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The partial substitution of barley malt has been one of the main strategies of breweries to reduce production costs. In Brazil, as in other countries, maize is a raw material that is used mostly for this purpose. Aiming for strategic cost management, some large breweries have adopted a reduction in the time and energy costs of the process. As an example, changes have been made to the traditional mashing curves by reducing the times or omitting the proteolytic step. The objective of this work was to compare the physical and chemical aspects of sweet and bitter worts prepared through experimental design with and without the addition of maize as adjunct, as well as the execution or not of the proteolytic step in mashing. Color, total acidity, extract, total reducing sugars, total phenolic compounds, and proteins content were evaluated. In addition, the antioxidant activity was determined. The wort obtained with maize and not submitted to the proteolytic step presented a bright color as well as reduced phenolic compounds, protein, and antioxidant activity. Comparatively, the action of proteases in the wort resulted in a greater release of total reducing sugars, a more intense color, and a higher content of total nitrogen and phenolic compounds. The results indicate that despite being an alternative to reduce costs in the brewing process, the use of the adjunct and the exclusion of the proteolytic step of mashing will imply a poor wort in regards to nutrition, which can compromise the activity of the yeast during the process and therefore affect the quality of the final product. Full article