Comparative Study on Quality of Gluten Free Beer from Malted and Unmalted Finger Millet (Eleusine Coracana)

Abstract

Beers brewed from barley or wheat based malt are generally considered unsuitable for individuals suffering from coeliac disease or gluten intolerance. Finger millet is one of the gluten free grain for the production of beer and it is widely available in Ethiopia. In this study, brewing with raw finger millet using the Ondea® Pro exogenous enzyme formulation (α- amylase, β-glucanase, xylanase, proteinase, pullulanase, and lipase) was compared to brewing with finger millet malt by using infusion mash method and saccharomyces cervisea yeast for fermentation. The standard quality parameters of beers and worts were assessed according to European Brewery Convention (EBC) method. The physicochemical parameter results of raw finger millet beer (OG=11.85, AE=2.76, Alc (v/v) =4.77, Color=8.15, BU=17.93, ADF=71.2, pH= 4.28, VDK=0.19, Haze=0.75) and malted finger millet beer(OG=11.97, AE=2.69, Alc (v/v) =4.81, Color=13.63, BU=18.12, ADF=73.5, pH= 4.23, VDK=0.18, Haze=0.69) were obtained. The sensory evaluation were also assessed. It was found that brewing with either raw finger millet or finger millet malt can result in good fermentation progress and a satisfactory quality of the beer. The production of beer brewed with raw finger millet lead to a final product whose sensory quality was described as fruity, sweet, with little body and the malted one also characterized as grainy, astringent and slightly bitter Key Words: Raw finger millet, finger millet malt, gluten-free beer, all-finger millet beer, beer