylase for
saccharification it was unsuitable for brewing lagertype beers. Other workers (Novellie, 1959, 1960a,b,
1962a,b; Okon and Uwaifo, 1984, 1985) argued that
sorghum has sufficient amylolytic enzymes but the
conventional methods of enzyme assay for barley
were unsuitable for research studies on sorghum. In
support of this view, Dufour et al. (1992) reported
that although brewers' specifications for barley malt
are fairly established, this is far from the case with
sorghum malt. When different methods (South
African Bureau of Standards, 1970) were used for
the determination of sorghum malt diastatic power,
Taylor and
Robbins
(1993)
reported
that
ungerminated sorghum grain exhibited no fi-amylasc
activity, but when malted, sorghum had //-amylase
activity of less than 25% of the level in barley malt.
Because neither reducing agent nor papain
increased the level of //-amylase enzymes, these
workers concluded that /~-amylase in sorghum was
not in the bound form, unlike in barley. However, as
in barley, sorghum /~-amylase was more temperature-labile than its ~-amylase (Taylor and Robbins,
1993).
Extract yields
Limited endosperm cell wall degradation, with thc
inherent economic drawbacks of low extract yields,
poor wort separation and poor beer filtration
(Aisien, 1982, 1988; Glennie et al., 1983; Glennie,
1984; Okon and Uwaifo, 1985; Morrall et al., 1986;
Aniche and Palmer, 1990a; Bajomo and Young,
1990; EtokAkpan and Palmer, 1990a,b; Palmer,
1991) are other obstacles reported when sorghum
malt is used in lager-beer production. To overcome
the problem of low extract yield from sorghum malt,
Skinner (1976) adopted a very extensive mashing
procedure involving a three-stage decoction
technique to extract sorghum malt. The extract yield
obtained from this mashing regime was lower than
the levels usually obtained from a well-modified
sample of barley malt.
Although Dufour et al. (1992) obtained extract
recovery of 82-7% from sorghum malt, which is
higher than values reported elsewhere (Skinner,
1976; Okon and Uwaifo, 1984, 1985), this value was
again lower than that from barley malt. The higher
extract yield of 82-7% and reasonable attenuation
limit achieved from sorghum malt (Dufour et al.,
1992) led these workers to conclude that it is
feasible to produce sorghum malts of a quality
similar to barley malt if the right sorghum cultivars

R. C. Agu, G. H. Palmer

256

Table 3. Average wort properties of the brews

Adjuncts
Sorghum grits
Corn grits
Brewer's rice
Corn syrup
Cane sugar
Barley malt 7"2P
Barley malt 12P

Plato"

pH

Total nitrogen
(ppm)

a-Amino nitrogen
(ppm)

Diacetyl
(ppm)

Antho-cyanogen
(ppm)

12"0
12.0
12' 1
12.0
12.1
7"2
12.0

5-30
5.35
5-35
5"30
5-40
5.45
5.40

782
820
812
785
775
835
1345

317
251
239
181
188
185
415

0"14
0"15
0"15
0.16
0-14
0-11
0.12

17-1
19.4
25.4
25"0
46.1
44.9
84.2

Source: Haln (1966).

"Plato is a measure of extracts recovered as excess gravity of water.
are selected. This supports earlier studies (Glennie
et al., 1985). In further support of this view, Palmer
(1989) reported that high extract yield could be
obtained from sorghum malt by means of a threestage mashing procedure, but the corresponding
fermentable extracts were significantly lower than
they were in barley malt worts.
Fermentable sugars
Regarding the relative amounts of fermentable
sugars in sorghum and barley worts, the major
difference was found to reside in the glucose content
(Palmer, 1989; Dufour et al., 1992; Taylor, 1992;
Byrne et al., 1993). While some workers found
barley malt worts to contain more maltose than
glucose (Briggs et al., 1981; Dufour et al., 1992),
others reported that sorghum malt worts contain
similar levels of glucose and maltose (Taylor, 1992;
Byrne et al., 1993). The difference observed in the
proportions of glucose and maltose sugars in
sorghum and barley malt worts was attributed to the
low levels of/I-amylase enzymes in sorghum malt, in
contrast to the high levels of this enzyme in barley
malt (Palmer, 1989). Other workers (Byrne et al.,
1993; Taylor and Dewar, 1994) attributed the high
level of glucose found in sorghum malt wort to the
catalytic activity of ~-glucosidase in hydrolysing
maltose to glucose in sorghum malt wort. When high
levels of glucose are present in fermentable extract,
some yeast strains may lose their capacity to ferment
maltose (Griffin, 1970; Lovegren and Hautern,
1977). The risk is real for sorghum wort if glucose
syrup is used to supplement sorghum malt wort
(Dufour et al., 1992).
The drawbacks highlighted above in using
sorghum malt in lager-beer brewing led some
workers to propose that since enzymes were also
required when malted sorghum was used alone for
brewing, the best practical approach was to use
commercial enzymes to convert unmalted sorghum
grains (Macfadden, 1989; Dale et al., 1989; Bajomo
and Young, 1993). However, mashing experiments
performed using unmalted instead of malted
sorghum and exogenous enzymes are associated with
processing difficulties (Albini et al., 1987; Aisien,
1988; Dale et al., 1989, 1990; Ugboaja et al., 1991).

Most important is poor foam retention (Dale et al.,

1989). Studies show that the use of exogenous
enzymes in mashing raw sorghum reduced foam
head retention because commercial proteolytic
enzymes destroyed foam proteins (Agu and Palmer,
1998). Although it was argued that the best practical
approach was to mash raw sorghum with commercial
enzymes, one major advantage in favour of using
malted sorghum as a percentage of the raw material
in lager-beer brewing is that the proteolytic enzymes
of the malted grain produced sufficient free a-amino
nitrogen (FAN) for efficient buffering capacity and
optimal yeast performance (Haln, 1966; Palmer,
1989; Bajomo and Young, 1993).
Physiological differences of sorghum and barley in
relation to malting
Recent studies on malting of sorghum show that a
germinative energy at 99% level can be achieved
with some sorghum varieties (Table 4). This suggests
that even germination will occur during malting of
sorghum. Germination of grains is an essential part
of the malting process because when grains do not
germinate, or germinate poorly, they do not contribute to the enzyme development of the malt and
uneven modification of the malt occurs. Sufficient
enzyme modification of the endosperm substrates
will not be achieved and will result in sub-optimal
extract development. Also important is that
ungerminated grains have been shown to be ready
sources of microbial infection during malting of
grains [Iygor, 1987; Agu and Palmer, 1997c (unpublished data)]. This could lead to the production of
malt with potentials to develop aflatoxins during the
brewing process.
Protein content, grain hydration
The protein value of sorghum, 8-11% (Table 4), is
of an acceptable level for effective proteolysis during
malting of sorghum (Palmer, 1989). High nitrogen
levels may limit the extent of proteolysis in cereal
grains to be malted, and hence may limit the release
of starch and protein reserves of the grain. It is
interesting to note that when sorghum grains are
steeped in water, a preparatory stage for germina-

257

Reassessment of sorghum for lager-beer brewing

Table 4. Properties of sorghum and sorghum malt and extracts, malting temperature 30C

Sorghum
Moisture (%)
G.E. (%) 4 ml test
Total nitrogen (%)
Protein (N x 6-25)
Out-of-steep moisture (%)
Malting loss (%)
a-Amylase (U/g)
fl-Amylase (U/g)
Wort colour (L)
HWE (l/kg)a
TSN (%)b
FAN (mg/l) " Ninhydrin assay
FAN (mg/1) TNBS assay
TRS (/~g/ml)
Glucose (mg/l)
Maltose (mg/l)

Malt

Extract

9"4-13"0
80-99
1"47-1"74
9"2-10"9
33-36
21"3-28"5
39-135
80-168
5"5-12"0
270-327 (89-196) '~
0"5-0'7 (0"3-0"6)d
135-316 (94-216) d
164-412 (172-350)"
98-188
24-220
68-245

~HWE (hot water extract) is a measure of soluble materials leached into water under mashing conditions at 65C.
"TSN (total soluble nitrogen) is a measure of nitrogen materials solubilized as a result of proteolysis during malting, which
are extracted during mashing.
~FAN (free amino nitrogen) is a measure of hydrolysed portions of the soluble proteins during mashing.
dValues in parenthesis are from 65C mashing regime.
tion, the maximum hydration obtained from
sorghum is usually 33-36% (Evans and Taylor,
1990; Agu and Palmer, 1996) (see also Table 4).
This value of out-of-steep moisture for sorghum is
lower than 44-46% in the case of barley (Baxter,
1978; Baxter and O'Farrell, 1980; Baxter et al.,
1980). It is not clear if the pericarp of sorghum
behaves in a similar manner to that of barley, e.g.
permeable to water but semi-permeable to some
salts (Palmer et al., 1989). However, the limited level
of water, 33-36%, imbibed during steeping of
sorghum, suggests limited permeability of the
pericarp, or poor hydration potentials of endosperm,
of sorghum. Adequate hydration is important for
maximum enzymic modification of endosperm
substrates during germination (malting). This
highlights one important physiological difference
between barley and sorghum, and may in part
account for the differences in the mode of enzymic
modification of the endosperm reported for barley
and sorghum.
Notwithstanding, this low out-of-steep moisture is
optimal for the germination of sorghum. The
additional water required to maintain enzyme
modification of the endosperm during malting of
sorghum is supplied by spraying on limited quantities of water. When barley is germinated at a higher
temperature than the optimal malting temperature
of 16 or 17C, excessive moisture is lost. The usual
practice of adding water to sorghum at 25C during
germination, for effective enzymic modification of
endosperm substrates, was not effective for barley
(Agu and Palmer, 1997b). This highlights another
important physiological difference during malting of
sorghum and barley. It is noteworthy that an
increase in germination temperature of 3-4C

limited enzymic modification of the endosperm of

barley (Agu and Palmer, 1997b). These observations
show that the malting procedures developed for
barley are not likely to work for sorghum because of
differences in the physiology of sorghum and barley
grains.
Malting r e s p o n s e

When sorghum was malted at different temperatures, highest respiratory and carbohydrate malting
losses occurred at the higher germination temperature of 30C (Table 4). This high malting loss
notwithstanding, optimal malt qualities for sorghum
were obtained when the malt was made at 30C
(Novellie, 1962a; Okafor and Aniche, 1980;
Pathirana et al., 1983; Maileshi and Desikachar,
1986; Onwuama and Okafor, 1991; Ratnavathi and
Ravi, 1991; Demuyakor and Ohta, 1992; Lasekan et
al., 1995; Agu and Palmer, 1996). This probably
reflects the tropical physiology of sorghum. Barley
responded differently, producing optimal malt
qualities at more temperate germination temperatures of 16-17C. This observation further highlights
physiological differences between sorghum and
barley.
It is worth noticing that the high malting loss of
sorghum germinated at 30C was associated with
higher levels of nitrogen in the embryo than in the
roots of sorghum when malted at 30C than at 20C
(Agu and Palmer, 1996). Corresponding high levels
of nitrogen materials were found in the embryo of
barley germinated at 17C. It is interesting to note
that although high nitrogen concentrations were
found in the embryos of sorghum and barley during
germination (malting), the enzyme production sites
of both cereal grains differ.

258

R. C. Agu, G. H. Pahner

Location of enzymes
The embryo is the major site for the synthesis of
many hydrolytic enzymes in sorghum. In contrast,
the aleurone layer is the major production site for
hydrolytic enzymes in barley (Varner and Chandra,
1964; Macleod et al., 1964; Aisien et al., 1983;
Mundy et al., 1983; Palmer, 1989; Aniche and
Palmer, 1991)b). The difference between the production sites of these hydrolytic enzymes in the two
grains, barley and sorghum, further suggests that
different physiological factors may be playing a key
role in the observed difference in the enzyme
production sites of both cereals. In this regard, it is
worth noting that whilst gibberellic acid is required
for enzyme synthesis and release in barley, this
hormone plays no such role in enzyme development
in sorghum. Phosphate is an important mineral of
the aleurone in barley - - in sorghum this mineral is
mainly located in the embryo (Palmer et al., 1989),
and in part, may account for differences in the
enzyme-producing potentials of the aleurone of
barley and the embryo of sorghum.
Enzyme development and soluble carbohydrate and
protein-extract recovery in sorghum malt
Recent studies (Agu and Palmer, 1996, 1997a,b,c)
show that starch hydrolysing enzymes, ~- and
/#amylase, which developed during malting of
sorghum appeared to be in low activities (Table 4),
when assayed using new standard methods
(McCleary and Sheehan, 1987; McCleary and Codd,
1989). These seemingly low enzyme levels of
sorghum malt are nevertheless sufficient to produce
commercially acceptable yields of extract. However,
an adapted mashing procedure developed for
extracting sorghum malt (Agu and Palmer, 1996,
1997a,b), which gelatinized sorghum starch and
protected the enzymes of sorghum malt, must be
used to extract sorghum malt if equivalent starch
extract to that achieved for barley malt is to be
realized. Table 4 shows that extract recovery rates
similar to/or higher than those of well-modified
barley malt were achieved with different sorghum
varieties using this decantation mashing regime
(Agu and Palmer, 1996, 1997a,b,c). In contrast, the
65C standard mashing regime used for barley malt,
which did not gelatinize sorghum starch, produced
extract yields which were low (Okon and Uwaifo,
1984, 1985; Dufour et al., 1992; Agu and Palmer,
1996). It is clear from these results that the main
reason for the low carbohydrate extract yield usually
reported for sorghum malt is caused by inadequate
gelatinization of sorghum starch rather than inadequate levels of hydrolytic enzymes.
The results presented in Table 4 show that the
malting and brewing biochemistry of sorghum is
quite different from the malting and brewing
biochemistry of barley. It is, however, interesting to
note that although the extract recovery from the
65C mashing was low, nitrogen solubilization and

hydrolysis of the soluble nitrogen in sorghum malt

were effective in the 65C mashing procedure (Table
4). Mashing of sorghum malt at 65C rather than the
decantation method resulted in the production of
high levels of peptides (Agu and Palmer, 1996,
1997a,b). Although yeast metabolizes small peptides,
it is not clear how yeast will behave in a medium
containing high peptide levels. This requires further
investigation. However, the result highlights that
whilst a different mashing procedure is required for
efficient extraction of the carbohydrates of sorghum
malt, soluble protein extraction of sorghum malt can
occur at similar mashing procedures to those
routinely used for barley malt. Brewing with
sorghum malt would therefore require the development of a suitable mashing regime which would be
quite different from that of barley malt (Dufour et
al., 1992).
Low maltose yield of sorghum
Regarding the ratios of glucose and maltose sugars
present in sorghum malt wort, different propositions
have been put forward (Palmer, 1989; Dufour et al.,
1992; Byrne et al., 1993; Taylor and Dewar, 1994).
While some workers attributed the low maltose and
high glucose sugars of sorghum malt wort to low
fi-amylase enzyme activity (Palmer, 1989), other
workers attributed this to the role of a-glucosidase
enzyme of sorghum malt in hydrolysing maltose to
glucose (Byrne et al., 1993; Taylor and Dewar,
1994). However, recent studies (Agu and Palmer,
1997c) showed that there is no direct relationship
between ~-glucosidase enzyme levels of sorghum or
barley malt and the maltose to glucose ratios found
in their worts. It is worth noting that barley malt
developed a higher level of ~-glucosidase enzymes
than did sorghum malt, but produced less glucose
and several times more maltose in the wort than in
sorghum wort (Agu and Palmer, 1997c).
It is important to note that the limitation to
maltose production in sorghum malt wort was
caused by inadequate gelatinization of sorghum
starch (Agu and Palmer, 1996, 1997a,c). Although
the different sorghum varieties malted and mashed
under similar conditions showed wide variations in
the sugar profiles in their worts, the variations found
in the sugar profiles could be due to seasonal and
processing differences, but variations caused by
variety and malting temperature do not alter the
greater influence which starch gelatinization has on
the sugar profile of sorghum worts than on those of
barley.

CONCLUSION
This report has shown that sorghum malt can
produce sufficient amylolytic and proteolytic
enzymes for brewing lager-type beer. The low
amylolytic enzyme levels usually reported for

Reassessment of sorghum for lager-beer brewing

sorghum malt seem to relate to the method of

enzyme assay. It is known, however, that a-amylase
attack on sorghum starch during malting could be
greater than that which occurs in barley during
malting (Palmer, 1989). This suggests that the failure
of a-amylase to hydrolyse sorghum starch in the
65C mashing regime is caused by factors affecting
starch gelatinization problems rather than deficiencies in enzyme level.
This paper has also highlighted some important
physiological differences between sorghum and
barley. Like other cereals used in modern brewing,
sorghum undergoes similar physiological changes
when malted. However, in order to obtain optimal
extract yield from sorghum malt, a controlled
temperature mashing procedure rather than the
conventional mashing at 65C would be required. In
general, recent studies (Agu and Palmer, 1996,
1997a,c) show that this decantation mashing
procedure was very effective in extracting sorghum
malt, producing sufficient mash-tun sugar/protein
extracts for optimal yeast fermentation.
Apart from sorghum being a cheap source of
brewing raw material, the high temperature
(25-30C) required to malt sorghum is advantageous
because refrigeration is expensive. Also as a crop,
sorghum is more likely to survive than other cereals
in dry tropical conditions and is likely to play an
important role as a food source in a world that may
be getting warmer. More scientific knowledge is
required about sorghum, not only in terms of germination and food mobilization (modification), but
also in terms of the physiological principles which
ensure that the grain will germinate effectively in the
field. For example, sorghum malt has very low levels
of /3-glucan cell wall material, but /3-glucanase
appears to be required to assist filtration during
mashing (Aisien and Muts, 1987). The reason for
this may be in the differences in the structures of the
endosperm cell walls of sorghum and barley malts.
Sorghum can compliment the use of other cereals as
food for humans and as raw material for brewing
and distilling.

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