Effects of arabinoxylan solubilization on wort viscosity and filtration when mashing with grist containing wheat and wheat malt

Arabinoxylans are partially water-extractable, high-molecular-weight polymers that contribute to the problems of viscosity and membrane filterability during beer brewing. These problems are more pronounced when wheat and wheat malt are used as adjuncts due to their higher arabinoxylan contents and higher molecular weights. This paper aimed at investigating the effects of mashing temperature, time, grist size and liquor:grist ratio on the solubilization of arabinoxylans. Results indicated that increasing the mashing temperature generally increased the amount of arabinoxylans released into the wort. When greater proportions of wheat or wheat malt were used as adjunct, higher arabinoxylan contents in the final wort were observed. The more finely ground the grist, the more were arabinoxylans released into the wort. When more diluted mashes were used, more efficient solubilization of arabinoxylans was observed. The effects of arabinoxylan content and β-glucan content on the wort viscosity were also examined using a General Linear Model (GLM). There was a good correlation (R2 = 0.98) between wort viscosity and its arabinoxylan and β-glucan contents.