PRODUCTION OF ALE WITH SOME VARIETIES OF SORGHUM MALTS USING CASSAVA AS ADJUNCTS AT DIFFERENT LEVELS OF SUBSTITUTION

Abstract

The sweet sorghum varieties (Sorghum bicolor) were screened for their suitability for beer production using low cyanide cassava TME 419 as adjunct. However the use of cassava as an adjunct in brewing has not received much attention. This work therefore sought to establish the suitability of cassava starch as an adjunct in brewing. The percentages adjunct used were 0%, 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% respectively. The varieties of sorghum used in the course of the practical are; Samsorg 40 (ICSV 400), Samsorg 41 (ICSVIII) and Samsorg 14 (ICSV 8). The germinative capacity of the grains was accessed prior to malting in other to ascertain the physiological state of the grain. Malting commenced with soaking of the grain for 48hours with 2hours air rest, 24hours of casting was observed before the four days germination period after which the grain is sun-dried for 48hours before kilning in the oven at the temperature of 55°C for 24-48hours then both were mashed with the help of exogenous enzymes to obtain worts. The resulting wort were analyzed for original gravity (OG), viscosity and total reducing sugar before boiling with isomerised hops. The carbohydrate level of the grain is good enough for brewing purpose, and the original gravity of wort was 1031-1036 ^op and the wort viscosity is between 1.0- 1.04_cp. The worts were boiled with hops and then left to ferment with the yeast sccharomyces cerevisiea to produce some liquor with alcoholic content of 3.10 – 4.39%v/v. The HCN content of the sweet worts were in the range of 0.80 – 1.68 mg/L, which disappeared after wort boiling with hops showing that the adjuncts used were low HCN carbohydrates. The sensory evaluation test showed that the resulting liquors were not significantly different in all the parameters tested colour, taste, mouth feel and general acceptability when compared with existing liquor in the shelf. Thus the liquor (ales) from low cyanide cassava adjuncts can be useful in beverage industries like breweries in future in Nigeria.