A tasting of specially hopped beers

Are beers with accentuated hop aromas a taste for everyone or are they simply specialty beers for connoisseurs? In the last few years, breweries have begun to focus more on the production of beers which have distinct aromas, especially those produced through the process of dry hopping. The recent development of the Hopsteiner FlavorWheel provides a tool which can be used in tastings to more precisely define the hop influence on a beer’s aroma (BRAUWELT International no. 2, 2014, pp. 116-118).

Flavours and off-flavours in beer – Part 1

Between November 2012 and April 2013, a group of diploma master brewer students from two different brewing courses at the Scandinavian School of Brewing (SSB), Copenhagen, participated in a joint project aimed at investigating some of the most common flavours and off-flavours found in beer. BRAUWELT International will present the results in a two-part series.

Back in 1996 FlavorActiV’s core business was beer. Nearly two decades later and sensory services are now sought after across numerous markets, from dairy to CSDs, with the spirits industry being the latest to take notice.

A new method has been published in the Analytica-EBC, on the determination of ethanol concentrations in NAB and LAB, no-alcohol and low-alcohol beers. The method is based on the detection of ethanol by flame ionisation following headspace injection in gas liquid chromatography (GLC).

A natural foam enhancer from hops

Alpha acids in hops are responsible for beers’ bitterness via their thermal isomerization into isoalpha acids during the kettle boil. The alpha acids that don’t isomerize are absorbed onto the trub and yeast during fermentation with little if any getting into the final beer. Interestingly, alpha acids are soluble in beer and when added post-fermentation can dramatically improve the foam stability and lacing of beers at very low concentrations. This study shows that alpha acids can enhance the foam stability and lacing of beers, similar to tetrahydro-isoalpha acids and better than isoalpha acids or propylene glycol alginate (PGA). Foam stability measurements were made using the NIBEM-T foam tester via EBC test method 9.42.

The influence of dry hopping on three different beer styles

Dry hopping influences the physico-chemical properties as well as the sensory attributes of beer. The hop aroma and flavor are very different from those present in beers which have been hopped exclusively on the hot side of production (wort boiling and whirlpool). Various factors such as hop variety, the type of hop product, timing of the additions, contact time and the beer matrix appear to affect the resulting flavor and aroma of the finished beer to differing degrees.

Quality control

Everyone is familiar with this: If one announces oneself as a brewer when meeting people, it will usually not take long until the question about the best beer in the world pops up. I always have the same answer: “There is no such thing as THE best beer in the world as every beer drinker perceives a beer in a different way and takes a different view of quality”.

Production of fermented kvass malt

Industrial production of kvass and the demand for the concentrate used to prepare it are skyrocketing in Russia and the Ukraine. Fermented kvass malt is necessary for kvass production and consists of briefly germinated and stewed rye malt. This malt has been subjected to an exceptionally long anaerobic stewing phase. This phase serves to completely liquefy the endosperm in addition to promoting strong lactic acid formation. Despite a low kilning temperature, the malt possesses a unique aroma reminiscent of the crust of “Schwarzbrot” or “black bread”, a type of sourdough bread made from a mix of rye and wheat common in Southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The malt also has a pleasant sweet and sour flavor. The processes employed in Russia and the Ukraine to produce kvass malt are described below.

Operating equipment inspection (OEI) is a recurring inspection of installed electrical operating equipment. This inspection of the system is legally mandated in the Operational Safety Ordinance 2009/104/EG Recurring inspections. Bühler GmbH has specially trained service technicians for this task in breweries, since only ATEX-trained personnel may carry out OEI.

SensoTech offers special qualification and validation procedures for its LiquiSonic® concentration analyzers. To ensure a proper system installation, an implementation of the installation qualification (IQ) is recommended. A subsequent operational qualification (OQ) completes the qualification and validation process.

Specialty chemicals company Lanxess has developed Velcorin DT Touch, a new generation of dosing units for the beverage industry. This new range is now being marketed worldwide for the filling of Velcorin as a cold sterilization agent in non-alcoholic beverages and wine. The high-quality dosing units manufactured in Germany and featuring aseptic connections and design meet the strict purity requirements of the beverage industry. They are easy and safe to handle, with control and visualization of the dosing process enabled by a touch panel. Velcorin DT dosing units ensure exact dosing and excellent distribution of Velcorin in the beverage. The state-of-the-art dosing units can be easily integrated into new or existing beverage production lines and only require a small initial outlay.