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As wort is the sweet starter liquid for beer, its quality needs to be strictly controlled. It is generally accepted that wort turbidity is of importance in terms of the brewing process and the resulting beer quality. This study investigated the major ingredients of wort turbidity using the malting barley cultivar Dan'er, grown in Jiangsu province, China. It was found that dextrins of low molecular weight constituted the vast majority of the polysaccharides causing wort turbidity. To solve the turbidity problem with the Dan'er malt, the present study supplemented 80 U g−1 of β-amylase, and as an activator, an extra 50 mg L−1 of Ca2+ to the malting process of Dan'er barley. The turbidity of the resulting congress wort of the Dan'er malt declined to <5.0 EBC units, which then met the quality guidelines of the brewery. The results of the present study may also help in developing new turbidity detection methods and yield breeding clues for quality improvement of the barley cultivars in the Jiangsu province of China. Copyright © 2016 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]