Methods are provided which include steeping and/or spraying a harvested cereal grain, such as barley, wheat, rye, millet, corn (maize), rice, or oats, in or with an aqueous solution including an effective amount of chlorine dioxide to provide a treated cereal grain. The treated cereal grain obtained from chlorine-dioxide steeping and/or spraying generally has a reduced microorganism and/or toxin content, and may be subjected to additional malting processes.

A continuous method of producing dried malted grains is disclosed. The method comprises: (a) providing a continuous stream of steeped grains having a water content of at least 30 wt. %; (b) transporting the stream through a germination stage to produce a continuous stream of malted grains, the germination stage comprising (i) maintaining the grains at 10-30 C. and (ii) maintaining the water content of the grains within the range of 20-38 wt. %, the residence time of the grains in the germination stage being in the range of 12 to 36 hours; (c) transporting a layer of the malted grains with a second moving conveyor through a drying stage to produce a continuous stream of dried malted grains, the residence time of the grains in the drying stage being in the range of 2 to 24 hours. Also disclosed is a dried malted barley that is obtained by the aforementioned method.

A continuous method of producing dried malted grains is disclosed. The method comprises: (a) providing a continuous stream of steeped grains having a water content of at least 30 wt. %; (b) transporting the stream through a germination stage to produce a continuous stream of malted grains, the germination stage comprising (i) maintaining the grains at 10-30 C. and (ii) maintaining the water content of the grains within the range of 20-38 wt. %, the residence time of the grains in the germination stage being in the range of 12 to 36 hours; (c) transporting a layer of the malted grains with a second moving conveyor through a drying stage to produce a continuous stream of dried malted grains, the residence time of the grains in the drying stage being in the range of 2 to 24 hours. Also disclosed is a dried malted barley that is obtained by the aforementioned method.

The present application discloses a malt production method and a method for improving the antioxidant activity of malt, wherein grains are subjected to at least one steeping step, in which the grains are immersed in hydrogen water with a dissolved hydrogen concentration of 0.3 to 1.6 ppm. By using hydrogen rich water in malt production, it is possible to take into account simultaneous improvements to multiple quality indicators at the same time. The positive biological effects of hydrogen rich water are especially significant. The increased content of -amino nitrogen in the malt brings greater economic benefit to malt producers. Moreover, the colour intensity and turbidity of the malt are significantly reduced, effectively solving the problem of wort often being turbid. The endogenous antioxidant activity of malt, wort and even fermented beverages is increased, as desired by malt producers and the brewing industry. No additional additives are introduced during malt production.

The present application discloses a malt production method and a method for improving the antioxidant activity of malt, wherein grains are subjected to at least one steeping step, in which the grains are immersed in hydrogen water with a dissolved hydrogen concentration of 0.3 to 1.6 ppm. By using hydrogen rich water in malt production, it is possible to take into account simultaneous improvements to multiple quality indicators at the same time. The positive biological effects of hydrogen rich water are especially significant. The increased content of -amino nitrogen in the malt brings greater economic benefit to malt producers. Moreover, the colour intensity and turbidity of the malt are significantly reduced, effectively solving the problem of wort often being turbid. The endogenous antioxidant activity of malt, wort and even fermented beverages is increased, as desired by malt producers and the brewing industry. No additional additives are introduced during malt production.

The present disclosure relates to a method for producing dried flavored malted cereals, comprising the steps of providing cereals; adding at least one solid infusible material for flavoring said cereals during a malting process of said cereals, wherein said malting process of cereals comprises the steps of at least one steeping step, at least one germination step, and at least one drying step; obtaining dried flavored malted cereals; and separating said at least one solid infusible material from the dried flavored malted cereals by means of at least one separation technique, selected from the following: gravity separation, optical separation, and separation by size. The present disclosure further relates to a use of a separation technique for separating said at least one solid infusible material, to dried flavored malted cereals obtained by the method and a beverage product or food product.

The present disclosure relates to a method for producing dried flavored malted cereals, comprising the steps of providing cereals; adding at least one solid infusible material for flavoring said cereals during a malting process of said cereals, wherein said malting process of cereals comprises the steps of at least one steeping step, at least one germination step, and at least one drying step; obtaining dried flavored malted cereals; and separating said at least one solid infusible material from the dried flavored malted cereals by means of at least one separation technique, selected from the following: gravity separation, optical separation, and separation by size. The present disclosure further relates to a use of a separation technique for separating said at least one solid infusible material, to dried flavored malted cereals obtained by the method and a beverage product or food product.

The invention relates to barley plants having a high -amylase activity. The barley plants of the invention may for example carry a mutation in one or more -amylase promoters, in the HIRT gene, in the HBL12 gene and/or in the WRKY38 gene. The invention further provides plant products prepared from said barley plants.

Embodiments of the disclosure relate to a method of accelerating a malting process. In the method, a grain is steeped in water including -glucanase to produce chitted malt. The chitted malt is germinated to produce green malt, and during germinating, an aqueous mixture including -glucanase and Gibberellic acid is applied to the chitted malt. The green malt is then kilned to reduce the moisture content to produce a batch of malt. Advantageously, the finished batch of malt exhibits lower levels of deoxynivalenol contamination than conventional malts.

Embodiments of the disclosure relate to a method of accelerating a malting process. In the method, a grain is steeped in water including -glucanase to produce chitted malt. The chitted malt is germinated to produce green malt, and during germinating, an aqueous mixture including -glucanase and Gibberellic acid is applied to the chitted malt. The green malt is then kilned to reduce the moisture content to produce a batch of malt. Advantageously, the finished batch of malt exhibits lower levels of deoxynivalenol contamination than conventional malts.