JOURNAL OF THE INSTITUTE OF BREWING, vol.125, no.2, pp.230-234, 2019 (SCI-Expanded)
In brewing, the mash or wort is frequently acidified by the addition of lactic acid or the bioacidification of the mash. The present study provides an alternative approach for mash or wort acidification by the simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) of malt dust. In this method, fermentable carbohydrates released by the enzymatic breakdown of the cellulosic portion of the malt dust are converted to lactic acid by lactic acid bacteria. The effect of temperature, ranging between 45 and 51 degrees C, solid loading of malt dust at 2, 5 and 10% (w/v) on a dry basis, and enzyme loading at 0.65, 2.6 and 6.5 filter paper units (FPU) per gram malt dust on SSF and change in pH in mash acidification were examined. The final pH and lactic acid concentration and final glucose concentration of the SSF media were significantly affected by the temperature of the process (p < 0.05). The highest lactic acid titre (9.7 g/L) and the lowest pH (3.12) were obtained by SSF of 10% (w/v) malt dust at 45 degrees C with 6.5 FPU/g. The pH of the mashing solution [containing 20% (w/v) ground malt] decreased to around 5.4 and 5.2 after adding 1.9 and 2.9% of SSF media with pH 3.39. (C) 2019 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling