Experiencing the beauty of fermentation

A renaissance | Old-fashioned, outdated, yesterday’s news? Not in the least. For anyone involved with beer, “open fermentation” is unescapable. It is the original method of beer production. For quite some time now, open fermentation has been supplanted by other methods in breweries for practical and economic reasons, and yet it has never been forgotten.

Pulsed electric field technology: potential for breweries

Energy savings | From today’s perspective, some of the individual stages in the beer production process are extremely energy intensive. Lots of breweries thus aim to save energy by integrating innovative technologies and concepts without having to suffer any loss of quality. Pulsed electric field technology provides a number of different approaches here.

Novel lager yeast strains allow for new flavour possibilities

Opening up a new world | Renaissance BioScience Corp., a leading global bioengineering company based in Vancouver, Canada, has developed an innovative approach to creating novel non-GMO lager yeast strains that are immediately suitable for lager beer production, and which will help broaden the diversity of commercial lager beer strains for both major global beer producers and smaller craft breweries.

Do branched chain fatty acids invariably produce off-flavours?

Sensory research | Branched chain fatty acids (isobutyric acid, isovaleric acid, and 2-methylbutyric acid) are major metabolites that originate from various metabolic pathways. Thus, these compounds are contained in various foods and beverages. These compounds in beer have their origins in malts, hops, and also from yeast metabolism. It is well accepted that these fatty acids may give rise to some rancid off-flavours. However, an effect of these compounds on overall beer flavour has not yet been fully elucidated. The following article summarises a part of the research results which have already been published in BrewingScience, 2019, issue 6: November/December.

Well-balanced | On 16 March 2021, AB Vickers, part of the Lallemand Brewing Business Unit and a global leader in the field of brewing process aids, released its new yeast nutrient solution YeastLife O™.

Bottom-fermenting yeasts: influence of β-lyase activity on beer aroma

Enzyme activity | Under the German Purity Law 40 different types of malt, over 200 strains of yeast, more than 250 hop varieties and the way in which the brewing process is performed alone provide many ways of developing styles of beer [1]. Besides water and malt, yeast and hops are the key factors in determining the flavour and aroma of a beer. Research has shown that not only do the quantity and timing of the hop dosage play an important role here but also the biochemical interaction with the strain of yeast used.

Fermentability ratios, attenuation scores and drinkability

Testing the rule of thumb | The average beer drinker is still usually not familiar with the concept of original gravity or original extract. It is a common rule of thumb though that the ratio of 2½ (original extract, OE divided by the alcohol, as ABV) would be “about right” in most bottled beers. The authors have decided to find out in what way the rule of thumb factor of 2½ holds true and have, during the course of this investigation, discovered links to attenuation and inferred drinkability especially in lager type beers. These concepts were also checked against the portfolio of beers produced by Schilling Beer Co., a craft brewery situated in the northern part of New Hampshire, USA.

Yeast breeding | Renaissance BioScience Corp., a leading global bioengineering company based in Vancouver, Canada, is pleased to officially announce the publication of a landmark paper on lager yeast development in the February 2021 issue of Applied and Environmental Microbiology (Volume 87, Issue 3).

Enzymes | In November 2020, Kerry, the international Taste & Nutrition company from Ireland, released a technical report detailing the results of a sustainability life cycle assessment (LCA) conducted on Kerry’s range of brewing ingredients and enzymes (a study already mentioned in BRAUWELT International no. 5, 2020, pp. 348-351).

Hard Seltzer | Omega Yeast®, known for custom propped liquid yeast pitches, announces the November release of Propper Seltzer™, a yeast nutrient for non-malt, sugar-based fermentation. Propper Seltzer nutrient is compatible with any strain of yeast including beer yeast, champagne yeast, wine yeast and distillers yeast, and was designed to make things easier for brewers looking to create their own hard seltzer.

New brewhouse and cellar technology for divinely inspired beer

Fermentation cellar extension | Exceptional beers require extraordinary design. Retrofitting new outdoor tanks and process technology at the Jopen Brewery near Amsterdam has created new opportunities for further developments in beer production while simultaneously increasing process reliability.