An Economically Viable Way to Produce Beer from the Maize Malt

This work was done to dry of maize malt (Zea mays) by a infrared dryer in order to generate a derivative of high commercial value beer industry, and try to add value to maize culture. Models of drying curves were used to simulate the drying isotherms at 45, 55 and 65 degrees C. From this maize malt a beer has been obtained and its sensorial qualities were compared with two commercial beers. The cost of production of the malt was also being measured to verify the economic feasibility of the process. Results showed that the best condition to dry the maize malt in a infrared dryer was 55 degrees C for 1.5 h and this process time was about 4-times minor than drying in a convective dryer. Comparing the sensory quality of maize beer showed that the beer is as good as the commercial beers. It was found that the production cost of beer reduces by 10% when changing the barley malt by maize malt. The proposed of applying of infrared drying process to obtain the maize malt obtain was viable, obtaining therefore a competitive advantage for both the producer, industrial and consumer, providing an alternative source of income as well as to the beer industrial for which the innovation of raw materials will determine the adaptability, processing flexibility and competitiveness in the market.