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Proso Millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) a Sustainable Raw Material for the Malting and Brewing Process: A Review
Zarnkow, M., Mauch, A., Burberg, F., Back, W., Arendt, E. A., Kreisz, S., Gastl, M.

On going research further substantiate that consumption of whole grains and grain-based products is associated with health benefits and risk reduction of chronic diseases. Epidemiological studies on these cereals continue to generate an increasing interest on cereal products. This attention also concerns the beverage industry and in the present study, more specifically, malt and beer production, connected with an expansion of the market for gluten free beers. A declaration as an ecological and natural produced good is willingly carried out by the producers. Malted cereals will be appropriate for that kind of declaration because, for brewing purposes, suited malt will offer a good fermented product derived from a simple and well-known technology. More importantly, easy availability is an essential advantage.Proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) has a high potential as an alternative food ingredient especially in regions, where the appropriate growing conditions for cereals like wheat, barley, among others, are not met. This paper reviews publications and technical literature on P. miliaceum. By doing so, it provides an overview of the cereal composition and, if found, of its structures? behaviour when used for malt, wort and beer production. Many of the verified publications deal with the study of the use of proso millet for foodstuffs. Nevertheless, the compiled data show a good correlation to those cereals that are well known to be good raw brewing material and are therefore used for malting and brewing purposes.Proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) is one of the oldest crops known to mankind. It was cultivated in the Neolithic period (8000 B.C.-2000 B.C.) in China [1]. It is reported, that the Chinese farmers cultivated waxy and regular species of proso millet during the Second Chinese Dynasty (1600 B.C.-1300 B.C.) [2]. Additionally, findings in central and eastern regions of Europe suggest the cultivation of proso millet in these areas in the age of the Band Ceramic (~ 5000 B.C.) [3]. Until early 20th century, proso millet had almost vanished as field crop in western Europe [4]. This decrease in importance of proso millet [5] was caused by the introduction of potatoes.However, nowadays, proso millet plays an important role in northwest China, Kazakhstan, as well as Eastern Europe, USA, Australia and in the central and southern states of India. The cultivation of millets slightly increased from 29 million tons in the 1980s up to 33.6 to 37.3 million tons in 2001 to 2005. As shown in Table 1 proso millet is ranked as the third most important millet, after pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) and foxtail millet (Setaria italica) [6]. Despite its importance, for thousands of years, this grain was practically not considered for its malting and brewing relevance. Furtheremore, in literature, barely is specified as traditional malt and brewing cereal. ...

Descriptors: proso millet, alternative cereal, gluten-free, malting, brewing

BrewingScience - Monatsschrift für Brauwissenschaft, 62 (July/August 2009), pp. 119-140