Malt Endoproteinases and How They Affect Wort Soluble Protein Levels

The endoproteinases that form during the malting of barley play important roles in determining the soluble protein levels of worts prepared from the malt. The soluble protein levels, in turn, can affect many aspects of the beers made from these worts, including their haziness, foam characteristics, extent of fermentation, etc. We have been characterizing these endoproteinases and their endogenous inhibitors for several years and are now trying to determine which ones play important roles in solubilizing proteins during mashing and how the endogenous barley and malt proteinase inhibitors affect this solubilization.