A simulation model for planning of the mashing process

The development of a computer simulation of the mashing process, incorporating mathematical models of starch hydrolysis, beta glucan hydrolysis and proteolysis which predict the effects of changes in mashing temperature on the activity levels of the relevant enzymes and the concentrations in the mash of the products and residues of the enzymic reactions, on the basis of the initial mash composition (liquor, malt grist, adjuncts and exogenous enzyme preparations) is described and the analyses required to obtain the necessary information on raw materials composition are listed. The ability of the simulation to predict the outcome of real brewery mashings depends on the accuracy of the initial input data, but can be quite precise under optimum conditions. Applications include the development of recipes for new beer brands and the determination of the optimum mashing procedures for malts made from new barley varieties or from a new season's crop of existing varieties. It is pointed out that the fact that analyses other than the conventional set of malt quality tests are needed to obtain the malt composition data required by the simulation program is not a fault in the system but indicates the shortcomings of the standard set of malt analyses.