A decantation mashing procedure, developed for the production of extract-rich worts from sorghum malt, was tested on different sorghum varieties. The levels of alpha- and beta-amylase were generally low compared with those of barley malt. A malting temperature of 30 degrees C produced more alpha- and beta-amylase than a malting temperature of 20 degrees C. Although sorghum malt contained lower levels of amylolytic enzymes than barley malt, it released similar levels of starch-derived extracts to those released by barley malt in the decantation mashing procedure. Both the sugar and protein compositions of sorghum worts were influenced by both malting temperature and the decantation mashing procedure.