Brewers Journal Europe - Summer 2020

THE

MAGAZINE

FOR

THE

EUROPEAN

BREWING

INDUSTRY

BREWERS

J O U R N A L

E U R O P E

ISSUE 2 |SUMMER 2020 ISSN 2633-8033

PÕHJALA Estonia’s brewing maestros on starting chapter two

20 | WHITE PONY: BEERS WITHOUT COMPROMISE

36 | PACKAGING : BOTTLING BRILLIANCE IN AUSTRIA

55 | ENZYMES: THEIR ROLE IN THE BREWING PROCESS

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V IRT UAL H A RV E ST.C O M

COME TOGETHER

A

very warm welcome to the

reopened in a variety of ways, but this

second issue of Brewers

must be done in a safe and sustainable

Journal Europe.

way. Especially with the threat of a sec-

It’s been an undeniably

ond wave of the virus and with autumn

challenging period, not

and winter approaching in a matter

only for Europe’s breweries, but for their

of months. Hundreds of thousands of

countless peers across the globe.

bars, pubs, cafés and restaurants across

The hurdles and obstacles are evident to

Europe will need targeted, ongoing and

the world of beer, and were so early on.

continued support as consumer confidence gradually recovers.

How do we continue to make and sell beer, is it safe to do so, and who are we

With increased costs, reduced capac-

selling it to?

ity, fewer customers and decreased sales, it is feared that many bars will

Once that particular sea has been nav-

have served their last beers. However,

igated, many breweries have needed

a revitalised hospitality sector, support-

to pivot their offering to provide beer in

ed by a prosperous brewing sector will

small pack for deliveries and collection.

mean increased value, revenues and job

Those that have done so will inevitably

creation throughout the beer value chain,

have experienced an increase in the time

helping to reignite the wider society and

and resources required to sell their beer

economy.

without the draft volumes that many rely

This is why The Brewers of Europe and its

on to complement small pack sales.

members, promoting the interests of ten

LEADER

thousand breweries in Europe, are calling

brewersjournal.info

Not only the team members required to

for support to businesses in the hospital-

package the beer but whether you can

ity sector.

sources the bottles, cans and ancillary packaging necessary to complete this

To ensure a safe and sustainable recov-

part of the operation; especially in a land-

ery and support those most hit by the

scape with so many businesses compet-

shutdowns, they urge EU, national and

ing for the same materials.

local governments to pursue options under existing EU legislation. Information

Therefore, it’s been great to see so much

about those options, and examples of

fantastic beer reaching the consumer

how different countries are respond-

during such a tumultuous period but

ing, can be found at the new campaign

challenges remain. I’m a keen advocate

web-portal reconnect.beer.

of the new campaign from The Brewers of Europe, under the concept of #recon-

Please check it out when you have a

nect, which calls for ongoing support of

moment, and I hope you enjoy the latest

the hospitality sector in the wake of the

issue.

COVID19 crisis and lockdown.

Tim Sheahan The hospitality sector across Europe has

Editor

SUMMER 2020

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SUMMER 2020

CONTENTS

Comment | Mindful drinking Are lifestyle brands here to stay, asks the BA

08

Meet The Brewer | Põhjala How Tallinn’s Põhjala have become a hit both at home in Estonia and overseas, too

10

Meet The Brewer | Whitepony Microbrewery Beers without compromise in Padua, Italy

20

Sector | Brewhouse How two German breweries are leveraging brewhouse technology from Ziemann

24

Focus | Bitterness Why understanding the human side of bitter will help you understand your customers better

28

Focus | Bottling An insight into Murau, based in Austria and its comprehensive bottling expansion project

36

Focus | POS How Guinness on-trade sales in Israel increased through the use of bev-top media

44

Sector | Packaging Why Birra Peroni, part of Asahi, turned to Sidel to upgrade its glass bottling capacity

46

Sector | Filtration A focus on Zagrebačka Pivovara’s investment in sterile filtration

50

Science | Enzymes Why to understand enzyme activity is to understand more about the process of brewing

55

20

Meet The Brewer | White Pony

A passion for the rich, complex, multi-faceted beers of Belgium led Roberto Orano to pursue his own career in brewing. Just don’t expect him to follow convention, quite the opposite in fact.

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SUMMER 2020

BREWERS JOURNAL EUROPE

CONTACTS Tim Sheahan Editor tim@rebymedia.com +44 (0)1442 780 592 Velo Mitrovich Deputy Editor velo@rebymedia.com +44 (0)1442 780 591

10

Meet The Brewer | Põhjala

Producing a diverse array of styles that excite and intrigue, Põhjala’s beers are enjoyed across the globe

36

Josh Henderson Head of sales josh@rebymedia.com +44 (0)1442 780 594 Jon Young Publisher jon@rebymedia.com Reby Media 42 Crouchfield, Hemel Hempstead, Herts, HP1 1PA, UK

SUBSCRIPTIONS The Brewers Journal is a published 10 times a year and mailed every February, March, April, May, June, July, September, October, November and December. Subscriptions can be purchased for 10 issues. Prices for single issue subscriptions or back issues can be obtained by emailing: subscribe@ rebymedia.com

Focus | Bottling

For Austria’s Murau, a recent near €80m spend enabled the business to improve its technology, vehicle fleet and marketing. Part of this project was the investment in a new bottle filling line so to get the job done, they returned to trusted partner Krones

46 Sector | Packaging

When Birra Peroni upgraded their glass bottling capacity, they returned to long-term partner Sidel and its EvoFill and EvoDeco technology to handle the task

brewersjournal.info

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Please contact the advertising team for full details of this service. The Brewers Journal is printed at Manson Group, St Albans, UK.

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SUMMER 2020

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5

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EU PROPOSALS TO OVER-TAX FLAVOURED BEERS CHALLENGED

T

he Brewers of Europe has

of the Member States to unfairly over-tax

should be a “concordance between

written an open letter to the

flavoured beers.

those ratios [ABV and Plato]”.The proposal

Chair of the European Eco-

The excise duty Directives lay down EU

misses an opportunity to clarify and har-

nomic and Financial Affairs

rules for taxlng alcohol consumed, whilst

monise the differing interpretations of the

Council (ECOFIN) over the

Directive 92/83/EEC has as an objective

Plato system by simply and uncontrover-

current proposal to over-tax flavoured

to increase harmonisation. By their na-

sially following the Court ruling.

beers.

ture, any sugars added after fermentation

These new amendments to Directive

have zero impact on the alcohol content

“The essence of the Plato scale, as

92/83/EEC on the harmonisation of the

of flavoured beers.

found by the Court, is to maintain the relationship between 19 of dry extract

structures of excise duties on alcohol and alcoholic beverages impacts flavoured

By proposing to also include ingredients

and 1009 of original wort. lt does this by

beers and lower-alcohol beers.

added after fermentation in the excise

using the Balling formula, which reflects

calculation under a Plato system, two

unchallenged scientific observations.

Brewers welcome additional flexibility

beers of the same alcohol content - one

An amendment to the Directive cannot

given to member states to apply reduced

a regular beer, one a flavoured beer -

destroy the Plato scale or overrule the

excise duties on lower-alcohol beers,

even if produced by a brewery of the

scientific laws upon which it is based,

increasing the threshold at which taxes

same size, in the same country, would

since the Plato scale would have no

can be cut, from 2.8 to 3.5% abv.

pay different rates of excise duty. lt is no

relevance if the science underlying it is

Governments are being given further op-

longer solely the alcohol being taxed,

undermined.”

portunities to use fiscal measures to sup-

discriminating against the flavoured beer

port low alcohol products and continued

and inhibiting harmonisation.

Having conducted laboratory testing and shared the methodology with the

innovation by Europe’s dynamic brewers to meet growing consumer demand for a

They explained: “The Brewers of Europe

European Commission, The Brewers of

diverse range of lower alcohol beers.

has been consistent, ever since the pub-

Europe said it also contests the justifica-

lication of the Commission’s proposal,

tion laid down in the provisional text that

However, they say the proposal around

in highlighting the inconsistency of the

practical difficulties linked to the iden-

flavoured beers goes against the Euro-

amendment with the underlying princi-

tification and measurement of the dry

pean Court of Justice and is unjustified,

ples and purposes of the Directive.

extract of the original wort of the finished

discriminatory and totally contradictory

“The amended text is in total contra-

product make the proposed amendment

to the harmonisation objectives of the EU

diction to, and completely disregards,

necessary. The Brewers of Europe puts

Excise Directives.

the 17 Mav 2018 CJEU rulins in the Case

this methodology at the disposal of all

The amendment to Article 3(1) states that

of Dvrektor lzbv Celnei w Poznoniu

Member States.

ingredients added after fermentation are

v Piwoworsko S.A. w Poznoniu (Case

also to be taken into account for the pur-

C-30/17), which was specifically intended

They added: “At times like this, policy-

pose of measuring the degree Plato.

to clarify how Plato must be applied.

makers need to ensure they are sup-

The proposal, as outlined in an open

“It stated that the ABV and Plato meas-

hindering them. The increase in the lower

letter from The Brewers of Europe,

urement systems for taxing beer must

alcohol abv threshold is the right type

should be amended as, if adopted and

produce similar results, following the

of measure in this context”. Read the full

implemented, it would oblige around half

Advocate General’s Opinion that there

letter here: https://brewersofeurope.org

porting European beer producers, not

brewersjournal.info

SUMMER 2020

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7

ARE LIFESTYLE BRANDS HERE TO STAY? AS THE BREWING INDUSTRY ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ATLANTIC STARTS TO EMERGE FROM THE PANDEMIC’S VICELIKE GRIP, BOB PEASE, CEO/PRESIDENT OF THE BREWERS ASSOCIATION THE NOT-FOR-PROFIT ASSOCIATION FOR SMALL AND INDEPENDENT AMERICAN CRAFT BREWERS, LOOKS AT WHAT’S ON THE HORIZON, WHAT’S NEW AND WHAT COULD BE NEXT.

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SUMMER 2020

M

indful drinking has been

years ago. What’s also interesting is the

sweeping both the food

demand features of this segment extend

and beverage sectors in

well beyond alcoholic strength.

recent years and in the

In a survey conducted by Nielsen on be-

beer industry these life-

half of the Brewers Association, we asked

style brands are characterised by lower

craft drinkers which ‘mindful drinking’

calories, lower carbohydrates, organic

choices they were more interested in

and other ‘health’ ingredients.

now compared with a few years ago.

It’s important to point out that this sector

Low ABV, gluten-free and non-alcoholic

is not new to the beer industry as lighter

were at the bottom of the list. The top

beer brands have been around for dec-

choices were low calorie, organic and

ades touted for their drinkability, but as

low carb. Craft beer drinkers clearly

beer drinkers age, they may be looking

demonstrated that the number one

for different beer options from their fa-

demand attribute for craft beer is still

vourite breweries compared to five or 10

flavour.

BREWERS JOURNAL EUROPE

continuing to innovate and several of

to make an impact on the global brewing

The success or failure of lifestyle brands

these brands are available in the UK and

stage as it has done since its inception

will only partially revolve around the

Europe – Sierra Nevada California IPA, a

some 40 years ago and the question of

physical attributes of the brand in ques-

4.2% ABV light beer hopped with Simcoe,

whether lifestyle brands are here to stay

tion (ie. ABV, carbs, calories etc) but is

Crystal and Chinook, Oskar Blues One-Y

is an interesting one.

more likely to be driven by the wider

IPA, 4% ABV, a hazy IPA with citrussy

affinity of consumers for the brand.

flavours of orange peel, tangerine and

The simple answer is they never really

Beer drinkers are looking for a brand to

lemon zest balanced with bread-like malt

went away but their longevity will depend

trust just as much as calories on a label –

and presented as a 100-calorie won-

on the bonds they build with their drink-

a brewery that only produces barrel-aged

der, Ska Aggrolite, a 4.2%ABV IPA that’s

ers and this will require going beyond

imperial stouts, for example, may have a

light-bodied with slight citrus and pine

trend-chasing.

tough job convincing the beer drinker to

notes from the use of Cascade, Mandari-

buy a low calorie, low carb version.

na Bavaria, and El Dorado hops.

Lifestyle brands that consumers believe

This beer contains only 99 calories and

characterised the market to date albeit

in may be here to stay- as beer drinkers

4g of carbohydrates per can. Over in the

with new flavours, recipes and lifestyle

evolve so too does their lifestyle and

States we have Deschutes Wowza! IPA

connections that are relevant today.

the type of brands they want to fit into

4% ABV, with Simcoe, Citra and Cash-

them. American craft brewers will need

mere hops delivering notes of candied

The Brewers Association publishes a

to continue doing what they do so very

orange and passionfruit while Callista

wealth of resources to help brewers,

well – innovating, using bold and exper-

hops bring blackberry notes. It contains

importers, distributors, wholesalers and

imental ingredients, the latest brewing

only 100 calories and 4g of carbs. Chico-

retailers understand and enjoy craft beer,

technology and above all, packing beer

ry Root adds balance to the body without

downloadable free of charge from www.

with flavour.

affecting the calorie count.

brewersassociation.org and available in a

The emergence of lifestyle brands is a

Despite the ravages of Covid-19 we ex-

good example of American craft brewers

pect to see American craft beer continue

American craft brewers are likely to continue their relentless innovation that has

variety of languages.

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brewersjournal.info

SUMMER 2020

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9

WALK ON THE WILD SIDE I STARTING OUT AS AN OUTFIT THAT WANTED TO MAKE BEER FOR DRINKERS IN TALLINN AND SURROUNDING AREAS, PÕHJALA HAS GONE ON TO BECOME THE WORLD’S ESTONIAN BREWERY. PRODUCING A DIVERSE ARRAY OF STYLES THAT EXCITE AND INTRIGUE, THEIR BEERS ARE ENJOYED ACROSS THE GLOBE. AND AS THEY APPROACH THEIR 10TH BIRTHDAY, IT FEELS AS IF THEY’RE ONLY REALLY GETTING STARTED.

t’s good to step out of your comfort

to Tempest, and also where I grew up.

zone. That’s what excites me,” ex-

“We wanted a particular profile and were

plains Chris Pilkington, head brewer

prepared to go the whole nine yards to

at Põhjala. “To find yourself in a

achieve it,” he explains.

position where you’re thinking ‘Wow,

And doing things their own way, while

this like nothing we’ve ever done before’ is

going that little bit further when doing

an important place to be.”

so, is an approach that’s been vindicated over the last nine years.

And it’s a position Pilkington and the team at the Tallinn outfit find themselves

Starting out as a brewery armed with five

in on a regular basis, which is part of the

24HL FVs, to become one that boasts

reason the Estonian brewery has devel-

a 4 vessel, 50HL Rolec brewhouse,

oped such a renowned reputation in its

Framax filing line (with canning to follow

near 10 years making beer.

in the next year), and state of the art lab

The latest project Pilkington references

facilities, is evidence enough. And that’s

is a collaboration with Tempest Brew-

before you even mention the 120 seater

ing, based out of Galashiels in Scotland.

taproom and restaurant complete with

Located on the Scottish borders, the

24 taps.

brewery lies some 200 miles south of

The Põhjala of 2020 calls Noblessner

Fraserburgh, the area where Pilkington

home. The historical shipyard area,

grew up and would also go on to find his

located by the sea in North Tallinn, has

feet in the world of brewing.

housed the brewery since the end of

“We’re producing a beer that replicates

2018.

the old ‘160 Shilling Ale’,” he says. “Edin-

“That first full year here was an expensive

burgh Ale yeast is used for fermentation

one. 2020 was set to be the time where

and we’re also adding heather honey to

we took everything we had learned so far

the mix.”

and improved as a result,” says Pilkington. “Everything was taking shape, until

But the focus point here are the barrels

February…”

being utilised to age the beer, a skillset

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SUMMER 2020

that has become part of the brewery’s

The Covid-19 pandemic impacted

calling card, both locally and abroad.

Põhjala as it did every business globally.

“We’ve opted for a blend of Auchentos-

What’s different is the way people react

han and Glengarioch Whisky barrels. It

to, and overcome, these challenges.

seemed somewhat fitting to age this beer

“It’s not been easy,” he says. “We are a

in barrels from distilleries located close

small country of 1.3m people and one

BREWERS JOURNAL EUROPE

by one, we saw most of our markets go

collective name, they needed some

offline. Whether that was closing the

proven production experience before

taproom, or losing exports which account

making the step to a professional brew-

for 70% of everything we produce. It was

ing business.

scary to say the least.”

Following a chance encounter with BrewDog co-founder James Watt in Ab-

Estonia entered lockdown on 13th March.

erdeen, they secured some brief intern

Thankfully for Põhjala and many busi-

experience at the Fraserburgh brewery.

nesses like them, early talk of banning

Here, the aspiring Estonian brewers

alcohol sales in the country during this

would encounter the respected brewer

extended period of emergency, failed to

Pilkington.

materialise.

“If that came to be then who knows,

“They came over to learn more about a

we might not be here now!” Pilkington

brewery works, and were interested to

exclaims.

see more of the process,” he recalls. “We

If that came to be then who knows, we might not be here now,” Chris Pilkington, Põhjala

clicked on the idea of exploration and On a production front, the team assessed

concepts. Malt was pretty uncool back

what beers should take priority in tank,

then but we bonded over discussion of

offering up opportunity for those that

barrel-ageing, and the implementation

required longer maturation times.

of ingredients and you wouldn’t usual

The brewery thankfully navigated these

consider trendy.”

recent challenging months through sales

Though not a barrel-aged number, one

via supermarkets, as well as its incredi-

of Pilkington’s creations that caught the

bly popular online store that has satiat-

eye of his Estonian counterparts was

ed drinkers across Estonia throughout

White Noise; a White IPA brewed with

lockdown. In doing so, it has ensured the

plenty of wheat, fermented with a Bel-

Põhjala story can continue.

gian yeast with features the addition of coriander thrown in for good measure.

Pilkington is the head brewer and the fifth member of the team to join the brewery,

“That’s the beer that got me hired!” he

which was founded by Enn Parel, Peeter

laughs.

Keek, Gren Noormets, and Tiit Paananen in 2011. Now, it’s a group with numbers

The team spent three days in each

into 50 with 12 in production alone.

other’s company before heading home

While the founding partners could boast

to Tallinn. But in that time, the seeds had

some home-brewing knowledge to their

already been sown for Pilkington to swap

brewersjournal.info

SUMMER 2020

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11

Image courtsey of Põhjala Brewery

his Scottish home for a new life in the

The brewery’s specials range is home

Either way, the move to their new facility

Nordics.

to collaborations, riffs on core beers and

in 2018 enabled the team to produce

Põhjala’s maiden beer, Öö Imperial Baltic

seasonal releases such as the 12.5% Win-

more beer than ever before.

Porter, would see the light of day at the

ter Bänger. inspired by British Christmas

“We approached the expansion wide-

start of 2013. For most of that year, their

Cake, gluten-free Imperial Stout Gimme

eyed,” Pilkington recalls. “The options

beers were contract-brewed at other

Danger, Tuul - an Imperial Gose with local

were there; move to a new unit and

breweries’ production facilities while they

delicacy whitecurrants Tuul and Moon-

invest in a slightly larger 20HL brewhouse

prepared to open their own. Construction

raker, a DDH IPA that features a rotating

or take a bigger step, draw a line and in

of the first brewery was completed in

hop bill.

doing so, build a forever home.”

April 2014 in Tallinn’s Nõmme district with

However for overseas drinkers, which

Pilkington having moved to Tallinn the

account for the majority of Põhjala’s pro-

year previous.

duction, it’s the beers that stem from the

The brewery would start out with the five

Forest and Cellar Series, that most hold

An order for an impressive 50HL bre-

24HL FVs but, thanks to the popularity

as a reference point for the brewery’s

whouse from Rolec was placed in 2017,

of other early beers such as Rukkirääk,

output.

with construction taking place the follow-

They chose the latter.

a 5.7% Rye Ale and core beer Virmal-

ing year.

ised IPA, they would quadruple annual

“It felt both like a long time and one that

production capacity within two and a half

passed very quickly, too. When the kit ar-

years, frequently bumping up against

rived in 2018, I thought I’d be on site once

(and raising) the excise limit for small

or twice a week. Instead, I barely left the

breweries in Estonia of 400,000L and

building for all of July and August!” he

then 600,000L.

smiles. “We ended up spending much

Other early numbers like Session IPA Uus Maailm and Must Kuld, its popular porter, complemented a raft of one-off releases, be they hop-forward or barrel-aged in nature.

“I’m proud of these beers, but it’s interesting how we evolved from an early age,” Pilkington explains. “Starting out, we had the guiding principle of being a local Estonian brewery that would produce some Belgian styles, some IPAs and maybe a stout.”

But the script was flipped.

“Now look at us,” he smiles. “In our minds

There would be days where we’d be taking taxis between sites complete with thousands of Euros worth of kit,” Chris Pilkington, Põhjala

more time sweating the small stuff during installation – adding custom pipework and valves everywhere so we could do anything we could think of, like mash in with juniper tea, add apple juice to the wort kettle, cool wort before adding whirlpool hops, or safely add hundreds of kilos of whole fruit whilst boiling. The install and commissioning team ended up having to re-draw the diagrams so many times they lost count.”

With the entire team going above and beyond, Põhjala would end up running both breweries concurrently for around five months.

“I don’t recommend it, but it happens,”

we’d sell most of our beer locally with the

laughs Pilkington. “There would be days

potential for some minor export opportu-

where we’d be taking taxis between sites

nities. Instead, we found a blank slate and

complete with thousands of Euros worth

we could do anything. We weren’t happy

of kit.”

doing just enough, we wanted to really

“The majority of our production is in light-

He adds: “We couldn’t slow down at

make a mark.”

er beers, but it’s nice to challenge peo-

the old brewery until the new one was

And they did just that. Põhjala’s output

ple’s perceptions for what your brewery

fully online. We ran things down at the

can be split into four categories; core

is about,” says Pilkington. “Approximately

former site to two batches a month from

beers, specials, Cellar Series and the

70% of our volume is in the lighter beers,

a height of doing 19. And once we were

Forest Series.

but I accept that many of these don’t

happy at our new home, it made sense to

In addition to the aforementioned Must

travel to export markets as much our

cease completely.”

Kuld, Uus Maailm, Virmalised, Öö, the

heavier releases.”

core is completed by Orange Gose, Pilky

He adds: “However, I would be more than

Despite draining workloads, Pilkington

(Pilsner), Rye River, Õhtu (Porter), Kosmos

happy for that to reverse and for darker

was happy with the transition to Põhjala’s

IPA and Tundra, Põhjala’s first non-alcohol

beers to become our focal point. It’s a

new facility. The occasional challenge in

beer, an IPA brewed with local spruce

badge of honour for being respected

achieving consistency on beers such as

tips.

due to the beers you make, regardless

its Must Kuld Porter acted as a trouble-

of style.”

shooting exercise more than anything.

14

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SUMMER 2020

BREWERS JOURNAL EUROPE

Põhjala’s brewery and taproom facility is an impressive, sprawling space that’s a hit with locals and visitors alike

afield to Brazil, Australia, Canada and Chile, to name a few.

“Having France as our biggest market still suprises me to this day, but it’s due to a lot of hard work early on team that made a lot of great connections,” says Pilkington.

Of the 200HL of Virmalised IPA the brewery produces in a normal month, a third of this will be kegged and sold direct to Les Berthom, a chain of bars in France that is going from strength-to-strength.

Elsewhere, the geographical proximity of Helsinki has, on occasion, allowed the team to keg a beer one afternoon “Early batches on the new brewhouse

finely. Simple as that,” he explains. “We

and take it via boat to the Finnish capital

were just different to what we were used

just need to look extensively to locate the

for a meet the brewer event the same

to,” he ponders. “The coffee and choc-

source of the problem.”

evening.

olate was very prominent, but not in

Since commissioning, Põhjala has

the way we wanted. Perhaps it was too

produced 227 batches on the new bre-

Pilkington values each of the brewery’s

strong.”

whouse, packaging over 1.28 million litres

relationships, but is particularly fond of

Pilkington says: “So we worked back-

with many more resting in hundreds of

the partnerships they’ve developed with

wards. The issue wasn’t the water, nor

barrels of all types.

smaller businesses.

was it happening in fermentation.”

The brewery exports these beers to more

“Having our beer brought over to coun-

than 40 countries. France and Finland

tries such as Bulgaria, Hungary and

are its two biggest markets but other

Slovenia is really rewarding,” he says.

destinations include the UK, Denmark,

“They are developing their scene, like we

Germany and Spain, as well as further

used to, so it’s great having them look to

It was time to check the mill...

“The dark malts were being crushed too

us for inspiration rather than settling for

honey, liquorice root, and blackcurrants,

the norm.”

aged in Pedro Ximenez and Bourbon

Distributors in these countries, like most

barrels. 10 Apple Stout is a 12% Imperial

of the brewery’s customers, procure

Stout collaboration with To Øl designed

beers produced as part of the Forest and

to celebrate the apple. This features five

Cellar Series.

varieties of apples from Denmark, and Five from Estonia, treated in 10 different

The latter allows the team to explore

ways and aged in Calvados barrels.

their passion for “oily, velvety, liquid

Celebrated release Cocobänger, an

goodness”, utilising a variety of Bourbon,

Imperial Stout with Coffee and Coconut

Cognac. Sherry and Tequila barrels to

has also been given the barrel-aged

create a wealth of world-class beers.

treatment thanks to time spent in freshly

Põhjala’s reputation for these beers has

emptied American Rye Whiskey barrels.

catalysed the creation of a wider scene whereby Estonian beer has become

This series of beers complements the

something of a by-word for the dark,

aforementioned Forest Series. The forest

decadent and delicious.

has a deep influence on Estonian culture

Estonian people love trying new things so that gave us confidence in experimentation,” Chris Pilkington, Põhjala

and cuisine, something the team has Pilkington says: “There is a strong link

embodied in this range of beers. In these

between this country and the dark, winter

editions, they twist rare botanicals, forest

months. The popularity of these beer

ingredients and Estonian folk-medicine

bued in the beers they produce, which

styles has perpetuated that growth in

with ancient methods into extraordinary

assures Pilkington that Põhjala is very

more breweries making them, and that’s

beers.

much a product of its environment.

a good thing.

“Initiatives like the Forest Series are very

“Could we exist elsewhere? For me, this

“It’s also fundamental, as a brewery here,

important to us,” says Pilkington. “They

brewery is product of Estonia,” he ex-

to do something different. If you want to

are not big projects when it comes to

plains. “Estonian people love trying new

grow then you need to export. Estonia

volume but they allow us to explore and

things so that gave us confidence in ex-

doesn’t have a strong taproom model

to reconnect.”

perimentation. If we were not able to go

and the on-trade can also be a chal-

He adds: “I feel a kinship here, similar

out with that attitude early on then things

lenge. So you need to be making beers

to the highlands of Scotland. Using the

might have ended up very differently. It

that consumers overseas will want to try.”

ingredients you forage and source from

drove us to innovate.

these environments are a non-nationalisThe Cellar Series features diverse

tic way to show off what Estonia can be.”

in life, and we’re more happy to provide

creations such as Honey Laku, a 10.5% Imperial Porter brewed with heather

brewersjournal.info

“Often people want something different

And it’s that sense of provenance, im-

that.”

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19

THE EXTREME ART OF BREWING A PASSION FOR THE RICH, COMPLEX, MULTI-FACETED BEERS OF BELGIUM LED ROBERTO ORANO, THE ITALIAN SON OF A BELGO-ITALIAN FAMILY, TO PURSUE HIS OWN CAREER IN BREWING. JUST DON’T EXPECT HIM TO FOLLOW CONVENTION, QUITE THE OPPOSITE IN FACT.

T

he monks of Abbaye Notre

but my father would always tell me that

Dame de Saint-Remy, in

the best beer in the world was Belgian.

Brasserie de Rochefort have

That stuck with me.”

left an indelible mark on the

For a few years Orano would lose interest

hearts and minds of many

in the beer world, at least until travels to

beer lovers across the globe. Whether

Belgium opened his eyes to the fla-

you’re a brewer, aspiring producer or

voursome, rich, world-beating beers his

just fond of great beer, the fan club for

father always talked about.

Rochefort 10, the 11.3% Trappist beer they brew, spans the globe.

He explains: “When I travelled to Belgium, I discovered that people would

Boasting a warming glow with aromas

happily drink 10% beers, sometimes

of cherries, figs, and dark chocolate,

even at lunch. Those beers have a great

the beer is brewed with natural spring

complexity and many layers, which really

water from the local Tridaine spring, pale

appealed to me because at every sip you

malt and Munich malt, unmalted grain.

can discover something new.

It features Hallertau and Styrian Golding

“But let’s be clear, it’s not purely a pas-

hops, Rochefort’s own yeast, and candied

sion for high ABV. It’s about the taste,

sugar.

the flavours, the aromas. There are bad

And in the eyes of Roberto Orano, the

strong beers and great low ABV beers,

founder of White Pony Microbrewery, it’s

but brewing big, bold beers is a pleasure.

the definition of a ”perfect” beer.

It’s like comparing pop music with jazz or

The Italian son of a Belgo-Italian family,

metal, there is no match!”

Orano has long been a fan of heavy Belgian brewing and for the last eight years,

Orana would enjoy beers from countries

he’s been using that passion to influence

like Belgium and Holland. He would trav-

and inspire the diverse, award-winning

el more; visiting breweries, bars, abbeys

beers he produces himself.

and beer festivals, as well as collecting old bottles and glasses.

“My love for beer came from my father, who was born in Belgium to Italian

“The passion was real!” he laughs.

migrants. When I was a teen I used to

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drink bad commercial beer, mainly from

Before long, he would move into

Germany,” he recalls. “Growing up in Italy,

home-brewing. Beers such as those from

Belgian beer wasn’t particularly popular

the St. Bernardus brewery in Watou, Bel-

BREWERS JOURNAL EUROPE

gium and the aforementioned Rochefort

with Styrian Golding and Saaz hops. The

10 had definitely made their mark.

10.7% copper strong ale was full in body,

“I love these, but I would soon taste a lot

with aromas of caramel and dark and

of hop-forward American beers and that

dried fruits.

really helped inform my views on brewing, too. It changed and inspired my idea

“It sold out in one week,” he recalls. “So

of what beer could be,” he says.

I reinvested everything back into the

Despite his love of home-brewing, Orano

process. It also allowed me to could get

was initially destined to become a nurse

some glasses printed!”

in Italy. This, however, didn’t materialise,

He adds: Those early days were crazy.

so he turned to the very different field of

I was brewing the beer in Belgium so

coaching basketball.

needed to travel back and forth. Before long, strangers were requesting my

“I was doing several different jobs, but

beers in six-packs to take away. When

the beers I was making at home were re-

that happens you feel pretty small, that

ceiving great feedback,” he says. “I was 23

you’re involved in something way bigger

and thought to myself: ‘Hey, I don’t want

than you.

to see myself hanged by someone else, I

“It was all unexpected because this pro-

prefer to hang me with my own hands’ so

ject started out as me just brewing a beer

after a bit of planning, I brewed my first

and having no expectations. If I could

major batch of beer.”

make enough to survive then that would

It’s like comparing pop music with jazz or metal, there is no match!”

Roberto Orano, White Pony Microbrewery

be great!”

And for someone that ignores convention, it’s unsurprising that this beer would

But people’s expectations increased, and

be a hybrid of a Belgian Quadrupel

Orano had to meet them.

and an English Barleywine. Called ‘The Oracle’, it featured Pilsner and Cara Malt,

brewersjournal.info

“I’d produce more beers and every day

SUMMER 2020

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21

I’d be checking the ratings they’d receive

Orano’s sales come from exports.

online. It made me nervous but to be honest, I’ve since deleted all of those. It’s

“Only 2% of what we make is sold through

not worth it!” he laughs.

the pub,” he explains. “In Italy, we have a

The beers of White Pony Microbrewery

loyal following, and do our own distribu-

fall into four categories. The Oracle forms

tion, but there is a lack of a beer scene

part of a flagship range that also includes

for complex strong beers. It’s a case of

releases such as ‘Black Sheep Imperial

education as people don’t really under-

Porter’, ‘Autonomy Lost Imperial IPA’ and

stand the price and ABV of much of what

‘Stongest Than Ever’, a 15.1% Barleywine.

we make.”

Its limited and seasonal ranges also boast an array of heavy-hitting numbers

He adds: “In Italy, much of what I see falls

but its oak barrel-aged collection that

into the category of IPA, NEIPA and APA.

have also helped Orano and his brewery

Sure, these sell very well because the

make a name in the world of beer.

demand is there but for me, it’s not an art!

“Some breweries branch out into bar-

Here you’ll find releases such as ‘U Make

rel-aged beers but it’s probably 0.001% of

Me Sick’ a Quad aged in Aquavit barrels

their production. It is one of the reasons I

with cherries and chocolate, rounded

brew in Belgium.”

off with the infusion of cigars while ‘I

Orano’s beers are brewed in Belgium

Will Never Let You Down’ is a Highland

and around 50% of everything he makes

whisky barrel aged Belgian Ale with

is sold there, too. The rest is distributed

spices. Orano will also frequently take his

to countries like Holland, Japan, Spain,

‘Stongest Than Ever’ Barleywine and age

Germany, Canada, Denmark and the UK.

it in barrels such as Rum and Bourbon,

In Italy, much of what I see falls into the category of IPA, NEIPA and APA. Sure, these sell very well because the demand is there but for me, it’s not an art!”

Roberto Orano, White Pony Microbrewery

sometimes adding a dry-hop to the mix.

“I think White Pony beers have touched White Pony primarily brews its beers at

all the continents except Africa. We used

Brouwerij Eutropius in Menen, sometimes

to work well in Russia, USA and China

apart from some in Belgium. I’m waiting

also using De Graal, both of which are in

but we are searching for new importers

to hear what the Italian government can

Belgium. Though he brews his beers in

there,” he explains.

help with regarding taxes.”

pub in Padua, a city in Northern Italy’s

And eight years in, Orano and White Pony

He adds: “But I will continue to experi-

Veneto region. Offering 10 taps and 240

are in no mood to compromise now. They

ment. We expanded our barrel cellar a

bottles, it’s become a destination for fans

could just do with a helping hand a long

great deal so expect to see more oak-

of great beer.

the way. “The recent pandemic has been

aged beers and wan to release more

a challenge,” he explains. “We’ve spent

sour ales, too. It’s exciting and we’ll do

several months without selling any beer,

our best to make our fans happy.”

Belgium, Orano also runs the White Pony

Like many breweries, however, most of

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SUMMER 2020

BREWERS JOURNAL EUROPE

IMPROVE THE PROCESS W

INNOVATION IN THE FIELD OF BREWHOUSE TECHNOLOGY IS HELPING BREWERIES ACROSS EUROPE TAKE THEIR OPERATION TO THE NEXT LEVEL. IN THIS ARTICLE, DR.-ING. VERENA BLOMENHOFE LOOKS AT HOW ZIEMANN SYSTEMS ARE BEING LEVERAGED BY TWO GERMAN BREWERIES TO IMPROVE THE EFFICIENCIES AND EFFECTIVENESS OF THE BREWING PROCESS.

ith Omnium, the

founding years of Ziemann. Comparable

brewhouse tasks

to a piano on which only eight notes were

are divided into

to be played, but now the entire instru-

subprocesses,

ment can be used.

which are treated

Never before has it been possible to

individually and, by subsequently com-

process such a high proportion of raw

bining partial flows, finally completed in

materials in a lautering system. Nessie

an optimal way.

paves the way for the elimination of the

As a result, significantly shorter process

time-limiting process step of lautering.

times and higher raw material yields can

The mash transfer time corresponds

be achieved. The process has a positive

to the lautering time and the lautering

impact on the quality parameters of the

is basically a transfer step of the wort

wort. In addition, the fermentation can

boiling and can therefore be carried out

be accelerated, leading to increased

continuously.

brewhouse and cellar capacities.

With Nessie by Ziemann, the identi-

As part of the development of Omnium,

cal plant can process strongly varying

the brewhouse tasks were divided into

original extract contents (up to 32 °P),

their respective subprocesses and were

depending on the variety, as well as

improved individually.

different starch sources or smallest batch

Finally, these subprocesses were

sizes. With the effective counterflow

reunited at the optimum time to an

extraction, Nessie always achieves high

overall solution. This innovative brewing

yields with the usual sparging water

process is based on the principle of an

quantities of 2.5 to 3.5 l/kg malt.

advantageous combination of individu-

Process times can be reduced by up to

ally improved subprocesses. The core

30 %. The spent grains are discharged

component and centrepiece of Omnium

continuously after passing the fourth

is Nessie.

module with a residual moisture of < 78 %. Overall, the system produces more

It allows almost any batch size and al-

particle-rich and more turbid worts due

most complete freedom in the type and

to the dynamic filtration principle, the

composition of the malt mixture.

viscosity of which plays no role for the

It is not just about the recipes. While

separation.

the classic brewery must rely on special

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SUMMER 2020

barley that has been bred for optimal

The separate vessel Aladin by Ziemann

usability in current brewhouses, all types

succeeds in extracting partial worts for

of grain can be used in the Omnium

an optimized malt utilization. Between

brewhouse â&#x20AC;&#x201C; as it was the case in the

one and two percent of the lautering

BREWERS JOURNAL EUROPE

volume is initially collected into Aladin

isomerized wort of the Janus are mani-

the beer. The brewmaster has full control

by Ziemann as enzyme extract for the

fold and cover both the brewhouse and

of the action and is able to brew beers

post-saccharification of wort.

the sterile hop addition in the cold block.

exactly according to his ideas.

With the Omnium brewhouse solution,

The system essentially consists of an insulated, cylindro-conical stainless steel

By using the separate hop isomerization

Ziemann pushes the door to a new

tank. The malt alpha-amylase, buffered

vessel Janus, the tasks within the wort

world of brewery plants. Beer can be

in this tank at approx. 72 °C, ensures a

boiling process by means of the internal

beer again: full-flavored thanks to the

subsequent complete saccharification of

boiler Shark by Ziemann or the external

high yield of ingredients, fully aromatic

the boiled wort. For dosing the enzyme

boiler Dolphin by Ziemann are the same

thanks to the gentle brewing process and

extract, the wort is cooled down to 83 to

as before, only the isomerization is no

individual thanks to the almost complete

90 °C.

longer considered in this process step.

freedom of the brewmaster in producing

Both processes can be optimized sep-

creative beers.

While the innovative Janus by Ziemann,

arately. It is possible to transfer hop trub

a hop isomerization vessel with about 40

from the Janus into the wort kettle. This

The new brewhouse concept has already

% of the beer wort, helps the brewer to

supports the protein precipitation by the

been implemented in two breweries

effortlessly and flexibly give the beer the

polyphenols of the hops.

that could not be more different – in

required hop aroma and bitterness, 60 %

After the boiling process, the wort is

the traditional brewery Schlossbrauerei

of the beer wort boil in parallel in the wort

cooled down to 83 to 90 °C. At this

Reckendorf and the well-known Ratsher-

boiling process. This means that the pro-

temperature, the first wort extract Aladin

rn Brauerei in Hamburg.

cess of wort boiling and the hop isomer-

is dosed. In the whirlpool Wortex by

Never before have there been so many

ization are decoupled process steps in

Ziemann, the hot trub is separated, which

control variables in a brewing process

the Omnium brewing process.

consists of about 80 % water, a mixture

and thus never before has there been

Modules 3 and 4 are suitable for the hop

of insoluble proteins, carbohydrates,

such a great potential for flexibility in the

isomerization due to the lower bitter sub-

lipids, tanning agents, minerals and hop

brewing process, which is reflected in the

stance losses resulting from the reduced

components.

enormous variety of beer types.

about 2 °Plato and the higher pH value of

With the gentle, efficient and aroma-en-

Schlossbrauerei Reckendorf

this wort fraction have a positive effect on

hancing Omnium brewing process, sub-

the conversion of the hop bitter sub-

stantially more of the valuable ingredi-

The Schlossbrauerei Reckendorf prides

stances. The dosing possibilities of the

ents from hops and malt are obtained for

itself in combining modern brewing tech-

protein load. The low original extract of

brewersjournal.info

SUMMER 2020

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25

in the yield of bitter substances by approximately 10 percent up to the finished beer is also remarkable.

The fatty acid content C6-C18:1,2,3 of Omnium beers is low, which can be attributed to the nutrient supply of the Omnium worts, because only a low level of fatty acid synthesis is required at the beginning of the fermentation process, fewer medium-chain fatty acids (C6-C12) are released into the beer as by-products and the long-chain, saturated and unsaturated fatty acids are completely metabolized. These conditions also lead to a good foam stability.

The good zinc and fatty acid supply

nology and strong brands. Only in 2016, the brewery won the International Craft

Dominik Eichhorn confirms that the

leads to a vital yeast and thus to a very

Beer Award for its Weizenbock.

previous results and practical experience

good fermentation activity.

Therefore, no one was surprised that the

are very good. “This applies both to the

Other small, measured differences are

Schlossbrauerei Reckendorf took the pio-

commissioning and to worts and beers”.

irrelevant for the quality of the beer.

neering role in 2018 and installed the first

In the first step of the “flavour matching”,

Here, it becomes clear that in a lauter tun

Omnium brewhouse. The existing mill

the new brews were blended in the fer-

process, nutrients are strongly absorbed

and the whirlpool were continued to be

mentation cellar with conventional worts.

by the trub and are no longer available in

used, everything else was planned and

The wort aeration could be significantly

the subsequent fermentation process.

built by Ziemann Holvrieka GmbH.

lowered in order to keep the yeast propa-

Brewing technologists and beer lovers

The first brew in the new brewhouse in

gation within the required limits.

can therefore look forward to Reckendorf

Reckendorf was produced early in April

Currently, only one of the three brews

with great anticipation.

2018. Instead of the original two brews

is aerated for ten minutes in order to

The graduate process engineer sum-

per day, each with 105 hl cast-out wort,

achieve an oxygen concentration of 1

marizes his new brewhouse as follows:

the Omnium brewhouse was designed

ppm. This results from the yeast vital sub-

“Fewer malt polyphenols, gentle hop

for three brews per day with 70 hl each,

stances such as zinc or fatty acids, which

isomerization and vital fermentation

filling the 210 hl fermentation tanks.

have a positive influence on the fermen-

will certainly produce an ideal Pilsner

(Figure 6)

tation process.

beer.” It is therefore no wonder that the acceptance test of the brewhouse was successful.

Despite the expansion to three brews in

In Reckendorf, both the worts and the

Reckendorf, the new overall process is

beers were analysed chemically and

faster than the old brewhouse (only 4.5

analytically down to the last detail. The

hours per brew).

fact that the analyses of the Omnium

However, according to graduate pro-

beers are flawless is shown in Table 2

Ratsherrn Brauerei, a trendy urban brew-

cess engineer and brewmaster Dominik

and Table 3 as a comparison with the old

ery in Hamburg’s district Sternschanze,

Eichhorn, who is at the helm of the

brewhouse (ASH).

opened its plan to implement Omnium

family-owned brewery in the third gener-

The nitrogen contents, the viscosity,

by Ziemann in the Hamburg brewery

ation, speed as such has never been the

higher alcohols and DMS/DMS-P are

already at the trade fair BrauBeviale 2018

primary objective of the Schlossbrauerei

within the usual ranges. The parameters

in Nuremberg. In February 2019, the

Reckendorf.

colour and TBZ are only conditionally

Hamburg team came to Ludwigsburg

meaningful, since the brewery has made

in order to carry out trials with Nessie in

“The decision in favour of the Omnium

a colour correction by adding caramel

Ziemann’s pilot brewery.

brewhouse is essentially based on the

malt. The Omnium worts and beers con-

The Hamburg-based medium-sized

greater flexibility. Brewhouse processes

tain reduced tanning components.

brewery, founded in 2012, implement-

are subdivided into part processes and

The beer remains stable, since the

ed the new brewhouse solution (50-hl

thus optimized. We are thus in a position

polyphenols are missing as reactants for

brewhouse) as a so-called brownfield

to process a greater variety of raw materi-

the turbidity formation. In general, Omni-

project: Omnium is running in parallel to

als such as old cereal varieties that are

um beers do not necessarily have to be

another lauter tun brewhouse. The deci-

nowadays considered as rather unsuita-

additionally stabilized. The predominance

sion in favour of Omnium was simple and

ble for industrial production processes”,

of the protein fraction promotes the good

was based on the fact that Nessie can be

explains Eichhorn.

foam stability with 127 SKZ. The increase

used to produce also very small batches.

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SUMMER 2020

Ratsherrn Brauerei in Hamburg

BREWERS JOURNAL EUROPE

In this way, the impressive variety of the scene brewery – about 30 different, partly seasonal or even limited beer types – can be covered. In addition, the newly gained independence of the lautering process results in product development advantages when upscaling new beer types.

With regard to the viscosity parameter, barley varieties such as oats and rye can now be processed efficiently.

The wort kettle with shell and bottom heating zones has been equipped with the external boiler Dolphin by Ziemann in order to be able to reproduce the different batch sizes. Ziemann’s hop isomerization vessel Janus by Ziemann is used for dosing very different high amounts of hops, which can also be dosed in the cellar.

On July 3, 2019 the first brew of the beer type Ratsherrn Pilsner was produced successfully and with great enthusiasm of all participants. The following excerpt includes the description of the beer sommelier Birgit Rieber, which she wrote after tasting the first “Nessie” Pilsner.

Up to now, five beer types have already been successfully brewed in the Omnium brewhouse. From Matrosenschluck, an oat white IPA, via the classic IPA up to the Noctopus Imperial Stout with 9.7 vol. %. This year’s Hamburger Senatsbock of the Ratsherrn Brauerei was also brewed in the Omnium brewhouse. This has been ceremonially tapped on January 24, 2020 in the Grundsteinkeller of the Hamburg City Hall in the course of the Senatsbock event.

Technological advantages result in principle from a shortening of the fermentation time, the reduction of yeast addition as well as the extensive omission of wort aeration. However, the fermentation can be controlled individually and flexibly and, due to the optimized pitching conditions, can be selected as desired by the brewery.

The constant lautering time of about 40 minutes is remarkable and is completely independent of the beer type. This time saving is particularly noticeable when brewing special beers, as lautering times using a lauter tun of more than four hours were previously necessary.

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BREWING BITTERNESS AND BETTER BEER UNDERSTANDING THE HUMAN SIDE OF BITTER WILL HELP YOU UNDERSTAND YOUR CUSTOMERS BETTER WHICH LEADS TO BETTER BITTER SALES. VELO MITROVICH REPORTS.

W

hile this sounds

the US,” said Greg Koch, Stone executive

like the start of a

chairman and co-founder. “We felt Amer-

‘priest, minister,

icans deserved better, so we brewed it

and rabbi’ joke,

for them. When we saw much of Germa-

it’s a true story. A

ny stuck in a similar status quo of cheap

Californian walks into a London pub and

beer, we were convinced we could help.

asks for the most hoppy IPA available –

As it stands now, German beer prices are

tap, bottled or canned, it doesn’t matter

among the cheapest in Western Europe.

as long as the bitternes is there.

As most of us know from life, the best

“If you want hops, then try this,” says the

things are rarely the cheapest.

barman, with a sly expression like he just snuck a Ghost Chili into the tourist’s beer.

“Amazing beer is being brewed by amazing brewers all over the country [Germa-

Back at the table, the Californian stares at

ny]. Unfortunately, according to the stats,

his beer. “What’s up?” asks his friends.

most Germans are still ignoring these

“I asked for a hoppy IPA, I don’t know

wonderful beers and buying the cheap

what this is supposed to be. A lager?”

stuff. We invested a significant portion of

Some beer drinkers talk about IBUs,

a decade and significant millions [$30m]

hoppy-bitter flavours, like they’re 13-year-

building Stone Berlin. And it didn’t work

old boys discussing the hair on their

out. These things hurt and these things

neither regions, with ‘more’ always seen

happen. This one happened. And this one

as better. But in Europe is there really a

hurts a lot.”

demand or desire for an IPA that would

On opening day in 2016, Stone Brewery

win applause on the US West Coast?

created a pyramid out of German beers,

In a move some saw as pure arrogance

lifted a stone above it with a crane, and

and ignorance, San Diego’s ultra-hop – or

let it go, symbolically smashing Ger-

ultra-hip – brewery Stone decided it was

many’s beer industry. Three years later,

going to bring “real” beer back to Germa-

Stone fled back to the States with its tail

ny by building a California-style brewery

between its legs, its brewery a flop.

in Berlin.

So, why brew high IBU hoppy beers now? While Germany has an increasing

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SUMMER 2020

“We started Stone in 1996 because we

number of craft breweries which have

weren’t OK with the status quo of beer in

bitter IPAs, in France you’re more likely to

BREWERS JOURNAL EUROPE

find beer being flavoured by sweet fruit

some bitter into your line-up.

pany’s products, a cream called ‘Heet’,

syrup. The UK and Ireland claim to have

Through our own fault of not educating

which was used to treat sprained or sore

hoppy IPAs, but what one person calls

customers, most of the time they equate

muscles and is still around today. At the

‘hoppy’, another would call weak tea. And

IBU solely with hop flavour. This whole

time, the active ingredient in Heet was

on the Planet of Belgium where beer is

bitterness argument has been going on

capsaicin, the key chemical that makes

brewed under a different sun, IPA doesn’t

for each and every year since the 1990s

chilli peppers hot.

translate.

when craft brewing crawled out from

Parke-Davis, however, didn’t always use

hobbyists’ basements, and into a proper

the same type of pepper to extract the

However, the world beer industry has

commercial kettle. The answers that were

capsaicin and in different chillies, the

been undergoing a massive upheaval

lacking then, are still lacking today.

‘heat’ varied. If you’re trying to make a consistent product, you need some sort

over the last four to five months and it hasn’t been a pretty site. Craft breweries

Since then, like chilli-heads making hot-

of way of measuring this – it’s not enough

need to create excitement and conversa-

ter and hotter hot sauce, some brewers

to bite into a chilli, count the drops of

tion; they need to get bums on seats and

seem to think that the more bitter, hop

sweat on your forehead, and say one

lips around a glass or bottle. In achieving

taste you can cram in that bottle or can,

variety is hotter than another.

this, breweries are most definitely in the

the better.

According to John McQuaid in his book

driver’s seat this year in commanding

But, if you’re trying to sell beer instead

Tasty, Scoville’s method was to dry out

decent hop prices. Even before the virus

of creating headlines, is this such a good

peppers and then dissolve a specific

hit, figures were being tallied and 2019’s

move? There is a reason why some of us

weight of dried pepper in oil in order to

hop harvest was one of the biggest on

like bitter and a reason why some of us

extract the heat compounds. The extract

record. While in 2018 hops were a bugger

hate it. There is a reason why most times

was then diluted in sugar water and given

to buy, 2020 was shaping up to be the

you’re doing your customers no favours

to a panel of five tasters. The amount of

complete opposite. Now, in the UK some

by listing IBUs, and there is a reason for

sugar needed to make the heat unde-

hop farmers think they might be going

that matter why IBUs might have had

tectable to a majority of tasters deter-

out of business due to the amount of

their day.

mined the Scoville rating of the pepper.

hops on the market.

But let’s forget bitterness for a second and talk about chillies.

While for Parke-Davis the whole capsaicin thing didn’t work out – it now uses an

Add to this abudence of hops is the lack of brewing which has occurred due to

Back in 1912, Wilbur Scoville was a phar-

extract derived from wintergreen – Sco-

pubs, taprooms and restaurants being

macologist who was working for Amer-

ville’s scale has stayed with us, although

closed. If you want to get crazy with

ica’s largest pharmaceutical company,

now the measuring process is considera-

hops, there will never be a better time

Parke-Davis. Scoville had a problem. He

bly more technical than finding five mates

to stretch your brewing views and add

was trying to improve one of the com-

who like chillies.

brewersjournal.info

SUMMER 2020

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29

Why do we like the sensation of our

Unit (IBU), especially how we perceive

were the same, so IBU became the

mouth on fire in the first place? The

and use the scale.

agreed upon name.

Like with SHUs, brewers publicity like to

burning sensation capsaicin induces in the mouth leads the body to produce

Like the problem of trying to produce a

push the IBU envelop in both directions.

endorphins as a countermeasure. With

consistent product that uses capsaicin,

In one corner, wearing blue trunks and

the Scoville scale, you know exactly how

beer makers needed a way of producing

hailing from Virginia’s The Veil Brewing

much heat you’re subjecting yourself to,

a consistent tasting beer and in the mid

Company is ‘IdontwantoBU’, which claims

and this has led to pepper-heads to go

1950s scientists started working on a way

to have zero IBU despite its intense hop

after ever-hotter sensations.

of measuring the amount of ‘bitterness’

flavour. In the opposite corner, wearing

Hearing that cash register ring, plant

that was in a beer.

red trunks and hailing from Manchester is Carbon Smith’s ‘F**ks Up Your S**T IPA

breeders and sauce makers are happy to oblige them and they have come up

In 1955, two researchers extracted the

at a claimed 2,600 IBU. But, with Carbon

with hotter and hotter chillies. How hot?

bitter substance from beer by using

Smith out of business since 2017, it’s diffi-

Your bog-standard jalapeno, which pretty

chloroform and then weighing the dried

cult to find out how its brewers achieved

much any of us can eat without our faces

extract. This was about as easy and fast

this alleged figure.

turning too red, is anywhere from 2,500

as it sounds, and this process was further

Other notables at the high end include

to 8,000 Scoville heat units (SHU). The

complicated by the need to measure

Canada’s Flying Monkeys which came

Carolina Reaper chilli, developed by Ed

unhoped wort, which was needed to

out in 2011 with 2,500 IBU ‘Alpha Forni-

Currie’s PuckerButt Pepper Company,

provide a base number to all of this.

cation’. They had so much faith that this would be a big hit that they only make

boasts 2.2 million SHU, making it around This article will not even attempt to go

one keg and six bottles. USA’s Dogfish

into the chemistry of the methods then

Head came out with ‘Hoo Lawd’, the only

But, that’s chump-change. By cooking

used to make the process more accu-

independently tested high IBU beer,

down and concentrating a chilli’s capsa-

rate, except to say that the process was

which was 658 IBU and only available for

icin content and using such chilli-blast-

refined by taking iso-octane extracts of

one night.

ers as the Reaper, the Trinidad Moruga

the acidified beer and diluting them with

Most beers fall between 1 to 100, with

Scorpion, or the Ghost Pepper, sauce

methyl. This produced an alkaline that

20-45 the most common range for those

makers have come out with blends that

could be measured by ultraviolet light

with a hops presence. The big com-

have anywhere from 6 million to 9 million

and those results were agreed upon by a

mercial lagers, such as Budweiser and

SHUs.

tasting panel.

Millers, are around 10 IBU.

While sauces such as Black Mamba,

Faster approaches were developed,

To interject this now, what throws off the

Mad Dog or Blistered Bunghole all have

which did away with having to make the

average Joe and Jill beer lover is when

truly impressive SHU units, does anyone

extract alkaline and instead relied on a

they’re in your taproom – if they blindly

actually use them on their vindaloos, or

higher ultraviolet wavelength to measure

follow IBUs – they’ll see your Russian

do they sit on a collector’s shelf in original

bitterness.

Imperial Stout listed at 90 IBU and expect

200 times hotter than a jalapeno.

it to be more bitter than bitter and more

unopened wrappers next to the asbestos All was then well? Far from it. Not only

hoppier than hop. Then in total confu-

were there different methods being used

sion, their heads will pop off like your old

“Ass-destroying hot sauces – hell and

to determine bitterness, it also varied on

‘Rock ’Em-Sock ’Em-Robot’ toy when

death are also popular themes – mostly

which side of the Pond you were on.

they realise there is no bitter or hop taste

gloves?

in it. You could tell them the stout is like

taste like shit and are usually designed solely with heat in mind, never flavour,

Finally in 1965 there was a meeting of

lemonade, the sourer (bitter) it is, the

and consuming them is a party trick

minds between the Analysis Committee

more sugar (grain) you add. Or, you could

where the trick is trying not to die,” writes

of the European Brewery Convention and

spend an hour discussing grain, ABV,

Ashwin Rodrigues for MEL.

the Isohumulone Sub-committee of the

sweetness, hops, bitterness and IBUs. Or,

American Society of Brewing Chemists. A

you could just let them wallow in their

The reality is, the top five sellers by

standard test method was agreed upon,

ignorance and tend to other customers.

volume in the States, range from rather

along with a bitterness scale.

The problem is, when drinkers discov-

tame 1,000 to 5,000 SHUs. If you want to get some publicity, you go hotter than

But. There is always a ‘but’.

ered the taste of hops in IPAs, they started seeing IBUs not as a measurement

hot. If you want to make money, you go Europeans wanted to call the units of

of bitterness, but as way of breweries to

bitterness International Bitterness Units,

express how many hops they crammed

At this point the thought might be occur-

while Americans were holding fast to

into a bottle. If more hops pleased their

ring to you that there are similarities be-

Isohumulone Bitterness Unit. Some wise

taste buds, then a higher IBU must mean

tween SHU and International Bitterness

soul noticed that regardless the initials

a better beer. Or, if they hate hops, then a

sensible.

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BREWERS JOURNAL EUROPE

higher IBU must be avoided at all costs.

Belgium brewery Brasseire de la Senne

“I want the people to taste with their nose

To them, IBUs equate to hop flavour and

prides itself on the bitterness of its beers,

and taste buds and not with numbers. On

which it describes as being the key char-

the top of that, IBUs don’t say anything

acteristic of its beers.

about the perceived bitterness,” he says.

aroma, not at all to bitterness.

“For our beers, it’s their balance between

“With the age of the New England IPA style upon us it’s a topic that some-

“We have produced bitter beers since

hoppiness, bitterness, maltiness and

times enters the conversation between

the beginning of our existence – and we

fermentation flavours. And the reason

HonestBrew buyers particularly when it

are here to brew bitter beers,” says Yvan

for that is, that’s what I like. I pride myself

comes to the perceived reduction in IBUs

De Baets of Brasseire. “Our approach was

being a selfish brewer.”

even in seemingly ‘West Coast’ styles’,”

simple: we wanted to brew beers to our

says Cormac Wall, beer buyer at online

liking that we could no longer find on

Breweries measure their IBU by using

bottle shop HonestBrew.

the market. We took on the challenge to

their own lab, or sending samples off to

bring this flavour – so fundamental in the

commercial labs, using a complicated

“I think for customers the talk of IBU is

evolution of human societies but sadly

math formula, or using the same formula

something that was prominent in the

neglected in our modern societies – up

as part of a free software – there are sev-

early years of this decade when several

to date.”

eral found on the Net – or taking a sip.

De Baets, says, however, he is not tempt-

While the cost of test equipment has

ed in the least to list IBUs.

dropped over the last few years, there

beers purported to wield hundreds of IBUs and it was a selling point for them.

are still reoccurring costs in using these

“Occasionally we will still see a beer from a grizzled old West Coast brewer and

“I pride myself on the balance in my

machines. If you’re thinking of buying

they’ll proudly proclaim 200 IBU on the

beers. Not on their bitterness. They are

one, be sure to investigate what your

side of the can but on a whole, it seems

not extremely bitter and don’t have an

total year-on costs will be. For smaller

to have passed from general conscious-

extreme bitterness perception. I would

craft brewers, this could mean sending

ness among customers as most brewers

certainly not put indications such as IBUs

a sample to a lab will be your cheaper

avoid high bitterness levels so feel no

on a label as beer making is not a penis

option. However, you’re then looking at

need to mention IBUs anymore.”

contest.

48 hours for results as opposed to results in 10 to 30 minutes.

brewersjournal.info

SUMMER 2020

|

31

seem that having a very consistent qualThe traditional method for measuring

ity beer was fundamental to their growth

bitterness often requires a laboratory with

plans.

a laboratory technician, UV/Vis spectrophotometer, water bath, glassware,

The Beerlab IBU test can be performed

solvents etc. and can take anywhere

directly at every step of the beer produc-

from 15 – 30 minutes. This has changed

tion process and so you have the pos-

though with the introduction of small,

sibility to study your recipe, optimizing

easy-to-use portable lab kits.

the additions of the hops and monitoring the actual extraction of the bitter. This is

The best-selling brewery test kit in the

important if you add hops later on.

UK is CDR’s Beerlab, sold locally through QCL Scientific and sold throughout the

A recurring cost for doing IBU tests with

rest of Europe by various distributors.

the Beerlab is for the reagents that come

James Mallett of QCL tells Brewers Jour-

in boxes of either 10 or 100. Not add-

nal Europe that there are around 60 in

ing in the cost of the Beerlab, which is

use in the UK, with brewery size ranging

around £5,500 €6,154), the cost per test

in production from a small three-barrel

is around £6.00 (€6.71). Besides the IBU

operation to one of the UK’s largest inter-

test, the Beerlab does around 20 other

national breweries that has four Beerlabs.

tests.

Mallet is currently working on a PhD in

The next step down in testing, which

brewing science at Nottingham Uni-

many smaller breweries use all the time

versity, having originally done a BSc in

or others us in brewing one-offs, is the

Microbiology. After working at Lallemand,

math formula method. While this is the

he worked as an assistant brewer at Blue

cheapest way, it’s not the most accurate

Monkey and recently joined the team at

as there can be other variables thrown in

QCL.

the mix.

“I’ve seen breweries who use the drink

In looking at some breweries’ IBU

test to check for IBUs which might work

numbers, you have to suspect they’re pri-

for them. However, if you’re quality

marily using the dartboard method. And

focused you need to check your beer’s

indeed, a few years back in the US state

IBU so you can produce a consistent

of Oregon, a group of craft beer drinkers

product,” he says.

sued a number of Oregon brewers for not having accurate IBUs listed on their

Phil Hague, a member of the American

“While I have a background in science,

cans and bottles, according to Aubrey

Society of Brewing Chemists, agrees

chemistry and research, you definitely

Laurence reporting for Tap Trail.

that most IBU numbers out there are just rough estimates, and that most of them

do not need one to use a Beerlab,” says Mallett. “If you’re interested, we can come

“Essentially, this is a case of false adver-

are overstated. “Unless you have a cen-

out to your brewery and demonstrate it to

tising,” said Tim Crews, one of the plain-

trifuge and a UV-Vis Spectrometer, you’ll

you. If you decided to purchase one, we’ll

tiffs filing the suit. “These breweries are

never be able to determine the exact IBU

come by and train all your staff on how to

putting inaccurate IBU numbers on their

number in a beer,” he says. “Of course,

use it – it’s very simple.

beer labels, and it’s time they answered

you also have to know about isooctanes,

to those misleading claims.”

isohumulones, hydrochloric acid, flasks and cuvettes, and be nerdy enough to

“Officially, you’re entitled to two more free training visits from us, but for the time be-

Milford S. Auggenpot, the defence lawyer

know how to put it all together. Most

ing, we’ll come out as many times as you

representing the breweries, admits that

breweries do not have these things.”

need us to – nobody’s taken advantage

the IBU numbers printed on the beer

of us yet so we’ll keep doing this.”

bottle labels may be slightly off, as they

Still, it doesn’t matter how accurate of

are just calculations.

system you’re using to get your IBU

Mallett says while there have been three

But he notes that perceived bitterness

numbers, many see problems with the

and five-barrel breweries buying a Beer-

is subjective, and he’s quick to point out

current IBU system, which hasn’t moved

lab, it’s probably around the 10-barrel

that a 50-IBU pale ale will seem like it

on with the industry.

point that makes the most sense to own

has much more bitterness than a 50-IBU,

one. That said, the three-barrel is now

high ABV barley wine.

doing 10+ barrel production, so it would

32

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SUMMER 2020

Once upon a time, hops were only added to boiling wort during the initial brewing

BREWERS JOURNAL EUROPE

process to convert humulones to isohu-

value during the brewing process.

Going by official IBU standards, there are

mulones, adding bitterness and producing a balance to the naturally sweet

Other breweries and research groups

no IBUs in it. The reality, however, if far

flavour of wort from the grains – doing

have done similar tests and have

from this. For the big breweries who are

the opposite of our lemonade analogy.

achieved the same results. Research

making lagers that rely more on malt

conducted last year by several Colorado

for flavour and aren’t being creative with

However, modern styles of beer have

breweries revealed that IBUs are not a

hops, the standard IBU works fine. How-

seen an increase in hops added at

good measure of bitterness in IPAs.

ever, for craft brewers, BU:GU ratio might make more sense.

different stages of the brewing process, including at the end of the wort boil

“The traditional way of measuring bitter-

The BU:GU ratio is the IBUs divided by

(late-hopping) and near the end of fer-

ness is not relevant, or accurate or even

the gravity units. It represents the amount

mentation (dry-hopping).

useful,” says Neil Fisher, the head brewer

of bitterness balanced with the sweet-

and owner at WeldWerks Brewing in

ness. Higher values mean more bitter-

Greeley.

ness. The scale is roughly 0.25-0.35 for

While it has been thought that late-hop-

wheats, 0.4-0.8 for the majority of ales,

ping and dry-hopping do not contribute

and 1.0+ for IPAs.

to IBUs in beer, in a study conducted

The traditional test is why The Veil

by London’s Hackney Brewery using a

Brewing Company can produce a beer

CDR BeerLab, it showed a considerable

with an official IBU of zero, yet still have

Remember, there is no law or require-

increase in IBU value from both late and

a bitter, hoppy flavour that tastes around

ment for using IBU, the scale was set up

dry-hopping suggesting that alternative

30-40 IBU. The Veil adds its hops later in

to help brewers produce a consistent

compounds present in hops (such as hu-

the process, after the IBU measurement

product. You need to find what works

mulinone) do in fact contribute to the IBU

is made.

best for you.

brewersjournal.info

SUMMER 2020

|

33

are bitter, bitter foods that are considered

the human guinea pigs would give up

All of this would be completely and total-

good. Bitter gourd in India, Icelandic

nearly all bitter food. The next week, they

ly irrelevant it we didn’t actually like bitter

fermented, rotted Greenland shark, and

would be given three-daily glasses of

tastes, which shouldn’t be happening in

even uncured olives spring to mind,

chocolate almond milk, due to chocolate

the first place.

along with dark chocolate, broccoli,

containing bitter compounds known as

coffee, and beer.

polyphenols.

equipped us to respond negatively to

It’s always been thought that enjoying

As suspected, the SPIT team was able

bitter more than any other taste. The

bitter flavours is an acquired taste – like

to detect changes in the volunteers’

reason is simple: the vast majority of all

with hot chillies – but new research is

saliva after they consumed the chocolate

poisonous plants and animals taste bitter.

pointing towards biological changes in

almond milk. In particular, they saw an

Have a child bite into something bitter

our saliva as to why we end up loving a

increase in a type of protein that natu-

and they instinctively spit it out. And we’re

hoppy IPA.

rally captures and binds to those bitter

Millions of years of evolution has

polyphenols, while, at the same time, test

not alone with this. Jellyfish, fruit flies and bacteria – not known for being the

Dr Cordelia Running, a sensory scientist

subjects began reporting the chocolate

world’s pickiest eaters – can all sense

at Purdue University wanted to know

drink as tasting less bitter or astringent.

bitter compounds.

if there was a biological reason behind the change. She and her team at Pur-

The more bitter foods the subjects ate,

Humans have 24 bitter tasting genes,

due’s Saliva, Perception, Ingestion, and

the more anti-bitter proteins they had in

far more than other life forms, which

Tongues Laboratory (SPIT Lab) suspect-

their saliva, and the more palatable the

includes sweet, salty, sour and umami.

ed that repeated exposure to bitter foods

food seemed to become. In other words,

About 15 years ago it was discovered that

might actually change something in a

it’s not that we just get used to bitterness,

besides the well-known bitter receptors

person’s saliva.

bitter flavours actually change the way we experience taste.

on our tongues, we also have bitter receptors throughout our bodies in places

Besides keeping our mouths moist, saliva

such as the stomach, nose, lungs and

begins the digestion process of food and

You drink a bitter IPA and the taste will

brain.

the saliva makeup includes proteins that

grow on you and if you’re older, with

Why these other bitter receptors? Scien-

can affect how food and drink tastes.

more exposure to bitter foods over the

tists haven’t figured that one out yet, but

Running decided to run with the idea

years, the enjoyment of a bitter IPA will

many believe they act as a shadow taste

that exposure to bitter foods can actually

come quicker.

system.

change these proteins or the numbers of them.

While appealing to young, hip drinkers is

Unlike jellyfish, humans are constantly

To test this theory, Running’s lab brought

more trendy and fun, older drinkers will

twisting, challenging, and breaking evo-

in 64 volunteers and gave them a six-

actually take to your bitter IPA a whole lot

lutionary rules and in every culture, there

week trial of alternating diets. One week

faster.

34

|

SUMMER 2020

BREWERS JOURNAL EUROPE

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BRILLIANCE IN BOTTLING E

FOR AUSTRIA’S MURAU, ITS RECENT MODERNISATION PROGRAMME HAS INVOLVED UPGRADING ALL ASPECTS OF BREWERY LIFE. A NEAR €80M SPEND ENABLED THE BUSINESS TO IMPROVE ITS TECHNOLOGY, VEHICLE FLEET AND MARKETING. PART OF THIS PROJECT WAS THE INVESTMENT IN A NEW BOTTLE FILLING LINE, SO TO GET THE JOB DONE, THEY RETURNED TO TRUSTED PARTNER KRONES.

nsuring they have the best

led to poor spare parts availability and

equipment, and most effec-

numerous downtimes – and we often

tive processes, is nothing new

had to improvise. The water and energy

for Austria’s Murau Brewery.

consumption levels, too, were no longer

Following the investment

up to contemporary standards, and no

in its brewhouse and the fermentation

longer in line with our corporate philos-

and storage cellar, they have also recent

ophy.

installed a new bottling line for glass containers – and proactively minimised

Originally, the new bottling line was not

the time required for installation and

scheduled in the long-term budget

commissioning.

until 2021 – but for a variety of reasons the Murau brewery brought the project

Rewind back to 2014, which was a

forward.

milestone year. The brewing cooperative

For implementation, they returned to

changed over its entire production pro-

Krones on board. “Firstly, you see, we had

cess to district heat supply – rendering

already gained gratifying experience in

itself completely independent of fossil

the brewhouse. And secondly we were

fuels.

impressed by the professionalism that

Since then, the heat has come solely

Krones displayed while preparing the

from the newly built biomass cogenera-

project,” said Rieberer.

tion plant of the municipal utilities here,

“Both all the people, and guided tours of

which is powered exclusively by wood

the plants in Neutraubling and Rosen-

from the surrounding region.

heim, further reinforced this impression:

And in order to reduce energy consump-

we knew that with Krones we would have

tion at the energy-intensive brewhouse,

a dependable, competent, sophisticated

in particular, Murau integrated Steineck-

partner at our side.”

er’s EquiTherm system, where all the energy required for mashing and heating

During the concept phase, it emerged

the wort is obtained from the wort cool-

that the Murau brewery’s requirements

ing process.

are ideal for integrating the new Krones Modulfill HES into the line, including the

With this major upgrade in the beer pro-

ability to increase its filling capacity from

duction process, Murau brewery became

22,000 to 36,000 fills per hour

one of the first in Europe to opt 100 per

In terms of hygiene, particularly, but

cent for renewable energy.

also of operator-friendliness and space

The next task was to do the same for the

savings, the glass filler scores highly

bottling operation as well.

with numerous improvements and new technological features (see box). It incor-

“Our existing glass line consisted of

porates both a crowner and an integrat-

machines from different manufacturers

ed capping unit for aluminium roll-on

that in some cases had been operating

closures.

for more than 30 years,” explains man-

36

|

SUMMER 2020

aging director Josef Rieberer. “Due to its

“To be honest, at first I didn’t realise that

age, the line needed a lot of repairs. This

Krones had already included so many

BREWERS JOURNAL EUROPE

prototypes in the new glass filler. I was

operator control.

almost a bit sceptical initially, but looking

And on the software side, the Connected

back I can say: everything is working

HMI networks the machines with each

perfectly, as if they’d all been running

other and interfaces them with higher-or-

for ever – just as you would expect from

der IT systems – all this in compliance

Krones,” he explains. “We’re rather proud

with the most stringent of IT security

that we’re the first brewers in Central

standards.

Europe to use this ultra-modern filling technology from Krones.”

To analyse the production data from all the machines in the line, the Murau

And during the further course of the

brewery uses SitePilot Line Diagnostics

production flow, too, there are numer-

from Syskron.

ous new systems at Murau: downstream

This software records all data relevant to

of the Solomatic, which dresses the

quality, costs and output, and summaris-

containers in neck and body labels, and

es the results in easy-read dashboards

provides laser date-coding, a Check-

and reports.

mat EM inspects the glass bottles in a

“We’re using Line Diagnostics for the

360-degree monitoring routine.

first time, and I’m really impressed by it.

In the dry end, the latest generation of

What’s particularly great about it is that it

the Krones Connected HMI machine vis-

motivates my people in the bottling hall

ualisation system is used at the Smartpac

to get the most effective results out of

packer and unpacker plus the Modulpal

the very latest technology,” says Rieberer.

Pro 3A palletiser.

As far as the hardware is concerned, it

Syskron is not the only subsidiary in-

scores highly in terms of elegant styling

volved in the new line. On the old line,

and an almost screwless housing, while a

the Murau brewery was already using

full-HD multi-touch screen with an intui-

adhesives and cleaning agents from

tive navigational structure ensures simple

KIC Krones. Since now, of course, the

brewersjournal.info

SUMMER 2020

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37

nes, and well-prepared, well-trained staff here in Murau, we made the impossible possible,” Rieberer adds.

However, Krones had only four weeks for installing and commissioning the entire line, since the other half of the time window was required for construction work.

Another challenge was the heavy winter snowfalls.

To make sure that the more than tight deadline was met, for example, Krones delivered the 35-ton bottle washer in one piece from its plant in Flensburg to its destination in the Austrian Alps. And the plan worked: almost precisely two months after the “celebration of the final bottle” the new line was producing its first sales-quality containers.

With the new line, the Murau brewery has likewise upsized its bottling capacity from 22,000 to 36,000 glass bottles per hour – and this increase has proved very timely: “In 2019, sales of our flavoured CSDs, in particular, were very high.

We don’t know the reason for this, but we’re definitely proud that we’ve got conveyors were included in the delivery

is a sensational figure, one that we had

something in our portfolio for our young-

package, the brewery is also deploying

not expected after only five months.”

er customers who have yet to develop

the lubricants from the consumables

As with the brewhouse, Murau gets the

a taste for beer,” says Rieberer. “So of

specialist.

energy from the biomass cogeneration

course it was incredibly opportune that

This means it’s the first plant in Austria

plant. Here, too, for example, the heat

thanks to the new bottling line we can

to be using three out of the five product

exchanger rating has already been sub-

now meet this increased demand to

categories in KIC Krones’ portfolio.

stantially downsized.

optimum effect.”

But the eight flavoured CSDs and two

“That was very important to me personally,” explains Rieberer. “Thanks to

The decision to opt for a single-sourced

juice varieties from the Murelli brand are

the efficacious interaction of machinery

line paid off in the project’s hot phase at

only ancillary products (though extreme-

and chemicals, we have managed to

the latest: “Since Krones functioned as a

ly popular ones). It’s the Märzen beer

achieve a massive reduction in expend-

complete-package vendor, we were able

that accounts for most of the sales, with

ables consumption – which in its turn, of

to minimise the number of interfaces.

around 86 per cent, though the compa-

course, fits in perfectly with our corporate

This was certainly one of the reasons,

ny also brews pilsner, wheat beer and

strategy.”

too, why we could keep the installation

various creative beers.

phase extremely short,” says Rieberer.

After all, the issue of sustainability plays

In fact, at the place where the new line

The new line has been up and running for

a key role in all of the Murau brewery’s

is now running, its predecessor was still

almost a year now – and Josef Rieberer

investments.

operating up to the beginning of January.

is full of praise for the collaboration with

With the new line too, for instance, it

However, since not only the space for

Krones: “The job was handled through-

was a key stipulation that energy and

the bottling kit, but also the warehousing

out in a spirit of mutual understanding,

water consumption had to be minimised,

capacities were limited, this meant that in

respect and responsive goodwill.

as Rieberer relates: “As far as the water

order to continuously meet the market’s

“After all, a project like this involves more

savings are concerned, the line achieves

demand the brewery could permit a halt

than just the technology: all the staff

superlative figures: the biggest quantifi-

in production of not more than two and a

concerned from Krones understood us

able and meaningful figure is the water

half months.

at the Murau brewery – and that made

consumption per hectolitre produced.

“That entailed major challenges in the

implementing the project a whole lot

This used to be six, but now with the new

planning work. But thanks to a highly

easier, leading very swiftly to successful

machines it’s a mere 4.33 hectolitres. That

professional engineering job from Kro-

completion.”

38

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BREWERS JOURNAL EUROPE

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TAKING CONTROL OF THE MALTING PROCESS A

IMPROVING THE EFFICIENCY OF PROCESS CONTROL, LOWERING COSTS AND REDUCING ENERGY USE ARE TRAITS ANY MANUFACTURING BUSINESS WOULD WANT TO ACHIEVE, WHICH IS WHY VIKING MALT IN HALMSTAD, SWEDEN INVESTED IN CONTINUOUS HUMIDITY MONITORING TO UP ITS GAME.

s one of the world’s leading

in northern Europe, Viking Malt enjoys a

suppliers of high quali-

number of advantages. For example, the

ty malt products, Viking

barley from its contract farms is of good

Malt has investigated the

quality with excellent malting character-

advantages of continuous

istics.

humidity monitoring inside the malting

In addition, cold winters kill off pests and

process at its facility in Halmstad, Swe-

diseases, and the crops grow quickly in

den. Vaisala’s Indigo 520 transmitter has

the midnight sun, which means that they

been integrated with the plant’s control

require less pesticide.

system, and after an initial trial of three months, technical Manager Tony Öblom

Malting involves the initiation, man-

says: “Real-time access to humidity data

agement and cessation of germination.

has enabled tighter control of the malting

This is achieved through the careful and

process – improving quality whilst saving

precise control of in-chamber moisture,

energy and improving profitability.”

temperature and sometimes carbon dioxide.

Malt is a key ingredient in the manufacture of beer, whiskey and many baking

Good beer might be a matter of person-

products. Viking Malt’s head office is

al taste, but the consistency of flavour

in Finland, and the group operates 6

and other characteristics depend on the

malthouses in Finland, Denmark, Swe-

use of high quality malt. Öblom says:

den, Lithuania and two in Poland, pro-

“At Viking Malt we work very hard to

ducing a combined total of over 600,000

ensure the production of consistent, high

tonnes of malt per year.

quality malts. This is achieved through the careful selection and management

brewersjournal.info

The majority of malting grain is barley,

of raw materials and by monitoring and

but wheat and rye may be used, as well

controlling production as precisely as

as rice and maize. With its malthouses

possible.”

SUMMER 2020

|

41

and production processes very closely

transmitter therefore helps to fulfil this

The malting process has three main

to ensure consistency and compliance

objective as well as another which seeks

phases, which combined can vary be-

with specifications for features such as

to “increase the speed of innovation

tween seven to ten days, depending on

moisture, colour, flavour, protein and

especially in information and communi-

the characteristics of the raw materials

enzyme content. Samples are frequently

cation technologies.”

and specification of the produced malt.

taken from production for testing in the

The three phases are:

onsite laboratory.

Steeping – the grains are washed and

“The results can take around 6 hours,”

complete record of production, with no

their moisture content is increased in the

Öblom explains. “For some parameters

interruptions from calibration and mainte-

steep tanks to stimulate germination.

this is acceptable, but in order to opti-

nance activities.

Steeping normally involves a combina-

mise process control, we need real-time

tion of wet and dry periods of different

data, so I conducted research to discover

The Indigo 520 transmitter collects data

lengths.

potential solutions and learned that my

from a Vaisala HMP7 humidity probe,

colleagues in Finland were successfully

which utilizes heating technology, and

trialling a Vaisala Indigo 520 transmitter.

is specifically designed for high-humid-

Continuous, reliable measurements with the Indigo 520 transmitter also provide a

Germination – as the seeds germinate

ity applications. Combined with a TMP1

they produce enzymes. For example, amylases convert starch in the seeds to

“Continuous humidity data enables us to

temperature probe, the system provides

fermentable sugars and proteases break

determine the precise moment at which

stable and reliable relative humidity

down protein.

the malting process is complete. Not

measurements in the final kiln.

only does this help to assure product Kilning – in the final part of the process,

quality by making sure that we are not

The Indigo 520 is compatible with

the ‘green malt’ is dried and heated in a

under-drying or over-drying; it also helps

Vaisala’s comprehensive range of Indigo

kiln to meet the requisite specification.

us to save money because over-drying is

compatible smart probes for humidity,

a waste of energy, and increases the cost

temperature, dew point, carbon diox-

of the final product.”

ide, vaporized hydrogen peroxide, and

At the beginning of the malting process,

moisture in oil measurements. It can

the humidity inside the kiln is likely to be 100% at 60 to 65 DegC, whereas the final

According to the Viking Malt CSR Report,

accommodate two detachable measure-

kilning is likely to be between 80 and 95

2019: “Energy efficiency is a guiding prin-

ment probes simultaneously, measuring

DegC with a target humidity of 4%.

ciple in the planning of our plant design,

the same, or different, parameters at the

investments, production, logistics and

same time.

As a producer of 65 different types of

sourcing of energy product and services.”

malt, Viking Malt monitors its feedstock

The implementation of the Indigo 520

The transmitter has an IP66- and NEMA

The malting process has three main phases, which combined can vary between seven to ten days

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BREWERS JOURNAL EUROPE

Continuous, reliable measurements with the Indigo 520 transmitter also provide a complete record of production

4 -rated robust metal enclosure, and a touchscreen display made of hardened glass. This local display provides onsite staff with quick and easy access to live data, and by connecting the transmitter to the control system, Tony and his team are able to view readings wherever they are and at any time of day or night.

In summary

These smart probes employ unique advanced technologies, and are renowned

The Indigo 520 transmitters trialled at

With rugged cases and hardened touch-

for their accuracy and long-term stability.

Viking Malt’s facilities in Finland and Swe-

screens, the Vaisala Indigo 520 transmit-

As smart probes, they can be quickly and

den demonstrated similar advantages for

ters have been designed for operation in

easily swapped if necessary.

efficient process control. Tony therefore envisages a further rollout of the

even the harshest of industrial environments. Users in a wide variety of indus-

The transmitter in Halmstad was con-

technology to the rest of the group. “At

tries can now exploit the advantages of

nected to the company’s control system,

Halmstad, we plan to install twelve trans-

Vaisala’s Indigo compatible smart probes

however, other customers may wish to

mitters, each with two Vaisala probes, in

for humidity, temperature, dew point,

utilise the transmitter’s Ethernet con-

the facility’s six kilns. This will significantly

carbon dioxide, vaporized hydrogen per-

nection to access data via a secure web

improve the efficiency of process control,

oxide, and moisture in oil measurements.

interface.

lower costs and reduce our energy use.”

Gravity Systems was formed to meet the growing demand in the craft beer market for a single source for all brewhouse, fermentation, services generation and distribution. It is our aim to be the most complete partner in the brewery industry by building long term partnerships with our customers.

+44 (0) 1733 834264 | www.gravity-systems.co.uk brewersjournal.info

SUMMER 2020

|

43

CONNECT WITH THE CONSUMER I

CONNECTING AND ENGAGING WITH THE CONSUMER CAN CREATE BRAND LOYALTY. BY LEVERAGING BEVTOP MEDIA, WHICH ENABLES IMPRINTING PERSONALIZED CONTENT ON DRINKS, GUINNESS EXPERIENCED A MARKED UPLIFT IN ONTRADE SALES.

44

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SUMMER 2020

t’s more important than ever to

dynamic content feed.

connect with customers. In Israel,

Patrons were also invited to submit

on-trade venues have been utilising

user-generated content through the new

bev-top media from Ripples along-

customer-facing Ripples Web App.

side sales of Guinness, a project

“We have been using Ripples to engage

that has resulted in a combined year-

consumers and increase on-trade sales

over-year sales uplift of 26% and a 31%

for over two years,” says Sharon Sambira,

increase in share of wallet.

super premium beers brand manager at Carlsberg IBBL, distributor of Guinness in

Using Ripple Maker PM devices and

Israel.

malt-based pods for printing on beer, the

“We were the first brand to use this inno-

pilot included customized designs for

vative tool globally and have seen great

each of the venues, as well as trending

results, so it wasn’t surprising for us to

images and messages from Ripples’

see the results of the latest pilot.”

BREWERS JOURNAL EUROPE

The previous study measured the use of

pub itself, it also creates significant buzz

personalized beverage tech in attracting

for our business on social media. Our

first-time Guinness drinkers, and resulted

Instagram posts and stories get espe-

in a 20% increase.

cially high rates of engagement and our followers have increased dramatically!”

Yossi Meshulam, CEO of Ripples, explains: “Following global trends in

O’Sullivan’s, an existing Ripples custom-

beer consumption, the local Israeli beer

er and the venue that saw the highest

market is characterized by a strong shift

increase in Guinness sales, adopted the

toward premiumization, with total sales

use of point of sale material as well as the

by volume showing stagnation and total

Ripples Web App, which proved pivotal in

sales by revenue showing moderate

their results.

growth.

“Since completing this pilot study in

Owner Asaf Shaibi says: “Our Guinness

March 2020, the local and global market

sales increased by a full 52% during our

for beer brands and the on-trade venues

pilot period with Ripples, compared to

they supply has turned upside down.

total beer sales which increased by only

These results highlight the crucial role

12%.” Another participating venue, Mike’s

that digital media and new technologies

Place, saw a 26% increase in Guinness

can play in boosting consumer engage-

sales, despite a 19% drop in total year-

ment post Covid-19.”

over-year beer sales.

The five participating venues also report

Sambira concludes: “People enjoy inter-

increased social media exposure. “Rip-

acting with their favourite beer brand and

ples is an incredible marketing tool that

the numbers prove it. We will definitely

allows constant communication with our

continue engaging our consumers using

customer base,” says Moshe Nahum,

Ripples in other campaigns and have

owner of Hanasi Pub.

increased the amount of Ripple Makers in

“Beyond raising a lot of interest at the

Israel to support that.”

brewersjournal.info

SUMMER 2020

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45

BOTTLING IN BARI A GROWING DOMESTIC MARKET AND A TREND TOWARDS PREMIUM BEER IN THE UK AND THE US RECENTLY LED BIRRA PERONI, PART OF ASAHI GROUP HOLDINGS LTD., TO UPGRADE THEIR GLASS BOTTLING CAPACITY. SO THEY RETURNED TO LONG-TERM PARTNER SIDEL AND ITS EVOFILL AND EVODECO TECHNOLOGY TO HANDLE THE TASK.

46

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SUMMER 2020

I

ncreased productivity, coupled with

US consumers, for instance, have been

flexibility and sustainability, were an

showing consistent interest in premium

absolute must for Birra Peroni when

beers with many choosing imported

looking to invest in its packaging.

lagers, often over the more affordable

With a new complete glass line

domestic options.

from their long-term partner Sidel, featur-

Drinking less but better has been the

ing the latest innovations EvoFill Glass fill-

source of value growth in many mature

er and EvoDeco Cold Glue labeller, these

markets with ethical living making its

goals became achievable. The line is

mark on the beer industry.

installed at the company’s factory in Bari and is intended to handle two product

The category posted a 1.3% global total

references in their portfolio: Peroni, both

volume growth in 2018, with Italy pre-

as returnable and one-way glass bottles,

senting an even ‘greener’ trajectory (total

and Peroni Nastro Azzurro.

volume growth of 2%) and reaching 1.7 billion litres. Domestic player Peroni, for

With 198 billion litres per year, beer is by

example, launched a new special Nastro

far the largest category within alcoholic

Azzurro lager in May 2018, intended to

drinks worldwide, accounting for around

offer a drinking experience that goes well

78% of the global alcoholic market. In the

with food and could replace wine during

last few years, a handful of megatrends

meals.

have shaped this industry: premiumisation, for example, is expected to remain

The product appeals ideally to Italians,

relevant while consumers are also mi-

who are mainly looking for original taste.

grating more and more towards artisanal

Peroni Nastro Azzurro and the domestic

craftsmanship with long heritages in the

brand Peroni combined for more than

brewing business.

20% of the market last year, thus sitting

BREWERS JOURNAL EUROPE

among the three most popular beer

freshed the bottle’s look and feel, giving

brands in Italy.

it a clean, elegant and curved shape with

back many times,” Cason explains.

a hexagonal logo. Peroni’s site in Bari

Luca Ianelli, Sidel Sales Manager for

This success, both in their home country

now produces this high-quality premium

Southern Europe, adds that the winning

and as an export good to the US and UK,

lager in the redesigned bottle, next to the

cooperation between the two com-

paired with the fact that the drink they

domestic brand Peroni.

panies, “Our partnership approach is grounded in our comprehensive set of

sell knows no seasonality, has prompted the need for increased production

“We have our production running at full

capabilities. From customised solutions,

capacity at their Bari factory in Southern

capacity for most of the year – from Jan-

which materialised Peroni’s requirements,

Italy. This one is the only site where they

uary to November,” says Michele Cason,

up to 360° support all along the line

process both returnable and one-way

plant manager at Birra Peroni. “Faced

lifecycle, we exploited our four comple-

glass bottles.

with the need to expand our capacity, we

mentary areas of expertise: engineering,

used it as an opportunity for rationalising

line design, integration and equipment

In 1846, Francesco Peroni established

the handling of returnable glass bottles

manufacturing.”

his first brewery in Vigevano, near Milan.

(RGB), applied to the Peroni brand.

Beyond the proven partnership, Peroni

He called his beer Birra Peroni and it still bears his name today. Since then, the

Therefore, we enlarged the RGB produc-

was especially interested in gaining ben-

brand has welcomed growing demand,

tion in our Bari plant,” he adds. Given the

efits from two of Sidel’s latest innovations:

embodying Italian values of quality and

various formats that are produced there

on the one hand, EvoFill Glass with its

craftsmanship throughout its history. With

(20 cl, 33 cl, 50 cl, 66 cl and 75 cl), part of

cutting-edge filling technology and hy-

production sites in Rome, Padova and

them as both RGB and one-way bottles

gienic, no-base design.

Bari, the company has been part of Asahi

(OW), versatility and reduced resource

Its level probe electronic filling valves

Group Holdings Ltd. since 2016.

consumption were absolutely vital for

ensure a very high accuracy while man-

the Italian brewery, who opted for a new

aging a wide range of filling set points

While Birra Peroni is especially popular in

glass bottling line, able to combine the

without any adjustment or replacement

the Southern part of Italy, Nastro Azzurro

two processes.

of parts.

most part of production intended for

To solve this, Peroni turned to their

This was particularly important for Peroni,

export. Since its launch in 2005, Peroni

long-standing partner Sidel: “Since the

as they are handling five different formats

Nastro Azzurro has been synonymous

1980s, we have installed various bottling

in Bari; three of them as returnable glass

with style. Last year, the brewery re-

lines from Sidel and this choice has paid

as well as one-way bottles (33 cl, 66 cl

is renowned around the globe with the

brewersjournal.info

SUMMER 2020

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47

and 50 cl), while two formats are man-

“Since we are processing also return-

Water is then distributed to different

aged as one-way bottle (75 cl) and RGB

able glass bottles here onsite, we had to

zones as required, thus saving both water

only (20 cl).

design a smart crate circuit regulation.

and energy. To date, 77.6 billion contain-

Sidel stepped in and helped us manage

ers have been pasteurised on SWING

On the other hand, the brewer was

crate accumulations during empty crate

equipment, which has saved an impres-

intrigued by the new EvoDeco Cold Glue

palletisation: this approach has led to a

sive 2,135 Olympic swimming pools of

labeller. Launched in 2018, the solution

seamlessly running line and maximum

water and energy of up to 60,000 kcal,

ensures fast changeover times, through

uptime,” highlights De Liddo.

compared to other pasteurisers.

lease tool-less label pallets, combined

As an expert in complete solutions with a

The overall performance of the bottling

with an automatic label magazine loading

long history in beer lines, Sidel provided

line is also realised via EvoFlex, Sidel’s

system.

equipment from A to Z, complementing

high-speed single column de-palletis-

its easy-to-operate station with quick-re-

EvoFill Glass and the EvoDeco labeller

er for returnable bottles in crates. “We

“Equipped with three stations, EvoDe-

with a (de-)crater, a (de-)palletiser, bottle

also installed our well renowned EIT™

co Cold Glue ensures a high-precision

and crate washers, a pasteuriser, a cap

(Efficiency Improvement Tool), a strategic

application of the pre-cut paper labels on

feeder, bottle dryers, a packer as well as

asset that helps any layer of the organisa-

our embossed glass bottles,” emphasises

conveying systems for bottles, crates and

tion, from the CEO to the line operators,

Luigi De Liddo, packaging engineering

packs.

to be aware about the status of the line and events occurring in real time, thereby

manager at Peroni.

For increased product quality and

improving production efficiency – a key

To control the label positioning accord-

sustainability benefits, Peroni installed

feature for Peroni,” explains Ianelli.

ing to the bottle’s embossing, a custom

Swing, a proven pasteurisation system

feature was integrated within the labeller.

that cuts energy consumption by 25%.

Antonio Martalò, packaging manager at

It came together with a vision system

This energy saving is achieved thanks to

Birra Peroni, sums up: “By choosing Sidel

and a solution able to correctly orient

two units: a water spray deviation system

as our partner we realised productivity

the bottle at the infeed for a perfect label

in central areas ensures that only the

gains and massive flexibility improve-

application.

thermal energy required by the entire

ments.

pasteurisation process is used to heat or

“Not less important, we can now scale

cool the product.

our production set-up according to the

The turnkey glass line in Bari is running

market needs.

at 50,000 bottles per hour and has been designed according to an arena layout,

Secondly, Swing contains one ring circuit

“The project execution was absolutely

offering full ergonomics and enabling it to

with water flowing inside it at a constant

smooth thanks to the continuous support

be managed by only four operators.

temperature thanks to a single heat

offered by their team and their expertise

exchanger (for all pasteurisation areas).

in turnkey solutions for the beer industry.”

48

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SUMMER 2020

BREWERS JOURNAL EUROPE

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ATTENUATION

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brew more with the

PERfect pitch From aber the yeast sensor experts

With the PERFECTPITCH, you can take out the guesswork from your yeast management.

You can also increase your capacity by shortening your fermentation times. And to top it all, you can improve the quality with better pitching consistency. Did we forget anything?

To discover more visit aberinstruments.com/brewing/ +44 (0) 1970 636300 sales@aberinstruments.com

AUTOMATE FILTRATION F

WHEN CROATIA’S ZAGREBAČKA PIVOVARA MADE THE DECISION TO EXPAND ITS RANGE OF NONPASTEURIZED LAGER, THE NEED FOR A STERILE FILTRATION SOLUTION CAME WITH IT. REQUIRING A SYSTEM THAT COULD BE EASILY INTEGRATED INTO ITS SITE IN ZAGREB, IT TURNED TO AGIDENS AND PARKER BIOSCIENCE FILTRATION TO GET THE JOB DONE.

ounded in 1892, Zagrebačka

In 2018, the two companies announced a

pivovara in Zagreb was the first

partnership, which was created to enable

industrial brewery in Croatia

the global brewing industry to access

and is synonymous with the

systems which integrated Parker Biosci-

country’s brewing industry. It

ence Filtration’s microfiltration solutions

was acquired by Molson Coors in 2012

with Agidens’ automated processing

and remains the leading producer of beer

technology.

in the Croatian domestic market.

Agidens offers a platform of cold stabiThe brewery wanted to expand its range

lization modules to suit a range of beer

with a premium, non-pasteurized lager

flow capacities and specifications, as a

– and therefore needed a sterile filtration

more efficient alternative to pasteuriza-

solution which could be easily integrated

tion.

into its site in Zagreb.

This challenge was taken up by a part-

And Zagrebačka pivovara has been one

nership between Agidens and Parker

of the first breweries to have seen the

Bioscience Filtration.

results of the collaboration.

Belgium-based automation and process

Drawn to Agidens because of the com-

engineering company Agidens has a

pany’s extensive expertise in cold stabili-

30-year track record in providing turnkey

zation technology, Zagrebačka pivovara

automated solutions to the brewing

commissioned Agidens to implement

industry, while Parker Bioscience Filtra-

a Cold Stabilization Module (CSM) at its

tion has five decades of experience in

brewery site.

working with the international food and

The CSM uses Parker Bioscience Filtra-

beverage sector and offers a wide range

tion’s Prepor NG and Bevpor BR filters in

of filtration solutions to breweries.

a combination to achieve microbial stabil-

Zagrebačka pivovara commissioned Agidens to implement a Cold Stabilization Module (CSM) at its brewery site

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BREWERS JOURNAL EUROPE

ity whilst protecting the taste characteris-

to be custom-designed, disassembled

ile filtration has over pasteurization, such

tics of the premium lager. Sterile filtration

and transported before it could be re-

as reducing product losses and energy

solutions provided by Parker Bioscience

built and installed on site.

costs, while protecting taste from the

Filtration are designed to allow brewers

Agidens used the flexible software

effects of heat treatment and increasing

to significantly reduce the costs of mi-

platform Siemens TIA for this CSM. This

shelf life.

crobial stabilization while protecting the

state-of-the-art platform lends itself per-

beer’s sensory appeal.

fectly to modular skid construction, such

“The microbial stabilization of beer is

as the usage of the standard filter skids,

of critical importance for the shelf-life

Parker Bioscience Filtration’s Bevpor BR

simplifying maintenance and offering

of beers and an increasing number of

range of filters have been constructed

possibilities for expansion.

brewers are turning to sterile filtration as a reliable method to ensure a longer

with a unique Polyethersulphone (PES)

shelf-life of their packaged beer.

membrane, offering a long service life

The CSM 12-250 installed at the Za-

and therefore a highly efficient and low

grebačka pivovara brewery filters an av-

cost of operation in sterile filtration of

erage of 250 hectolitres of beer per hour.

“Many brewery operations have been

beer applications.

Commenting on the installation, Tomislav

moving away from flash pasteurization

Rorbach, process optimization rngineer at

due to its negative impact on the flavour

The company’s Prepor NG filters have

Zagrebačka pivovara, said: “The cooper-

profile of the end product and the many

been specifically developed to remove

ation with Agidens was flawless and they

advantages offered by sterile filtration.”

yeast and particulate such as filter aids

have fully met our expectations with their

According to the manufactyrer, the sterile

and haze components. This superior level

CSM module.”

filtration process is gentler, compared to the harsh process of flash pasteuri-

of retention ensures that a consistent quality of brew is delivered to bright beer

Lee Pattison, product manager for food

zation and this helps the beer to retain

storage whilst also offering a greater level

and beverage at Parker Bioscience Fil-

its unique and desirable characteristics

of membrane filter protection during cold

tration, added: “We’re delighted that our

more efficiently than beer stabilized

stabilization.

partnership with Agidens Process Auto-

through flash pasteurization.

mation has been able to create an effecIn just five months, Agidens’ engineering

tive solution for Zagrebačka pivovara.

Other advantages include the perfor-

team was able to provide a tailor-made

“It is an example of how breweries are

mance of sterile filtration which can

CSM solution that was integrated into

able to tap into Parker Bioscience Filtra-

more easily be monitored, because of

the brewery’s existing production line.

tion and Agidens Process Automation’s

the relative simplicity of cold stabilization

The CSM installation consists of three

combined expertise in order to access

systems. While the filters used in sterile

modules: a filtration skid, a distribution

innovative sterile filtration technology.

filtration minimize adsorption of desirable components and help to protect beer

cluster and a CIP skid - for a total length of 6.75 metres.

“By using cold stabilization modules in

head retention Beer losses when using

The site was only accessible via a small

their processes, breweries can benefit

sterile filtration can be significantly lower

elevator which meant that the CSM had

from the numerous advantages that ster-

than flash pasteurization.

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51

A ROBOT NOSE FOR A TRUE BREW I

THE AROMA OF BEER IS A KEY INDICATOR OF ITS QUALITY, NOW NEW TECHNOLOGY CAN ‘SNIFF’ A BEER TO HELP BREWERS CREATE TOP NOTCH TASTY BREWS AND INNOVATIVE FLAVOURS. CLAUDIA HOOPER REPORTS FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE

s that pine or citrus notes in the

wine growing regions. While the fires

beer? Coffee or chocolate? If the

can destroy vines, smoke from nearby

best-trained nose can sometimes

fires can taint the grapes, making them

have difficulties, is little hope for the

worthless for wine.

rest of us?

However, enticing aromas are essential

The development of off-aromas or

to the development of a superior beer

off-flavours in beers can occur particu-

and getting them right requires skilled

larly in breweries that don’t use pasteuri-

personnel and costly equipment. This is

sation. The partial sterilisation that comes

no problem for big beer, but what about

through pasteurisation isn’t necessary

microbreweries that operate out of ware-

to guarantee the safety of beer as it is a

houses in the ex-industrial suburbs?

fermented product, and the process can modify aromas. But on the plus side pas-

University of Melbourne researches from

teurisation can reduce the risk of aroma

the Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultur-

and flavours going ‘off’.

al Sciences and the Melbourne School

With consumers demanding more nov-

of Engineering have developed a low

elty, brewers are responding by exper-

cost and portable ‘electronic-nose’, or

imenting with different flavour profiles

‘e-nose’, that uses machine learning to

– milky stouts, cherry and honeycomb

quickly assess beer quality based on its

beers and even pickle.

aroma. Their report, “Development of a

In an increasingly innovative environ-

low-cost e-nose to assess aroma profiles:

ment like this, it’s important to develop

An artificial intelligence application to

methods that can assess aroma both

assess beer quality” has recently been

during and after boiling (with the addition

published in the research journal Sensors

of hops) and fermentation.

and Actuators B: Chemical.

Gas chromatography instruments that The Australian designed device is port-

analyse the vapours given off by a

able, allowing brewers to use it for rapid

compound can be used to do this, but

and reliable quality assessment on the

it’s costly, time-consuming and involves

production line. It also has the potential

sending samples away for assessment.

to be used to assess other food and

In beer, the aroma alone is a fairly reliable

beverages at all stages of production and

indicator of quality.

has already been tested to detect smoke

This is due to the close link between our

taint in wine.

senses of smell and taste. But in a small brewery, there may only be one or two

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This has been a huge problem during

people – including the master brewer

the last two years with major bush fires in

– conducting aroma testing sessions for

both Californian and Southern Australia

each batch.

BREWERS JOURNAL EUROPE

spicy, floral, fruity, burnt sugar, grains, yeast, nut and carbonation mouthfeel.

The samples were also measured using gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS).

One of the objectives is to also use the data from the e-nose to aid in the creation of flavour profiles.

“With the e-nose, you just do a pour, and then you get all the data through the machine learning – you get the whole aroma profile of the beer with 97 percent accuracy,” says Fuentes.

The e-nose measures the peak area of different gases that are present in beer The portable ‘electronic -nose’ uses machine

fine foam on top to protect it.

vapours before fermentation and afterwards. The sensors on the e-nose are

learning to assess beer quality.

“If you have a flat Guinness, it will oxidise,

calibrated to measure the presence of

giving you off-flavours in five minutes,”

gases like carbon dioxide, ethanol, meth-

The process can be imperfect and takes

says Fuentes.

ane, hydrogen, hydrogen sulfide, carbon

time, but it’s also ultimately highly sub-

Measuring the bubbles and carbon

monoxide, ammonia and benzene.

jective.

dioxide led nicely into the next phase of

New and emerging technologies are able

Fuente’s research – adding additional

There are different gases present as a re-

to get around this. Sensors, robotics and

sensors to measure other gases and de-

sult of different types of fermentation, like

machine learning have been brought

termine how those bring about different

lambic beers. These beers are produced

together to reduce time spent assess-

aromas.

by spontaneous fermentation using wild yeast. This allows for the development

ing food quality while providing a less To investigate the effectiveness of the

of more gases and aromatics than beers

e-nose, the researchers conducted a

from top (like ales) and bottom (like la-

“Our study shows that this technology

study of 20 different commercial beer

gers) fermentation that use domesticated

can be used to assess quality in the field.

samples, covering a range of styles and

yeast varieties.

It’s a first for a genuinely portable device,”

fermentation types.

The researchers hope to finesse the

variable test.

design further, making it smaller and in-

according to lead authors Associate Professor Sigfredo Fuentes and PhD

The variety in beer styles helped create a

tegrating rechargeable batteries and WiFi

candidate Claudia Gonzalez Viejo. Her

computer program that can detect differ-

to allow brewers greater flexibility, as the

research started with a University of

ent volatile compounds, reducing bias in

current version needs to be connected to

Melbourne student project that involved

the artificial intelligence software that was

power and a computer via USB.

using Legos to create a device to meas-

developed alongside the e-nose, which

ure bubbles in drinks.

was built by Bryce Widdicombe and Dr

But the potential applications of the

The level of bubbling is an important

Ranjith R Unnithan at the Melbourne

device go beyond beer and identifying

quality of drinks, with consumers prefer-

School of Engineering.

smoke taint to include building flavour

ring medium-sized bubbles in products

The e-nose – a small circuit board with

profiles for sparkling wines and non-alco-

like sparkling water and in the foam for

a diameter of 92 millimetres – is placed

holic beverages like coffee or tea.

beer.

face-down over a sample of beer in a

“The e-nose helps take a good deal of

“You can determine how much people

beaker. The sensors can then measure

subjectivity out of things,” says Fuentes.

will like a drink by the quality of the bub-

the gases above the beer.

“Manufacturers will be able to definitively say what is in each flavour profile and put

bles,” says Fuentes. “Bubbles and foamability and the stability of the bubbles are

This data is measured in real-time, with

really important.”

the help of food technologist Amruta

that information on the product labelling.”

Godbole from the Faculty of Veterinary

But will the e-nose replace a master

In beer, the froth or foam created by

and Agricultural Sciences. The results

brewer’s taste? Absolutely not, says

bubbles helps to protect the drink from

were measured against a traditional sen-

Fuentes. “I find that brewers are not

oxidisation that alters the flavour profile –

sory session conducted by twelve trained

against technology. They embrace it.”

this is why dark stouts like Guinness are

panellists. The panel assessed the

often pumped with nitrogen to create a

intensity of different beer aromas – hops,

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This article was first published on Pursuit

BREWERS JOURNAL EUROPE

UNDERSTANDING ENZYME ACTIVITY TO UNDERSTAND ENZYME ACTIVITY IS TO UNDERSTAND MORE ABOUT THE PROCESS OF BREWING. HERE TIM O’ ROURKE, FOUNDER OF THE BRILLIANT BEER COMPANY, EXPLAINS ALL.

T

he brewing process is based

(binding site) leading to the lock and key

on a series of biochemical

explanation of enzyme activity.

reactions, principally the

This means that the structure of the

extraction and breakdown

substrate must match the shape of the

of nutrients particularly con-

enzyme and explains the remarkable

version of starch to simple sugars, and

specificity of most enzymes. Generally, a

the “fermentation” of the wort nutrients

given enzyme can catalyse only a single

into alcohol and other flavour com-

chemical reaction.

pounds which make beer.

This is best represented by the “lock

Enzymes can catalyse the reactions by

and key” model where the substrate fits

temporarily binding with one or more of

into the shape of the enzyme and the

the substrates required in the reaction

chemical bonds to be altered are exactly

they catalyse.

aligned with active co enzyme site.

In order to do its work, an enzyme must

Chemical reactions require initial energy

combine - briefly - with at least one of

to start, called “Activation Energy”. This

the reactants. In most cases, the forces

energy is then released on completion.

that hold the enzyme and its substrate

The amount of activation energy required

are weak. In order to react the substrate

determines how easily and fast the

and the enzyme come together very

reaction will proceed. Enzymes lower the

closely with a specific area of the enzyme

activation energy for the reaction they are

Enzyme Co-factor Enzymes are globular proteins with a defined structure which can capture the substrate and ensure it is presented exactly to the Coenzymes (cofactor) which usually made up of a metal ion or vitamin so that it can interact at a very specific location to either synthesise or breakdown the substrate.

Above: Figure 1 Globular enzyme protein structure showing an active coenzyme site

Enzyme + Substrate

Enzyme/Substrate complex

Enzyme + Product

Substrate

Product Enzyme/Substrate complex Enzyme

Enzyme Above: Figure 2 show the “lock and key” mechanism of enzymes reactions

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55

catalysing allowing them to proceed at much lower temperatures.

Most activation energy is supplied in the form of temperature with many of the biochemical reactions in brewing requiring very high temperature, greatly in excess of range acceptable to normal living organisms. Enzymes are essential in reducEnergy

ing the activation energy required for the reaction to take place in living systems.

Like most chemical reactions, the rate of an enzyme-catalysed reaction increases with temperature. Ten-degree Celsius rises in temperature will generally double the rate of enzyme activity. However, because of the specific structure of the enzymes and the need to be a perfect fit with the substrate, when the temperature

Reaction Coordinates

exceeds its optimum enzymes rapidly

Above: Figure 3 shows how enzymes reduce the activation energy of a reaction

loses activity due to the loss of structure.

When using enzymes, it is necessary to

Stability

Activity

ensure that the reactions occur near their optimum temperature to avoid losing activity.

The optimum range of conditions for an enzyme can be extended by external

Activity

factors such as mash thickness (water to grist ratio) and ionic composition (particularly Ca2+ ions). The rate of reaction will also be affected by the concentration of substrate, which in mash is usually in excess. In malt the enzyme concentration is measured and represented by the diastatic power of the malt.

Optimum reaction temperature

Enzymes are affected by changes in pH. Extremely high or low pH values generally result in complete loss of activity for most enzymes. pH is also a factor in the

Temperature Above: Figure 4 Interaction between enzyme stability and increased rate of reaction with increased temperature

stability of enzymes. As with temperature activity, there is also an optimum range of pH for each enzyme.

TABLE 1: TYPICAL OPTIMUM TEMPERATURE VALUES FOR COMMON MASHING ENZYMES DERIVED FROM MALTED BARLEY

from one enzyme to another and is often related to the origin e.g. plant, fungal or

Optimum Temperature 0C

Effect

Alpha amylase

68 - 72

Liquefy starch produce long chain dextrins

range 5 to 6 which is the operating range

Beta amylase

62 - 66

Produce fermentable maltose sugar

In addition to temperature and pH there

Limit dextranase

50 – 55

Break down branch starch amylopectin

45 – 50

A range of enzymes which hydrolyse protein & polypeptides

physical and chemical parameters must

40 – 45

A range of beta glucan enzymes which break down endo-sperm beta glucan cell walls surrounding the starch granules

an enzymatic reaction to be accurate and

Enzyme

Protease Beta glucanase

56

The optimum pH value will vary greatly

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bacterial enzymes. Most of the brewing enzymes have an optimum pH in the of brewery mashes. are other factors, such as ionic concentration which can affect the enzymatic reaction and stability. Each of these be considered and optimised in order for reproducible.

BREWERS JOURNAL EUROPE

Activity

TABLE 2: TYPICAL OPTIMUM PH VALUES FOR COMMON MASHING ENZYMES DERIVED FROM MALTED BARLEY Enzyme

Optimum pH

Effect

Alpha amylase

5.3 – 5.8

Liquefy starch produce long chain dextrins

Beta amylase

5.4 – 5.6

Produce fermentable maltose sugar

Limit dextranase

5.0 – 5.5

Break down branch starch amylopectin

Protease (family)

4.5 – 7.8

A range of enzymes which hydrolyse protein & polypeptides

Beta glucanase

4.7 – 5.0

A range of beta glucan enzymes which break down endosperm beta glucan cell walls surrounding the starch granules

pH Above: Figure 5 The effect of pH on enzyme activity

Breaking down carbohydrates During the malting process the protected starch in the endosperm of the barley is released as the barley germinates, at the same time the growing barley produces the natural enzymes required to break down that starch during mash conversion.

In the brewhouse, the grist consisting of ground malt and if used, solid adjuncts, is mixed with water (brewing liquor) at a defined temperature and with a defined volume to produce a fully hydrated “mash”. The mashing process allows the natural enzymes produced during malting to continue their activity in breaking down the malt starch.

Above: Figure 6 A schematic representation of activity of the various starch degrading enzymes

The principal enzymes involved in the hy-

TABLE 3: EFFECT OF MASH TEMPERATURE ON WORT FERMENTABILITY (WELL MODIFIED ALL MALT)

drolysis of starch to sugars are alpha-and beta-amylases. Before enzyme hydrolysis can occur, it is necessary to open the

Mash temp 0C

% Extract

% Fermentability

Attenuation limit for a 1040 wort (100P)

60

75.6

76.2

2.7

65.5

74.2

69.7

3.2

68.3

74

65.3

3.7

starch granules by exceeding the starch gelatinisation temperature rendering the starch accessible to the enzymes. It is also necessary to select the optimum operating conditions for saccharification enzymes, converting polymeric starch and polysaccharides to short dimers or monomers of sugar. This is achieved by stabilising the enzymes in several ways: most of the fermentable sugar in wort.

u Optimising pH of the mash (usually

and amylopectin to produce a mixture of

between pH 5 and 6)

glucose, maltose, maltotriose and higher

u Adding calcium ions to reduce wort pH

molecular weight unfermentable sugars,

By varying the temperature, it is possi-

and to stabilise the enzyme

called dextrins, Thus, the enzymes pro-

ble to preferentially favour one enzyme

u Using thick mash (high concentration

duce an all malt wort (malt derived sugar

reaction over the other and influencing

of substrate to insulate the enzymes

solution) with around 75% fermentability.

the fermentability of the wort. Lower

against denaturing)

u alpha amylase randomly hydrolyses

temperature produces worts with higher

u Optimising temperature to favour the

starch to dextrins

fermentability as illustrated in the table

activity of enzyme systems.

u beta-amylase attacks the starch and

above and right.

dextrins from the non-reducing end,

Neither beta-amylase nor alpha-amylase

The amylase enzymes are able to

stripping pairs of sugar molecules disac-

can break the branched 1, 6-bonds which

hydrolyse the alpha-1,4 links in amylose

charides, producing maltose which forms

requires a debranching enzyme.

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57

THE MAIN STARCH HYDROLYZING ENZYMES Beta-amylase is an exo-amylase hydrolysing the 1,4-alpha links of the starch and dextrin molecules from the non-reducing end.

It acts optimally at 62 to 66°C, but is quickly inactivated at higher temperatures and is rapidly inactivated above at 70°C. The optimum pH is 5.4 to 5.5. In all cases the breakdown stops 2 to 3 glucose residues away from the 1, 6-bonds in amylopectin.

Beta amylase as a saccharifying enzyme and produces mainly maltose sugars and with the associated activity of an endo enzyme such as alpha amylase it cannot move past the branched structure due the alpha 1-6 bonds leaving large chains maltodextrins.

Alpha-amylase is an endo enzyme breaking 1,4- alpha links in the inner parts of the starch molecules (amylopectin and amylose) thereby creating dextrin molecules containing 7 to 12 glucose residues.

It acts optimally up to 70 °C but it has good effect at the 63 - 65 ºC if a single saccharification stand is employed. It is rapidly destroyed at or above 75°C. The optimum pH is 5.6 to 5.8.

Alpha amylase is described as a liquifying enzyme as it rapidly breaks down long chain

NEITHER BETA-AMYLASE NOR ALPHA-AMYLASE CAN BREAK THE BRANCHED 1, 6-BONDS WHICH REQUIRES A DEBRANCHING ENZYME Malt contains a debranching enzyme, Limit Dextrinase which unlike alpha and beta-amylase breaks the branched 1,6-bonds in starch. However, it has an optimum temperature of 55°C and an deactivation temperature of 60°C which is around the gelatinisation temperature of malt starch, so it has little effect during mashing.

The action of Limit Dextrinase is to debranched the alpha 1,6 bonds in amylopectin to give straight chains capable of being fully hydrolysed by alpha and beta amylase during mashing make a much more fermentable wort.

This effect can be observed in both malting and mashing, but temperature and development of the enzyme usually has a minor impact in brewing. Extending Germination time can allow enzyme activity to produce malts with higher fermentability.

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As a result, not all the starch is broken down to sugar leaving branched polysaccharides: the action of alpha and beta amylase combine to produce wort with around 75 - 80% fermentability.

Although malting and mashing are physi-

Above: There are 21 different amino acids with the structure shown above and these combine into long chains to form proteins.

cally separate processes and usually take place in different locations, malting has a profound influence on the subsequent release of sugars during mashing. The degree of breakdown of the barley cell structure or modification will determine the mashing profile required in the brewery.

Protein breakdown

Above: Figure 7 Structure of an amino acid and the location of enzyme degradation.

There is a portion of large molecular weight protein and polypeptides in malt which contribute to properties of the beer. These protein/polypeptides: u Provide beer with the essential amino

TABLE 4: PRINCIPAL GROUPS OF ENZYMES INVOLVED IN THE BREAKDOWN OF MALT PROTEINS Type of protease

Endopeptidase

Carboxypeptidase

Aminopeptidase

Temperature optimum

45 – 50 C

50 C

45 – 50 C

Inactivation temp

70 C

70 C

55 C

pH optimum

3.9 – 5.5

4.8 – 5.2

7.2 - 10

Location of activity

Attacks in the centre of the chain

Attacks the proteins from the carbonyl end

Attacks the proteins from the amino end

Action

randomly attacks large protein molecules into relatively large polypeptide chains.

present in raw barley and is released during the initial stages of steeping and germination and

less active at mash pH and does not play a significant role in protein breakdown during mashing.

acids for yeast growth u Precipitate with calcium ions to decrease the pH of wort and beer u Hydrophobic polypeptides are attracted to carbon dioxide bubbles to produce stable beer foam u Acidic polypeptides combine with malt polyphenols to produce haze u The protein/polypeptides contribute to the texture and mouthfeel of the beer.

There are 21 different amino acids with the structure shown above and these combine into long chains to form proteins.

Proteins are made up of a chain of amino

Most of the proteolysis occurs during

insufficient free amino nitrogen (FAN)

acids which all have the basic structure

malting. It is only partially possible to

levels in the wort.

shown above with an amino terminal and

compensate for a nitrogen deficiency in

Nitrogenous materials account for 5-6%

a carbonyl terminal. During malting and

malt by introducing a prolonged pro-

of wort solids, which is equivalent to

mashing the protein chains are broken

teolytic mash stand at 50°C. However,

around 30-40% of the total nitrogen

down by a series of enzymes call “pro-

adding exogenous enzymes enables

in malt. Good yeast growth and rapid

tease” which attack at different points in

further conversion of the available amino

fermentation requires 150-240mg/l of

the chain.

acids during mashing and corrects for

free amino nitrogen (at 10°P wort) but is

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59

of cell wall material (even in the most well modified malt), and this will be exacerbated if adjuncts such as raw barley or wheat are also used.

Some of the beta glucan material remains bound to the part of the protein matrix and is insoluble in lower temperature mash conditions below 55C when Above: Figure 8 Structure of alpha and beta links in carbohydrates – a long molecule of mixed beta 1 – 3 and beta 1 – 4 bonds

the malt beta glucanase enzymes are active. As the mash is heated above 63C the malt beta glucanase are deactivated,

TABLE 5: OPTIMUM TEMPERATURE OF BETA GLUCAN ENZYME ACTIVITY Enzyme

pH Optimum

Optimum Temp.

Inactivation Temp.

but Beta-glucan Solubilase will release beta-glucan from the protein matrix contributing soluble beta glucan to the wort resulting in increased wort viscosity.

The results of the different mashing tem-

Endo beta 1-4 Glucanase

4.5-4.8

37-45°C

55°C

peratures can influence the viscosity and

Endo barley Beta Glucanase

4.7-5.0

40°C

63°C

If the large viscous beta-glucan mole-

Beta Glucan Solubilase

6.3

60°C

73°C

filterability of wort and beer. cules which are not broken-down during malting or mashing other process problems can also occur: ▪ u Reduced extract recovery u Higher wort viscosity u Poor wort filterability - run off performance u Beer filtration problems The high molecular weight beta-glucans released by Beta-glucan Solubilase contribute to wort viscosity and poorer extract recover. Most Brewers are very careful in selecting malt with low beta-glucan levels, and higher beta-glucanase enzyme activity.

Many initial mash temperatures are at or

Above: Figure 9 Schematic of beta glucan degradation during malting and mashing

above the maximum stability temperature of the malt beta glucanase enzymes and it is common practice in breweries to add exogenous beta-glucanase to

dependent on the yeast strain.

with roughly 70% beta1,4 linkages and

decrease wort and beer viscosity and

Excessive proteolysis in malting and

30% beta1,3 linkages.

to improve beer filterability. The effects

mashing will reduce foam stability. The

The beta links between the glucose

of enzyme addition on the breakdown

pH of a normal mash is not optimal for

molecules are more difficult to break and

of beta glucan can be shown by an in-

malt derived Aminopeptidase proteolytic

require a family of specialist enzymes

creasing in filter flow rate and decrease in

enzymes.

called beta glucanase.

wort viscosity. The effect will be more noticeable with higher concentrations of un-

Reducing beta glucan and other gums Beside starch-based oligosaccharides

Most beta-glucan is water soluble, but a

broken beta-glucans for example when

with the standard alpha 1-4 bonds be-

proportion is bound covalently to cell wall

using raw (un-malted) barley adjunct.

tween the glucose monomer there are a

proteins if there is insufficient degradation

While beta-glucans accounts for a

number of structural non-starch poly-

of the cell walls, then enzymic access to

substantial part of the troublesome

saccharides. The most significant non

the protein and starch will be restricted,

polysaccharides in barley and malt,

starch polysaccharides in barley and malt

and the extract from the malt reduced.

there are other polysaccharides such

are beta-glucans which make up more

Although much of the necessary

as pentosans, comprising of xylose and

than 75% of the endosperm cell wall. The

beta-glucanase activity occurs during

arabanose which can also contribute to

molecule has a distinctive linear structure

malting, there is inevitably some survival

filtration difficulties, and are present in

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TABLE 6: EFFECT OF ADDING EXOGENOUS BETA GLUCANASE ON THE FILTERABILITY OF WORT

Beta glucanase as % of grist weight

All malt mash

60% barley + 40% malt

Wort filtration rate vol in 30 mins

Wort viscosity cp

Wort filtration rate vol in 30 mins

Wort viscosity cp

0

260

1.73

200

1.82

0.01

283

1.73

218

1.81

0.05

288

1.6

236

1.65

0.1

325

1.43

290

1.43

0.2

325

1.43

290

1.44

TABLE 7: TYPICAL GELATINIZATION TEMPERATURES OF VARIOUS STARCH SOURCES Cereal – source of starch

Gelatinisation temperature 0C

packed structure which determines the conditions under which the cereal is processed.

Many adjuncts require investment in a cereal cooker to reach high enough tem-

Maize

68 – 80

peratures to gelatinise the starch.

Rice

68 - 80

gelatinises through the action of heat and

Sorghum

68 - 75

can increase so much that it affects the

Wheat

52 - 60

may fail to operate properly. This will

Raw Barley

53 – 62

in worse cases preventing any move-

Malted Barley

58 – 62

cooker.

The starch become very viscous as it swells as it takes up water. The viscosity stirrers (agitators) in the cooker that they lead to scorching of the starch slurry and ment of the (now gelled) slurry out of the There is no single temperature at which starch instantly gelatinises. Much depends on the grain and consequently the

higher concentrations in other cereals.

beer are water, malted barley, hops and

amylose: amylopectin ratio. The lower

yeast. In some traditional beers these are

this ratio the lower the gelatinisation tem-

The total hemicellulose content of the

the only ingredients used and permitted

perature. Starch lipid complexes will also

different cereals indicates the potential to

under the Reinheitsgebot (the German

affect the temperature of gelatinization as

give process problems, but only soluble

purity law of 1516).

will the size of the starch granules.

carbohydrates have a direct influence the

For many reasons brewers outside Ger-

It is advisable to boil the starch slurry for

viscosity of wort and beer. In barley most

many supplement their extract by using

more than15 minutes as there are always

of the soluble hemicellulose is beta-glu-

un-malted grains to replace some or all

some starch granules which are extreme-

cans and pentosans remains insoluble.

of the malted barley. These grains or sol-

ly resistant to gelatinisation. Keeping the

In contrast to barley, the predominant

id adjuncts are typically maize (corn), rice,

higher temperatures require high energy

hemicellulose in wheat is pentosans,

sorghum, wheat, barley. The use of differ-

and contributes to the operation costs

and when using high proportions of

ent adjuncts in different beer markets has

and energy footprint of the brewery.

wheat in grist, it is recommended to use

led to the development of unique brands

xylanase or pentosanase enzymes or a

or styles of beer.

On cooling the viscosity of the starch

beta-glucanases enzyme which has high

The most important consideration when

slurry will increase dramatically as the

pentosanase activity to improve both the

using adjuncts is the starch gelatinisa-

gelatinised starch will revert to (almost)

wort separation and beer filtration.

tion temperature which is the temper-

its natural form. This is called retrograda-

ature at which these starch granules

tion. To prevent this barley malt contain-

irreversibly lose their crystalline, tightly

ing alpha amylase or an exogenous heat

The main ingredients required to brew

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are considered to be an off flavours in

100oc

a number of beer styles. Fortunately, healthy yeast normally breaks these compounds down to naturally less

Temperature degree C

flavour active compounds during warm 76 c o

diacetyl rest.

72oc

Cereal Cooker

maturation sometimes also called However, there is an exogenous enzyme available called â&#x20AC;&#x153;alpha acetolacate

64oc

decarboxylaseâ&#x20AC;? which if added at the beginning of fermentation will convert

52oc

the diacetyl precursor into less flavour active compounds and reduce the level

Mash Conversion Vessel

Lauter Tun

of diacetyl developing in the beer.

Once the desired flavour profile has been achieved the yeast has largely complet-

Time in minutes Above: Figure 10, A typical mash profile for mashing with a cereal cooker

ed its activity and can be removed. The brewer now must make sure that the beer is stabilized to prevent the formation of colloidal haze and to promote the settling of suspended solids ready for filtration.

Traditional processes involved the cold storage of beer at below zero degrees for periods of several days up to several months to allow the chill haze which is a complex between protein/polypeptides and polyphenols to form and be removed. Cold storage alone is usually not enough to provide all the stabilisation required for small pack and export beers and is usually augmented with proprietary stabilisers. Most brewers apply one or more methods of beer stabilisation.

One stabilisation treatment involves the addition of the enzyme Papain (collupulin) derived from Papaya which is a blend of protease activities and which breaks

Above: Figure 11 Showing natural reductions of diacetly and how it can be reduced through the action of exogenous alpha acetolactate decarboxylase

down the structure of the protein fraction thus avoiding haze formation. The risk with this enzyme is that it is not protein specific, resulting in a possible loss in

stable alpha amylase can be added to

maltose or glucose for fermentation. The

foam active proteins and reduce the

allow the enzyme to liquefy the starch

conversion of these dextrins to ferment-

foam potential of the beer.

reducing viscosity thus preventing retro-

able sugars is completed by natural malt

gradation and reducing viscosity of the

enzymes. Normally the beta amylase

A recently developed enzyme process

liquid slurry which can be pumped into

derived from barley malt will produce

uses a specific haze reducing enzyme

the main malt mash.

adequate maltose for fermentation to

which only attacks the site adjacent to

proceed normally.

the amino acid, proline. Since foam active protein has a low proportion of proline

The more effective the liquefaction of the starch into dextrins the easier it is to

Enzymes in fermentation

there is no damage to foam active poly-

break the dextrins down into simple (fer-

The whole basis of fermentation is to

peptides and hence no observable loss

mentable) sugars during saccharification.

feed yeast with a balanced nutrient

in foam.

After liquefaction starch still contains

solution

The Protein specific enzyme is added di-

large dextrins units, these have to be

A few compounds notably acetaldehyde

rectly into the fermentation vessel where

broken down into simple sugars such as

(green apples) and diacetyl (butterscotch)

it breaks down the haze sensitive protein

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SUMMER 2020

BREWERS JOURNAL EUROPE

compounds so that they no longer form

duce more fermentable sugars. This has

zymes to supplement the malt enzymes

large (visible) protein/polyphenol haze

the effect of increasing the amount of al-

if there is insufficient activity, and in some

complex in the beer.

cohol produced and reducing the texture

cases to provide additional activities not

Coeliac disease (CD) is an autoimmune

or mouthfeel in the beer which has been

inherently present in the malt.

condition which is mostly characterised

used to produce a range of easy drinking

This is particularly necessary when using

by the destruction of the small intestinal

refreshing “lite” beers.

under modified malts, which are often characterised by having higher beta-glu-

villi reducing nutrients absorption and causing various symptoms from diar-

The use of exogenous enzymes in

can content due to lower beta-glucanase

rhoea to headaches including fatigue and

brewing.

activity during malting and lower be-

neurological symptoms.

Most exogenous enzymes are added to

ta-glucanase and amylase activity in the

Gluten is a storage protein found in

help with starch extraction and break-

finished malt.

wheat, barley and rye and is composed

down.

Worts produced unaided from poor qual-

of two fractions: prolamins and glutenins.

u Several factors influence the enzymic

ity malts often have a higher viscosity,

The prolamin fraction (termed gliadin in

performance of malt, including:

slower run off and lower extract recovery

wheat; hordein in barley) is composed

▪u The variety of barley, the method of

as a result of the presence of higher

of mostly proline and glutamin amino

cultivation and vagaries of seasonal

concentrations of un-hydrolysed glucans,

acids. The proline-specific enzyme which

weather etc.

together with lower soluble nitrogen

is used to stabilise beer has also been

u The method of malting and any treat-

components and poorer fermentability.

found to cleave the toxic epitopes of the

ments in the malting, particularly kilning

These various shortcomings can be ad-

glutenigure 2 significantly reducing the

▪

dressed by the selection of appropriate

effects of gluten on health.

The method and temperature of mashing

exogenous enzymes which can be used

The brewer select the malt from the crop

to improve the breakdown of unmated

Light or low carbohydrate beer

available, not only in terms of its suitabil-

adjuncts, improve extract recovery and

By adding a carbohydrate debranching

ity for brewing, but also on cost. Brewers

beer and wort filterability.

enzyme such as amyloglucosidase or

may find themselves using poorer quality

pullulanse it is possible to hydrolyse the

malts than they would ideally like, and it

Summary of Enzymes which work in

alpha 1 – 6 bonds in maltodextrins to pro-

may be necessary to use exogenous en-

brewing

TABLE8.1: ENZYMES DEGRADING STARCH IN MALTING & MASHING Name of Enzyme

Nature of Action

Product

Source of Enzyme

Stability on kilning

Optimum pH activity

Alpha amylase (E.C.3.2.1.1)

Endo alpha 1 – 4 link

Mixed oligosaccharides

Synthesised during germination

Increase during kilning up to 800C for 5 hrs.

5.5

Beta amylase (E.C.3.2.1.2)

Exo alpha 1 – 4 link

Maltose & dextrins

Released from sub aleurone during malting

55% of activity survives drying at 800C for 5 hrs.

5.2

Limit dextrinase E.C.3.2.1.10)

Hydrolyses alpha 1 – 6 links in dextrins

Straight chain alpha 1 – 4 dex-trins

Synthesised during germination

70% of activity survives drying at 800C for 5 hrs.

4.5 - 5

Mash temperature stability Destroyed after 2 hours > 670C Stabilised by Ca2+ Destroyed in mash > 650C For 1 hour

Destroyed in mash > 550C

TABLE8.2: ENZYMES DEGRADING BETA-GLUCANS IN MALTING & MASHING Name of Enzyme

Nature of Action

Product

Source of Enzyme

Stability on kilning

Optimum pH activity

Mash temperature stability

Beta glucan Solubilase Acidic carboxypeptidase

Breaks bonds between beta glucan & peptides

Soluble beta glucan

Present in high activity barley

86% Sur-vives kilning 850C for 5 hrs.

6.3

Survives mash-ing > 650C for 30 minute

Exo beta 1 – 4 bonds adjacent to beta 1 – 3 bonds

Tri & Tetra saccharides

Released from sub aleurone during malt-ing

34% of ac-tivity sur-vives at 450C for 5 hrs.

4.7

Beta glucanase (E.C.3.2.1.73)

brewersjournal.info

Destroyed in mash > 600C for 2 minutes

SUMMER 2020

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63

TABLE8.3: ENZYMES DEGRADING PROTEIN IN MALTING & MASHING Name of Enzyme

Nature of Action

Product

Source of Enzyme

Stability on kilning

Optimum pH activity

Endo peptidase (E.C.3.4.4)

Endo

Peptidase

Released from sub aleurone during malt-ing

40% of ac-tivity sur-vives drying at 820C for 1 hrs.

4-7

Carboxypeptidase (E.C.3.4.2)

Exo peptide links

Amino acids

Released during steeping depends on barley variety

40% of ac-tivity sur-vives drying at 820C for 1 hrs

Neutral amino peptidase (E.C.3.4.1)

Exo from amino end

Amino Acid

4.8 – 5.6

Mash temperature stability Destroyed after 15 minutes > 700C Destroyed 60% activity in mash > 650C for 1 hour

7.0 – 7.2

Rapidly deac-tivated in mash > 500C

In addition, enzymes can be used as a useful diagnostic tool to help with prob-

FURTHER READING & CITATIONS

lem solving. For example, it is possible to

➢u DSM Enzymes in Brewing Presentation – Health & Nutrition

use enzymes to discover the source of

➢u O`Rourke T “Mashing” Brewers Guardian December 1999

haze in beer. Method - take a sample of

➢u Handbook of Brewing by William Hardwick

the beer and bottle and pasteurize it to

➢u Industrial Enzymology Second Edition Edited by Tony Godfrey & Stuart West –

ensure there is no residual micro-organ-

published Macmillan press 1996 - Chapter 2.6 Brewing by T. O’Rourke

isms then treat each bottle as follows:

➢u Technology Brewing and Malting by Wolfgang Kunze ➢u O`Rourke T Brewer International Volume 2 2002 – “The Function of Enzymes in

Incubate the sample for two days at 300

Brewing”

C and observe if there is any reduction

➢u Craig H & van Roon Brew Distill Int 3: 35-38, 2007.

in haze or particles compared to the

➢u Guerdrum & Bamforth J Am Soc Brew Chem 70: 35-38, 2012.

control. This data can then be used to

➢u Sylvie Van Zandycke Brewer and Distiller International July 2014 Gluten free

investigate the problem and develop

beers made with barley and Brewers ClarexTM

solutions which may of course involve

➢u O`Rourke T Brewer International October 2015 – “Enzymes in Brewing”

treatment with enzymes.

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BREWERS JOURNAL EUROPE

2020 VIRTUAL

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