We investigated the shochu-making characteristics for the two-rowed barley
Nishinohoshi in Oita Prefecture harvested from 2002-2004. Evaluations of pearling examination, barley-
koji digestibility, and SKCS analysis were performed. We confirmed with
Nishinohoshi that the hardness of the whole grain by SKCS analysis correlated with the pearling characteristics and barley-
koji digestibility as shown in our previous paper on Australian barley. Therefore, SKCS analysis was an effective method in
Shochu-making for evaluating and selecting the barley. Using the SKCS method, we found that the characteristics of
Nishinohoshi were different from Australian barley concerning the physical and Shochu-making properties.
On the other hand, we compared the physical characteristics of whole grain harvested from 2002-2004 and confirmed that the characteristics differed by year and region. These results suggest that weather conditions during growth influence the physical characteristics.
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