Many challenges | At the beginning of November, the Maltsters’ Association of Great Britain (MAGB) held their Annual General Meeting in online format as the pandemic continues to restrict the ability to meet face to face. The Annual Luncheon was once again postponed but has now been firmly booked for next year when it will return to the Armourers Hall in London on 1st November 2022.

Short supply | The supply of spring malting barley in Europe remains tight. A smaller area and very heterogeneous qualities characterise this year's harvest.

Hop solutions | Kalsec®, a global producer of natural taste and sensory solutions and advanced hop solutions for the food and beverage industry, recently launched Lupulock™ Encapsulated Hop Oils, a natural alternative to hop cones and pellets that enables brewers to accelerate production and reduce waste while delivering consistent, authentic flavors and aromas, together with their partner, privately owned perfume and taste company Firmenich.

Yakima Chief Hops | Yakima Chief Hops (YCH), a 100% farmer-owned global hop supplier, is pleased to announce the pre-sale of their 5th Annual Pink Boots Blend in partnership with Pink Boots Society (PBS). PBS is an international nonprofit with a mission to assist, inspire, and encourage women in the fermented and alcoholic beverage industry.

Hop aroma compounds: transfer rates into beer and beer aging

Aging behavior | During experimental trials conducted to assess the reproducibility of the 2 hl pilot brewery at Hopfenveredlung St. Johann GmbH, it was determined that a number of hop aroma compounds were transferred from hops to beer. Subsequently, the behavior of these compounds in the finished beer over the course of aging was investigated [1].

Dry hopping with Eureka! – Brewing tests and analyses

Transfer of aroma substances | In search of a characteristic hop aroma in dry hopped beers, the potential of the hop variety Eureka! was investigated in more detail in brewing tests. This investigation focused on time-dependent transfer of selected hop components.

Innovative milling technology for “green” malt brewing

Wet milling | The malting and the brewing industries are in a constant need of saving money, energy and lowering their carbon footprint. What if maltsters could skip the most energy consuming step of nowadays malt production, i.e. the kilning process? And what if brewers had a workable process to mill the green malt? This article presents an introduction to brewing with green malt with an innovative wet milling system comprising two sequential mills, the first being used for cutting and the second for crushing.

Malting barley report | In addition to a smaller acreage of spring barley in Europe, there are now heterogeneous harvest results. Prices are showing a firm trend.

Isothermal mashing: The answer to brewing reduced-alcohol beer

Single rest | Interest in reduced-alcohol and alcohol-free beers is growing. Can they also be produced by craft brewers? The authors describe a simple, isothermal mashing process in which temperature is maintained constant at 72 °C for 120 minutes. Using different malt mixes, original gravities will range from 10.6 to 12.1 °P. The alcohol content of the finished beer is between 1.9 and 3.5 per cent ABV and, when adding Saccharomycodes ludwigii, about 1 per cent ABV.

Color calculations and measurements (Part 3): Evaluating beer color predictions from recipes

Beer color values in comparison | This is the last part in a three-part series of articles about beer color. Part 1 examined the evolution of color measurements of finished beers [1]. Part 2 outlined the logic behind five popular, malt-based, mathematical color predictors that are commonly used throughout the world at the recipe design stage [2]. Finally, this article looks at three beers brewed specifically for this study to evaluate the saliency and precision of the formulae presented in part 2 by comparing their predictions to actual laboratory color measurements.

Powder and bulk handling in breweries

From taproom to retail | With over 8000 craft and independent breweries now in the US, and macro brewers attempting to protect their market share, the growth in competing beer brands has exceeded the growth in consumer dollars available to purchase them. Resulting financial pressures, exacerbated by the effects of COVID-19 and the waning novelty of craft beers, have forced many microbreweries to shut down. However, more retailers now offer craft beers to their customers alongside macro brews, giving savvy microbreweries an opportunity to move into retail sales. The process that produced a hundred barrels will require a radical upgrade to produce thousands of barrels, including new methods of moving bulk ingredients to and from each step of the brewing process.