MEASUREMENT OF DIASTATIC POWER

Abstract

Modifications to the method of estimating the diastatic power of malt using starch hydrolysis and determination of reducing sugar released with p‐hydroxybenzoic acid hydrazide are described. Using 40 g malt, 4% w/v soluble starch reduced with sodium borohydride and a “boiled enzyme blank”, the production of reducing sugar is directly proportional to volume of added extract. Using a constant amount of extract, the reaction is directly proportional to time over a period of 30 min. The method enables the direct estimation of the diastatic power of malts with Windisch‐Kohlbach values of up to 434 degrees. 1990 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling