Preparation of wort and beer of high nutritional value, and corresponding products

Abstract

In a process for the production of a cereal beer made from a cereal or mixture of cereals, an aqueous cereal slurry is prepared from wet milled rolled or crushed cereal, heat treated cereal flour, and their mixtures. The slurry is malted at a temperature above 50° C. in the presence of starch degrading enzymes and, optionally, protein degrading enzymes. Degradation of soluble β-glucan is avoided by controlling β-glucanase activity. Upon cooling, insoluble material is removed to form a cereal wort which is boiled with hops to destroy all enzymatic activity. Substantial amounts of boiled traditional wort may be added during the process. Fermentation of the wort produces a beer containing a high amount of soluble β-glucan. Also disclosed are products prepared by the process.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.