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Whisky is one of the most consumed alcoholic beverages in the world obtained from cereals. By-product and waste management are considered significant economic and environmental issues in whisky production. The aim of this study was to assess the components of spent grain (draff) resulting from the only factory in the whisky industry in Romania. Spent grain consists of layers of peel, pericarp, and seeds with residual amounts of endosperm and aleurone from malt used as raw material. Spent grain was stored at -18 °C and then dried at 50 °C to moisture of 5%. The sample thus prepared was subjected to the following determinations: total solids, protein and lipids content and minerals. The results were reported as a mean of three independent analyses. The protein content was determined by standard Kjeldhal method and lipids content was determined by standard Soxhlet method. The mineral content of spent grain was determined using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer AAS and Mass Spectrometry Inductively Coupled with plasma ICP-MS Agilent Technologies 7500 Series. Minerals founded in spent grain were: Mg 17.3325 mg/kg, Fe 63.9820 mg/kg, Ca 72.8846 mg/kg, and Na 54.8328 mg/kg. Calcium and iron are the mineral elements present in the highest amount in spent grain. Generally, the chemical composition depends on several factors, including the soil, climate or type of barley used for malt whisky. The assessment of the physicochemical composition of spent grain is very important to develop new directions for valorisation on this by-product resulting from the malt whisky industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malt is the essential raw material for beer production. Currently, in Europe the most used cereal for beer is barley due to its many advantages in the manufacture of malt. Recently, research has intensified to replace this raw material for beer with other cereals or pseudo-cereals. These include buckwheat which does not contain toxic prolamins to celiac disease patients. Buckwheat is an annual plant of Polygonaceae family and is produced in many countries for its characteristics such as high economic value, easily consumable with versatile uses. The main objective of this research was to the evaluation of the quality of buckwheat malt and the comparison of the results obtained with barley malt, the conventional raw material for obtaining beer. Buckwheat was purchased from private producers from harvested in 2020 and barley malt was purchased from the Bermas SA Suceava Company and was used as a control in wort quality analyses. The resulting buckwheat malt and barley malt were then evaluated from a physical-chemical point of view according to European Brewery Convention methods: moisture content, malt extract content, saccharification rate, filtration rate, extract difference between fine and coarse ground malt, Kolbach index, wort pH and colour. Buckwheat malt and barley malt were evaluated by obtaining beer wort by the Congress method. The results of this study can be used to optimize the malting process of the three technological operations: steeping, germination and kilning of green malt for to improve buckwheat malt quality. The results of the study showed that buckwheat has the potential to be used as a raw material for the production of gluten-free beer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]