Rice malting optimization for the production of top-fermented gluten-free beer.

Background: A safe method to obtain gluten-free beer led to the use of naturally gluten-free grains, such as rice, but the specific malting program for rice is long and requires a large amount of water, and the resulting beer showed a flat flavour profile. In this study, an optimization of the malting and brewing procedure is proposed to overcome the aforementioned issues. Different steeping conditions and kilning temperatures are considered, and a top-fermented beverage from rice malt is obtained for the first time.