Abstract:Milk beer is a new type of fermented milk beverage produced through a two-step fermentation process involving lactic acid bacteria and yeast. The feasibility of producing milk beer from reconstituted milk was analyzed based on its physicochemical properties, water holding capacity (WHC), color, particle size, texture, rheology, scanning electron microscopy, and aroma composition. The quality of milk beer prepared from reconstituted milk showed a slight decrease compared with that of fresh milk beer; however, the difference was not significant (P>0.05). In reconstituted milk beer, the water holding capacity decreased by 1.17%, brightness L* value decreased by 24.8%, protein particle size increased by 15.3%, and aroma showed slight differences compared with raw milk beer. Rheological analysis showed that as the shear time increased, the apparent viscosity of both reconstituted milk beer and raw milk beer exhibited similar patterns. Scanning electron microscopy revealed no significant differences in the microstructure of reconstituted milk beer. However, the sensory evaluation score was 7.50, slightly lower than that of raw milk beer. In terms of texture, the elasticity of reconstituted milk beer increased by 8.92% compared with that of raw milk beer, whereas there were no significant differences in hardness and cohesion (P>0.05). These findings indicated that consumers may find these differences acceptable. This study demonstrates that reconstituted milk can as a suitable substitute for fresh milk in fermented milk beer, thereby addressing the issue of excessive dependence on fresh milk. However, the fresh milk in the mainland is insufficient, and the quality varies.