Barley is fourth largest cereal crop of the world. It contributes nearly 7 per cent to the global cereal production. The major industrial use (20–25 per cent) of barley is for malting purposes in India. The annual requirement of barley for malting purposes is on continuous rise in recent years. Malt is used for brewing, distillation, baby foods, confectionaries, cocoa-malt based drinks and medicinal syrups etc. The availability of barley for malting is not a problem, but whatever barley is available is of very poor quality and not meeting the minimum standards of malting quality. The present discussion outlines the different grain and malt parameters, which are desired for better malt recovery and quality of the malt, needed for various products. This can be of help to the researchers, industry, raw material supplier and farmers.
α- amylase, β-glucan, Diastatic power, Hectolitre weight, Malt barley
