Different analytical methods were tested for the prediction of malting
quality in barley breeding programmes. The repeatability of the metho
ds is also presented. Milling energy of barley and acid extract viscos
ity correlated very significantly (P < 0.001) with the quality paramet
ers reflecting malt modification, such as milling energy of malt, visc
osity and beta-glucan content in wort. These methods are useful for th
e rejection and preliminary screening of barley crosses. Small scale m
alting (20 g) and determination of the milling energy of malt can be u
sed in the next stage for the selection of barley lines. For the final
evaluation, malting and brewing trials first in laboratory and later
in pilot scale and a complete set of analyses are necessary.