Sorghum malt and traditional beer (dolo) quality assessment in Burkina Faso.

Sorghum malt and dolo quality evaluation criteria and parameters affecting quality were surveyed in six cities in Burkina Faso through questionnaires addressed to malt processors, dolo processors, retailers, and consumers. The major quality criteria for malt quality assessment were perceived to be taste and presence/absence of roots in the malt. Taste, alcohol content, and wort sufficiently cooked were perceived as major criteria for the dolo quality assessment. The major parameters affecting malt quality were perceived to be malt production period, proportions of grain and the amount of water entering malting, presence of pesticide residues in the malting grains, and age of grain. Processing method, yeast source, proportions of the components (crushed grain, water, mucilage, yeast) entering dolo production, malt quality, wort temperature at time of inoculation, amount of energy available for cooking, wort and sediment boiling time, quality of mucilage, malt with non-sweet taste, presence/absence of roots in the malt, and ease of filtering crushed malt were perceived as major parameters affecting the dolo quality. These results will be used in the improvement of the dolo supply chain in Burkina Faso by providing more reliable information for training programs for efficient dolo brewing processes, development of best cropping practices to improve grain quality, and providing better selection criteria for sorghum breeding programs.