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Technical Summary 1
The first of a new series of
technical summaries for
the Institute & Guilds
AME candidates.
By Tim ORourke.
Controlling the physical conditions in the
brewing process
Protein
Protein
Haze free
Chill haze
Permanent haze
23
TECHNICAL SUMMARY
Tannic Acid
Degradation
Enzymes such
as Papain
Precipitation
Bentonite
Silicagel
PROTEINS
40-75%
Carbohydrates 3- 13%
Ash 0.7-5%
Cu, Fe traces
Adsorption
Polyclar PVPP
Polyamide
(Nylon)
High molecular
weight insoluble
protein (Casein)
Removal of
Protein-Tannoid
complex
POLYPHENOLS
About 17%
Chilling
Formaldehyde
Polyphenol
Reduction
Protein
Reduction
Process
Optimisation
Barley / Malt
Proanthocyanadin
free barley
High adjunct ratio
Low protein
barley
High adjunct ratio
Low malt
modification
High temperature
mash
Fermentation
Maturation
Filtration
Stabiliser addition
Stabilisation
PVPP
Mashing
Mash separation
Wort boiling
Wort clarification
Kettle finings
Hot break removal
Cold break removal
Sedimentation
Auxiliary finings
Silica gel
Tannic acid
Enzyme
Causative
Factors
Preventative
Factors
Metal ions
High storage temperatures
High in package oxygen
Shaking/agitation
Soften water
Cool storage
Low process oxygen
Anti oxidants
Stock rotation
Extended shelf life
High temperatures
Direct sunlight
BBD/Package date
Beer fresh in time
Direct deliveries
Refrigerated
storage & distribution
Trade
24
Made by acidic polymerisation of silicate solutions. Two forms: hydrogels70% & xerogels 5% moisture.
ACTION:
Adsorbs proteins based on selective control of pore diameter removes
<40,000 MW
DOSAGE:
Add to CT at run down up to 50g/hl
Add to filter powder slurry up to 100g/hl
ADVANTAGES:
Insoluble easy to use
DISADVANTAGE: Moderately expensive.
Generally suitable if a shelf life < 9 months is required.
Proteolytic enzyme
SOURCE:
Usually Papain produced from the latex of Carica papaya.
ACTION:
Hydrolyses proteins. (Beer foam is protein)
DOSAGE:
2 to 6 mls/hl to rough or bright beer
DISADVANTAGE: Survives normal pasteurisation <20 PUs
Continues in bright beer may effect foam
Tannic acid
SOURCE:
ACTION:
ONLINE
www.igb.org.uk
Please visit our website for full
information on all the IGBs
activities and services
25
WORT BOILING
Figure 1
Concentration of Wort
Technical Summary 2
The second in this new series
of technical summaries for
the Institute & Guilds
AME candidates.
By Tim ORourke.
understand the principle changes which
occurring in the wort during boiling.
Figure 2
17
WORT BOILING
Removal of Volatiles
During the evaporation stage of wort boiling
undesirable volatile compounds are driven off
with the steam (see Figure 2).
The principal malt derived volatile lost
during wort boiling is DMS or dimethyl
sulphide which comes from lager malts and
gives lagers a taste described as
sweetcorn. It is produced by thermal
decomposition of S-methyl-methionine in a
first order reaction, with a half life of around 35
minutes (see Figure 3).
Figure 3
The DMS released during boiling is rapidly
lost through evaporation. However, the
breakdown of S-methyl methionine continues
during the period between the end of boiling
and wort cooling.
The DMS released is not lost and persists
into the finished beer. It is, therefore, possible
to control the level of DMS by varying the
duration of boil and whirlpool stage.
Methods of control
DMS levels in beer:
use malt with low S- methyl methionine
levels.
long wort boiling time to decompose
precursor and vaporise DMS.
short whirlpool stand time to reduce
decomposition of the precursor.
rapid wort cooling reducing the time the
wort is held hot.
use wort stripping after the whirlpool stand
to remove DMS.
(Note: not all DMS comes from the malt and
small amounts are produced during
fermentation and by beer spoilage organisms).
It was found that by reducing the boiling time
from 60 minutes to 45 minutes, with the same
level of absolute evaporation, the survival of
DMS precursor increased by 16% for a
standard wort corrected to 1039 original
gravity.
Hop volatiles (hop oils) are also lost during
wort boiling, and if present in too high a
concentration will contribute a bitter,
Increase in Colour
The colour of wort increases during the boil.
The reactions responsible for colour
development fall into three broad categories:
Maillard reaction between carbonyl and
amino compounds (see Figure 4).
Caramelisation of sugars, which is limited in
steam heated coppers.
Oxidation of polyphenols.
Oxidation during wort boiling increases the
colour particularly with oxidation of the
polyphenols, which also has the effect of
decreasing the reducing power of the wort and
beer (see later).
Mash and wort produced with low oxidation
produces lower wort and beer with lower
colours and improved flavour stability.
Reducing Wort pH
Control of pH throughout the brewing process,
from brewing water to final package, is
fundamental for product consistency. Wort pH
starts to decrease during mashing continues
to fall during wort boiling. The principal fall in
pH is due to the reaction of Ca2+ compounds
with phosphates and polypeptides to form an
insoluble compounds releasing H+ (hydrogen
ions) See Table 1.
At least half the calcium present in wort is
precipitated by the end of wort boiling. Hence
sweet wort with a starting concentration of
% nitrogen removal
0
5.4%
6.2%
7.7%
9.9%
10.4%
pH of wort
After boil
After 3 hours
5.69
5.39
4.99
After 6 hours
5.46
5.22
4.96
Figure 4
18
Figure 5.
Extraction and
precipitation of
tannins/ polyphenols
Simple hop tannins and
most malt polyphenols
are soluble in boiling
wort and moderately
soluble in cold water.
Tannins/polyphenols
are readily oxidised and
polymerise to give an
increase in molecular
Table 2: Effect of boiling on the molecular weight distribution of wort proteins
Molecular distribution of proteins/polypeptides measured by gel electrophoresis
Before boil
After boil
% removal
< 5,000
5,000 to10,000
10,000 to 50,000
50,000 to 100,000
0.0336
0.0175
49%
0.195
0.125
32%
0.101
0.004
96%
0.0023
0.001
95%
> 100,000
0.0029
0.0
100%
Summary.
Wort boiling is a poorly understood but crucial
stage in the stabilization of wort and the beer
derived from it. Changes in the boiling process
can effect the stability and quality of beer.
Further Reading
1. Moll Beers and Coolers.
2. Hough, Briggs and Stephen Malting and Brewing
Science.
3. O`Rourke The Brewer 1994.
5. Wilkinson R. Ferment p 397 Vol 4 No6 Dec 1991.
4. Fitchett, C. S. et al. Pauls & Whites Brewing Room Book,
1992/93.
5. Hudson, J. R. and Rennie, H. M.B.A.A. Technical
Quarterly, Vol. 9, No. 4.
6. Zanglando, T. Brewers Digest, April 1979. Buckee G.K. et
al J.I.B. Vol 99, 1992.
European Brewery Convention Manual of Good Practice
Wort Boiling and Clarification.
19
TECHNICAL SUMMARY
Technical Summary 3
The third in this series of
technical summaries for
the Institute & Guilds
AME candidates.
By Tim ORourke.
as the Crabtree effect. In the presence of
glucose sugars (above 1% by weight) yeast
(Saccharomyces spp) uses glucose to produce
alcohol and uses the oxygen to produce the
necessary lipid compounds.
The presence of insufficient lipid compounds
will lead to a defective fermentation due to
inadequate yeast cell reproduction, which in
turn will lead to:
Slow and sticking fermentations
Off flavours e.g. poor removal of diacetyl and
acetaldehyde
Poor yeast crop in terms of quantity and
vitality
Low ester formation
Excess oxygen will lead to:
Rapid fermentations
Excessive yeast growth and hence beer
losses
Higher ester production giving fruitier
flavoured beers
Oxidation reactions
Oxidation and reduction reactions take place all
the time. Since we live in an oxygen rich
atmosphere products are continually being
slowly oxidised.
A molecule which loses electrons it is said to
have been oxidised. If one molecule loses an
electron then another molecule must accept
that electron. The molecule which accepts the
electrons it is said to be reduced.
45
TECHNICAL SUMMARY
46
Brewhouse
Fermentation
Brewing materials
Beer Processing
After fermentation beer is venerable to
oxidation. While active yeast is still in
suspension much of the oxygen can be
scavenged. In the absence of active yeast,
oxidation will occur leading to the staling
reactions described earlier. Measures must be
taken to avoid oxygen ingress:
All tanks should be blanketed with inert gas
(carbon dioxide or nitrogen)
De-aerated water should be used to chase
through beer transfers.
All additions and dilutions should use deaerated water.
Flush all bends and fittings with de-aerated
water
Attention should be paid to prevent leaks at
pump surfaces, joints etc where air can gain
access
Pipework should be designed to be fully
purged.
Processing large volumes of beer into large
tanks helps minimise oxygen pick up.
Automation should be used to turn off
pumps when vessels and dosing pots run
empty.
Inert gas used to undercover flush of
centrifuges
Anti-oxidants
The brewer can also increase the anti oxidant
capacity of the beer. Providing the beer with
compounds, which compete with flavour
active compounds to be oxidised by the
oxidising agents present:
As stated earlier raw materials have a
profound effect on the staling capacity of a
beer. The use of dark malts and high hop
grists give beer better keeping qualities.
Naturally conditioned beer has yeast present
in the final package and the yeast cells are
able to scavenge residual oxygen picked up
during filling.
Sulphur dioxide is an anti-oxidant produced
during fermentation. The levels of naturally
occurring SO2 can be boosted during
fermentation by deceasing yeast growth
through:
Lower fermentation temperatures
Reduced wort aeration
Reduced pitching rate
Reduced original gravity
Increased sulphate additions to the mash
Producing bright worts
Anti oxidants such as sulphur dioxide and
ascorbic acid (or sodium ascorbate) can also
be added to the beer, usually prior to
packaging. It is found that the two antioxidants added together is the most effective
method of use.
Avoidance of metal ions, particularly iron and
copper will reduce the rate of oxidation. This
Beer in Trade
Most beer leaving the Brewery shows little
signs of ageing. It is during storage in the
supply chain that flavour deterioration occurs.
Most light beers (Lagers and Pale Ales) show
symptoms of ageing within three months of
packaging even though they are given a
nominal shelf life of 12 months, sometimes
more. The flavour stability of darker beers are
better for the reasons listed earlier.
Process improvements make a significant
contribution to improving the flavour stability of
beer in trade, but the major improvements
could result through better handling of beer in
the supply chain;
Does the beer have to have a 12-month shelf
life ? The supermarkets can turn perishable
products around in a few days.
The best before date gives limited
information about the product. One major
Brewer is now providing a packaging date
enabling consumers to judge the freshness of
the beer.
Cold / cool storage of beer in the supply
chain reduces the rate of oxidation.
If cold storage cannot be achieved then it is
certainly necessary to avoid warm storage.
Beer held at 30C will stale 25 times faster
than the same beer held at 0C.
Summary
Oxygen has an impact throughout the malting
and brewing process.
It would not be possible to malt barley or
ferment wort without the contribution from
oxygen, and without oxygen we would not be
around to enjoy the beer either !
However, oxygen reacts with many
compounds present in mash, wort and beer,
which have an impact on the final and keeping
quality of the product.
There is still some disagreement over the
importance of oxidation of the mash and wort
production, but there is no disagreement that
oxidation post fermentation is damaging to
both the taste and colloidal stability of the
beer.
Measurement
To be able to control something it is necessary
to be able to measure it.
There are a number of reference methods in
IGB list of recommend methods. Two methods
that are commonly use in the industry are:
Shake out air methods use caustic soda to
adsorb the CO2 and measures the head
space air. This method cannot be used with
nitrogen gas top pressure or mixed gas
carbonation.
The Indigo carmine method, where the indigo
carmine dye reacts with oxygen to produce a
blue colour.
Further Reading
1. Moll Beers and Coolers
Prof Dr Annemuller G. et al Brauwelt International
Volume 19 April 2001
O`Rourke T Australia and NZ Institute of Brewing
Convention March 1992
Prof Bamfort C. Brewers Guardian April 2000
Kaneda H. et al MBAA Technical Quarterly 1999 No 1.
47
TECHNICAL SUMMARY
Technical Summary 4
The fourth in this series of
technical summaries for
the Institute & Guilds
AME candidates.
By Tim ORourke.
its preferred method. A few are listed below:
European Brewery Convention
(1963 method).
The beer is held at 60C for 7 days then
cooled to 0C for 24 hours and the haze
measured.
Harp method
The beer is stored for 4 weeks at 37C
followed by 8 hours at 0C and the haze
measured. In this method forced haze
development is equated to normal storage
time. One member of the consortium related
1 weeks forced aging to 1 month of storage
under normal conditions, while another
equated 4 weeks of forced storage to 6
months of storage under normal conditions.
The forcing tests have to be correlated to
normal storage conditions as shown in
Figure 1.
Predictive tests
41
TECHNICAL SUMMARY
The
BREWERInternational
The Institute & Guild of Brewing
OFFICIAL MAGAZINE
www.igb.org.uk
42
PT-STABILITY-INDEX
P...PROTEINS
T...POLYPHENOLS
PT-STABILITY-INDEX
P...PROTEINS
T...POLYPHENOLS
Protein-Reagent
P40/ Polyphenol-Reagent
T-125
Protein-Reagent P40/ Polyphenol-Reagent T-125
HIGH VALUE
= HIGH
COLLOIDAL
STABILITY=
HIGH VALUE
= HIGH
COLLOIDAL STABILITY=
LESS HAZE FORMING COMPOUNTS
LESS HAZE
FORMING COMPOUNTS
100
Is this
someone
elses
copy of
The
Brewer
youre
reading?
HIGH
PROTEIN
STABILITY
90
B
HIGH
PROTEIN
and
POLYPHENOL
STABILITY
80
70
60
50
40
D
30
20
HIGH
POLYPHENOL
STABILITY
10
0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
BEER A
BEER A PTunstable
Both,proteins
and polyphenols are very
Predominat: Unstable proteins
unstable
BEERPredominately
B
PT-INDEX 95unstable
: 80
proteins
stable,
PT Standard
Uses a series of specially developed reagents
to the measure the protein and polyphenol
content of a beer through titration and the
results can be simply displayed on a computer
allowing the brewer to see immediately the
relative stability of his beer and decide what
further treatment protein or polyphenol,
could be used to achieve the required stability.
See figure 3.
well balanced,extreme
high stability
BEER B PT-INDEX
95 : 80
Both,proteins and polyphenols are very
BEERstable,
C
PT-INDEX 90 : 25
Extreme high protein-stability
well balanced,extreme
high stability
Automated measurements
Tannometer
This instrument measures the turbidity of a
liquid sample in the range of 0 to 300 EBC in
units of 0.01 EBC. It works on transmitted light
at 510nm and the instrument can control the
sample temperature including cooling it down
to -8C. The Tannometer can produce
automated results for:
Tannoid content
Chill haze
Sensitive Protein
SASPL
PT- INDEX 8 : 16
Both,proteins
INDEX
8 : 16and polyphenols are very
PT-INDEX
: 95
BEERBEER
C DPT-INDEX
9030: 25
Extreme high polyphenol stability
Extreme
high protein-stability
Fair protein
stability
Low polyphenol stability
BEER E
PT-INDEX 35 : 45
Good stability for proteins and polyphenols
BEER D
PT-INDEX 30 : 95
Extreme high polyphenol stability
Fair protein stability
BEER E
PT-INDEX 35 : 45
Good stability for proteins and polyphenols
re 3
Summary
There are a number of methods which can be
used to predict colloidal stability and hence
the shelf life of a beer. The principle reactions
occur between the protein and polyphenol
fractions and hence the most consistent
results come by looking at the levels of both
fraction.
The test and storage data are usually
collected under ideal (laboratory) conditions.
Packaged beer faces a much greater
extreme of conditions in the real world,
particularly those in the export trade, and it is
export beers which are usually those
consumed near or at the end of their shelf life.
For those brewers anxious to deliver their
beer to the consumer in prime quality they
Further Reading
Tim ORourke: Beer Stabilisation Brewer
International January 2002.
Tim O Rourke et al: from poster presented at Perth
Convention - Ferment June 1998 - p189.
Tim O Rourke: Back to Basics, Brewers Guardian
February 2000 - p29.
Jurgen Schneider: Opto-electronic regulations of
stabilisation inputs Brewers Guardian July 2000.
M Moll: Colloidal Stability of Beer Brewing Science
Vol 3 ed Pollock.
I. McMurrough I et al: Effect of PVPP dosage on the
flavanoid content of beer and consequences for beer
quality Brew Digest 59 (10) 1984.
TECHNICAL SUMMARY
Technical Summary 6
By Tim ORourke
The sixth in this series of
technical summaries for
the Institute & Guilds
AME candidates.
26
Time (mins)
650
500
120
1.5
1.1
1.2
1
2
1
40
40
15
50
made.
The wort runs through a specially developed
three stage, reverse flow heat exchanger and
is heated to approximately 135C
The temperature is held for approximately 1.5
to 2.0 minutes in holding tubes.
The wort is held constant at 135C by
regulating the flow rate at the inlet to the first
of two adjoining separators.
As the wort flows into the separator, the
pressure is lowered to a set level. This
enables the wort to boil and evaporate.
The latent heat (enthalpy) in the vapour is
given up in the separators and is reused in
heat exchangers I and II. Only heat exchanger
III is heated with fresh steam (or hot water).
The wort from separator II runs through a
booster pump to one of three whirlpoolcasting vessels. The effective volume of the
whirlpools should be approximately
equivalent to the capacity of one hour
throughput from the boiler.
Each pair of whirlpool vessels are filled
alternately. As one is emptied and cleaned
the other is available to receive the wort.
The higher boiling temperature of 135C
accelerates the chemical processes of:
Isomerisation of the hop alpha acids
Coagulation of the high molecular weight
nitrogen compounds which are temperature
dependent and are completed in 1.5 to 2
minutes.
Wort stripping
One of the principle functions of wort boiling is
to remove unwanted volatiles such as hop oils
and DMS (dimethyl sulphide) which come from
the raw materials. Stripping of volatiles can
often be the rate determining step for wort
boiling and any reduction in boiling time or
evaporation rate will have an adverse effect on
the level of volatiles remaining in the beer.
Similarly some volatiles, DMS in particular,
continue to be formed in the hot wort after
boiling is completed and the levels build up in
the wort prior to cooling.
The removal of unwanted volatiles after
boiling can be split into two stages:
The first stage takes place in a conventional
wort kettle, where the wort is boiled or heated
to boiling point and the volatiles are removed
with the water vapour evaporated,
The second stage occurs after wort
clarification and before wort cooling, when
the volatiles are stripped from the wort in a
stripping column. The wort leaving the
stripping column has the same or even a
lower level of undesired wort aroma
compounds compared to a conventionally
boiled wort.
Wort stripping should take place after (hot)
wort clarification (e.g. whirlpool) and wort
cooling. In the normal process wort volatiles
continue to be formed after the end of wort
boiling during the hot wort stand (clarification
and cooling). However, in the absence of
evaporation, they are no longer eliminated.
Wort stripping is an effective method of
removing some of these volatile substances.
The Merlin wort boiling system offers a way
of stripping the volatiles after the whirlpool
stand.
27
TECHNICAL SUMMARY
20C
100C
200C
300C
396
25
16.3
379
25.5
17
374
17
369
27.5
19
recovered from
wort cooling
through the heat
exchanger or
paraflow.
It is generally the
energy supplied to
evaporate the
% evaporation from a standard boil for each brew as measured from the
water (plus
weight of steam supplied. Source: ORourke The Brewer 1984.
volatiles) from the
wort which is not
process using either mechanical vapour
so easily recovered. The best way to reduce
recompression (MVR) or thermal vapour
this energy demand is not to use it in the first
recompression (TVR).
place, and there has been a gradual reduction
in evaporation rates from 10 to 12% per hour
Summary
for a 90 minute boil (amounting to a total of 15
Wort boiling has the highest energy demand of
to 16% evaporation per hour) to 5 to 6%
all brewing operations, and hence has been
evaporation for 60 minutes. This has been
subject to considerable research into ways of
brought about by designs and process control
reducing its energy consumption. The prime
changes detailed above.
energy used to heat the wort to boiling point is
There are a number of ways in which the
recovered through the wort coolers for re-use
brewer can recover or re-use the energy used
in brewing.
during evaporation.
It is the energy used to evaporate the water
A number of heat recovery systems produce
which is more difficult to conserve. Over the
hot water and the effectiveness of the system
last three decades evaporation rates have
depends on the brewery being able efficiently
fallen by a factor of three, through better
to utilise the low grade hot water recovered.
process operations and improved kettle
The typical schemes used recover the latent
design. The opportunity for further decreases
heat of evaporation from the wort boiling
no longer exists and brewers are looking at
process may be grouped into three types:
ways of recovering the energy used in
1. Recovery of energy for use outside the
evaporation and either recycling it in the
brewhouse, e.g., either by a simple condenser
boiling process or using it as a source of
system exporting hot water or using
energy for other processes in the brewery.
absorption refrigeration;
2. Recovery of
energy for use in the
brewhouse, e.g.,
Further Reading
using hot water from
1. Moll Beers and Coolers
a vapour
2. Hough, Briggs and Stephen Malting and
condenser/energy
Brewing Science
store system for wort
3. O`Rourke The Brewer 1994
preheating prior to
4. Wilkinson R. Ferment p 397 Vol 4 No6 Dec 1991
wort kettle;
5. European Brewery Convention Manual of Good
3. Recycling energy
Practice Wort Boiling and Clarification.
within the wort boiling
28
TECHNICAL SUMMARY
Getting a head
First impressions count. Most
consumers drink with their
eyes and appearance is often
more important than taste.
When ordering a pint the consumer will
judge the beer by:
Foam
Beer is a supersaturated solution of gas. In
the case of lager this is carbon dioxide, but
in the case of ales may be a mixture of
carbon dioxide and nitrogen gas. When the
beer is poured out (either from a bottle or
draught) the gas bubbles break out from
solution and rise to the top of the glass. This
effect is called tracing and many beer
glasses have roughened bases inside the
glass, which act as nucleation sites, to
encourage tracing.
The foam in beer is generally considered
to be the head on the top of the glass. There
are also other important visual effects from
the foam adhering to the side of the glass
called Cling or Lacing. This effect is
particularly noticeable in beers, which form
larger heads and have better foam
performance.
In mainland Europe most draught beers
can be served with large heads without
attracting the wrath of Weights and
Measures. Unfortunately in the UK the pint
glass is a legal unit of dispense and unless
over-measure glasses are used, this limits
the amount of head permitted on a glass of
draught beer.
10
drainage
coalescence
disproportionation.
Technical Summary 7
By Tim ORourke
The seventh in this series of
technical summaries for
the Institute & Guilds
AME candidates.
Clarity
Colour
bubble formation
The structure of
beer foam
The formation and
breakdown of beer foam
occurs in four stages:
Dalkia ad
CD at Holbrooks
25/6
11
PRODUCTION
Foam stabilization by
reducing surface tension
The main factor which reduces the surface
tension in the foam and stabilizes the
bubbles is hydrophobic (water hating)
protein or polypeptides. These hydrophobic
proteins come from the raw materials
principally the malt (see figure 1).
Only a small proportion of the malt
derived protein is responsible for foam
stabilization. The balance of the protein is
used as yeast nutrients (amino nitrogen) or
can cause colloidal instability (chill and
permanent haze). Considerable research
has been carried out to identify the exact
fraction of protein responsible for improving
foam stability.
Foam-positive proteins can be divided
into two fractions based on molecular
weight:
high molecular weight (HMW, 3550 kDa)
fraction containing mainly protein Z 23
low molecular weight (LMW) fraction
containing LTP1 (lipid transfer protein 1)
and a mixture of hordein and glutelin
fragments.
12
The measurement
of foam stability
There are two principle methods used for
evaluating head performance:
Determination of
Head Retention by Rudin
Standard: A
satisfactory head is
one that lasts more
than 260 280
seconds by Nibem.
Since no additional
gas is added this
method will give an indication of the
performance of the beer foam in trade.
Advantages
measurement gives a better indication of
probable foam performance under real
dispense conditions.
Disadvantages
can be difficult to get reproducible results.
Determination of
Head Retention by Nibem
Further Reading
1. Moll Beers and Coolers.
2. Hough, Briggs and Stephen Malting and
Brewing Science.
3. Evan Evans et al Institute of Brewing Asia
Pacific 26th Convention, Beer Foam: Not Just
Froth and Bubble.
13
TECHNICAL SUMMARY
Technical Summary 8
By Tim ORourke
Continuing this series of
technical summaries for
the Institute & Guilds
AME candidates.
Kw = [H+(aq)]aqm x [OH-(aq)]aqm
[H+(aq)] = [OH-(aq)]
since Kw = [H+(aq)] x [OH-(aq)]
then substituting for [OH-(aq)]
Kw = 10 -14 = [H+(aq)]2
pH 7.0
pH 5.6
pH 5.4
pH 4.0
(neutral)
0.2
0.2
0.2
Controlling pH
in the brewing process
The full range of pH is found in the brewing
process are shown in Figure 2.
The fall in pH is governed by the mineral
composition of the brewing water and mineral
treatment added to the brewing water.
Increasing Acidity
The principal increase in acidity during
mashing comes from the precipitation of
phosphates and amino acids/polypeptides
derived from the malt.
The phosphates dissociate:
1. H3PO4 H+ H2PO42. H2PO4- H+ HPO42FIGURE 2
Brewing water
Mash
Boiled wort
At end fermentation
Table 1 - The relationship between pH and [H+] over the range pH 3.1 6.0.
pH
H+ ppm
pH
H+ ppm
pH
H+ ppm
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.5
3.6
3.7
3.8
3.9
4.0
789
631
501
398
316
251
200
159
126
100
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
4.5
4.6
4.7
4.8
4.8
5.0
79.4
63.1
50.1
39.8
31.6
25.1
20.0
15.8
12.6
10.0
5.1
5.2
5.3
5.4
5.5
5.6
5.7
5.8
5.9
6.0
7.9
6.3
5.0
4.0
3.2
2.5
2.0
1.6
1.3
1.0
21
TECHNICAL SUMMARY
Wort pH
Before boil
After boil
50 ppm Ca2+
50 ppm Ca2+ & 100 ppm CO32350 ppm Ca2+
350 ppm Ca2+ & 100 ppm CO32-
5.5
5.8
5.1
5.4
5.4
5.6
5.0
5.3
Decreasing Acidity
However other mineral ions present in water
can react to impede the fall in pH, and these
are the salts of carbonates (CO3) and
bicarbonates (HCO3) often called temporary
hardness.
1. Ca(HCO3)2 Ca2+ + 2HCO32. 2HCO3- + H2O H2CO3 + OH3. H2CO3- H2O + CO2
The production of hydroxyl ions (OH-) mops
22
The effect of pH
on the brewing process.
pH has a major effect on the rate of reaction,
solubility and electrostatic charge of many
molecules. This will have an important
influence on beer quality and production
throughout the brewing process:
Physical
Amino group
Summary
Figure 3
b. Chemical
There are a few non-enzyme catalysed
chemical reactions which occur in brewing,
examples are:
Isomerisation of alpha acid into iso alpha
acid during wort boiling. This is a basic
chemical reaction, which is favoured by
higher pH (pH 8 to 10) where it is goes to
over 90% conversion. At wort pH (pH 5.2)
typical conversions are around 60% in the
kettle giving final bitterness utilisations of
40%.
It is not practical to alter the pH of the wort,
but many brewers chose to use preisomerised hop products, where the
isomerisation of alpha acid is carried out at
pH 8 for maximum conversion and the
isomerised extract added to the wort.
Colour is increased during wort boiling due
to the Maillard reaction. This reaction is not
favoured at lower pH thus limiting wort and
hence beer colours.
The husk of the malt contains polyphenols
and silica compounds which are more easily
extracted under alkaline (pH > 7.0)
conditions. Polyphenols can produce a
colloidal instability and astringency in the
beer. Most of the polyphenols are extracted
during the latter stages of sparging. It is
important to ensure all brewing water is at
least neutral or slightly acidic. Some
brewers add mineral salts to all the brewing
water including the sparge to maintain a
lower pH thus avoiding this risk.
An important reaction during maturation is
the conversion of alpha-acetolactate
excreted by the yeast into diacetyl in the
fermenting beer. This is a natural
decarboxylation reaction which occurs
outside the yeast cell and the rate of
decomposition is increased at lower pH.
Many brewers acidify their wort to
accelerate the reduction of acetolactate at
the end of fermentation.
At beer pH oxalates produced from the malt
form insoluble salts with calcium ions and
precipitate as calcium oxalate thus reducing
the tendency for haze and gushing in
packaged beer and beerstone production.
c.Enzymes
The majority of the chemical reactions in
brewing are catalysed by enzymes. As was
explained earlier these are made up of chains
of amino acids and rely on a three
dimensional structure for their activity. The
charge on amino acids is critical to its
structure and most enzymes will only work
within defined pH ranges (see Figure 3).
Acknowledgement
I would like to thank Dr Lisa Bradley for her invaluable
help in preparing this text.
Further Reading
1. Moll Water in Brewing Science and Technology
Series II published by the Institute of Brewing
2. ORourke Water in Brewing Science and
Technology Series III (in print) published by the
Institute and Guild of Brewing
3. O`Rourke Treatment and use of water in Brewing
Brewers Guardian December 1998
4. Taylor D The importance of pH control during
Brewing MBAA Technical Quarterly Vol 27
pp131 136.
23
TECHNICAL SUMMARY
The function of
enzymes in brewing
The nature of enzymes
Enzymes are proteins with a special
structure capable of accelerating the
breakdown of different substrates. They act
as catalysts to increase the speed of a
chemical reaction without themselves
undergoing any permanent chemical
change. They are not used up in the
reaction or appear as reaction products.
The basic enzymatic reaction can be
represented as follows:
Substrate + Enzyme Product(s) + Enzyme.
Energy is required for chemical reactions to
proceed. The energy is called the energy of
activation. It is the magnitude of the
activation energy that determines just how
fast the reaction will proceed (See Fig 1).
Technical Summary 9
By Tim ORourke
Continuing this series of
technical summaries for
the Institute & Guilds
AME candidates.
In order to do its work, an enzyme must
combine even if ever so briefly with at
least one of the reactants. In most cases,
the forces that hold the enzyme and its
substrate are non-covalent, being an
assortment of:
Hydrogen bonds
Ionic bonds
Hydrophobic interactions.
Most of these interactions are weak and
successful binding of enzyme and
substrate requires that the two molecules
are able to approach each other closely
over a broad surface. The substrate
Temperature sensitivity
Like most chemical reactions, the rate of an
enzyme-catalyzed reaction increases as
the temperature is raised. (A 10C rise in
temperature will increase the activity of
most enzymes by 50 to 100%). Variations in
14
pH sensitivity
Enzymes are affected by changes in pH.
The most favourable pH value the point
where the enzyme is most active is known
as the optimum pH (See Fig 4).
Extremely high or low pH values
generally result in complete loss of activity
for most enzymes. pH is also a factor in the
stability of enzymes, as with activity, for
each enzyme there is also a region of pH
optimal stability.
The optimum pH value will vary greatly
from one enzyme to another. Most of the
brewing enzymes have an optimum pH in
Figure 7: Schematic showing the action of alpha- and beta -amylase in starch hydrolysis.
the range 4.5 to 6.0 which is the operating
range of most brewing process.
Enzyme concentration
With an excess concentration of substrate,
AllTech Ad
15
TECHNICAL SUMMARY
Substrate concentration
Biochemical changes
during brewing
Table 1
Enzyme
Action
Alpha amylase
Beta amylase
67
62
5.2
5.5
52 (some higher)
56
5.5
6.0
% Extract
% Fermentability
75.6
74.2
74.0
76.2
69.7
65.3
2.7
3.2
3.7
60
65.5
68.3
pH Optimum
Optimum Temp.
Temp. Inactive
4.5-4.8
37-45C
55C
4.7-5.0
40C
63C
6.3
60C
73C
45
55
65
75
1.2
2.8
6.3
9.7
Wort viscosity cp
1.20
1.35
1.63
2.01
277
178
133
78
16
Wort viscosity cp
1.73
1.73
1.60
1.43
1.43
Starch hydrolysis
1.82
1.81
1.65
1.43
1.44
Beta-glucan breakdown
As well as starch there are a number of nonstarch barley polysaccharides. The most
significant non-starch polysaccharide in
barley and malt is beta-glucan which makes
up more than 75% of the cell wall. The
molecule has a distinctive linear structure in
with roughly 70% beta-1,4 linkages and
30% beta-1,3 linkages.
Table 6: Effect of mashing temperature after 1/2 hour stand on protein hydrolysis.
Temperature C
Nitrogen mg/100 ml
62.8
65.5
68.3
43
40
37
88
100
99
12
10
8
Action
Alpha-1,4 bonds
and alpha-1,4 & 1,6 bonds
Alpha-1,4 bonds
Reduces viscosity
Maltodextrins
Glucose syrup
Alpha-1,4 bonds
Alpha-1,6 bonds
Symptom
Remedy
Cereal Cooker
Glutinous starch
Retrograded starch
Enzyme deficient malt
Starch in wort
Set mash will not filter
Adjunct brewing wheat or barley
Mash mixer
Fermentation
Maturation and
filtration
Bottling
Resistance to oxidation or
oxygen barrier
Bacterial alpha-amylase
Heat stable beta-glucanase
Alpha-amylase, protease &
betaglucanse
Neutral protease
Fungal alpha-amylase
Amyloglucosidase or pullulanase +
beta-amylase
Alpha-acetolacate decarboxylase
Amyloglucosidase
Amyloglucosidase
Papain
Fungal alpha-amylase or betaglucanase
Fungal alpha-amylase or beta
glucanase
Immobilised glucose oxidase in
crown liner
Hydrolysis of
Proteins and Polypeptides
While about 95% of the starch from malt is
solubilised by the end of mashing, only
about 35 40% of the malt protein (TN
total nitrogen) is solubilised. This is referred
to as the TSN (total soluble nitrogen) in an
unboiled wort.
The permanently soluble nitrogen (PSN)
is the nitrogenous material which remains in
the wort after wort boiling (i.e. is not
precipitated as break). The PSN is usually
calculated as TSN x 0.94.
The principal groups of enzymes involved
in the breakdown of malt proteins are
Endoproteases which break the large
protein molecules into relatively large
polpeptide chains, and the Exopeptidases
which attack the polypeptides from a
specific end stripping off small units to
produce amino acids.
Endopeptidases
They have a relatively low optimum
temperature and hence with high
temperature mashing (e.g. 65oC isothermal
mashing) most of the protein breakdown
will have taken place during the malting
process, and randomly attack the protein
chain
Optimum conditions
pH
Temperature
Inactivation temperature
3.9-5.5
45-50C
70C
17
TECHNICAL SUMMARY
Exopeptidases
They are able to withstand higher
temperatures and release the amino acids
from the prolypeptide chains.
There are two principal groups of
Exopeptidase enzymes:
Carboxypeptidase which attacks the
proteins from the carbonyl end. This
enzyme is not present in raw barley, but is
rapidly produced during steeping and is
active at normal mash pH.
Optimum conditions
pH
Temperature
Inactivation temperature
3.9-5.5
45-50C
70C.
Typical types of
protein material found in wort
Proteins
Large molecules with a unique identity.
Much of the surplus protein is left behind in
the spent grains, but when oxidised can
form a protein scum which causes run off
problems. Some of the soluble proteins play
an essential role as enzymes catalysing the
reactions described above.
Polypeptides
Long chain sequences of relatively high
molecular weight amino acids, with two
important groups in brewing, hydrophobic
18
Fermentation
Most living organisms respire aerobically,
converting sugars to carbon dioxide and
water releasing the energy bound by
photosynthesis in the carbohydrate
(sugars) molecules.
However some micro-organisms,
including yeast, are able to respire
anaerobically, but under anaerobic
conditions they can only partially break
down the sugar molecules to ethanol to
release energy in the form of ATP
(adenosine triphosphate).
The role of yeast in the fermentation is
that of a living catalyst, effecting the
reaction without becoming part of the
finished product. During the course of the
fermentation the yeast cells grow and
replicate up to 5 times.
Although the yeast gains its energy from
the sugar, which it converts to alcohol it
can only utilise simple sugars. The sugars
are taken up in a specific order, with the
monosaccharides, glucose and fructose
used first, together with sucrose. Although
the latter is a disaccharide, it behaves like a
monosaccharide since it is broken down to
glucose and fructose outside the cell
through the action of the yeast enzyme
invertase.
Once the wort glucose level falls, the
yeast starts to use the disaccharide,
maltose, which is usually the most
abundant sugar in brewers wort. Maltose
has to be transported into the cell, where it
is broken down to glucose. Lastly most
yeast strains can utilise the trisaccharide,
maltotriose, but only slowly.
Syrup manufacture
A number of brewers use brewing syrups
which are manufactured from hydrolysed
starch solution. Since the starch is not
malted, microbial exogenous enzymes have
to be used and by selecting different
enzyme combinations the syrup producer
can control the composition and
fermentability of the syrup. (See Table 7).
Further Reading
ORourke Mashing in Brewing Science and
Technology Series III (in print) published by the
Institute of Brewing
ORourke Brewing chapter 2.6 from Industrial
Enzymology Ed 2 edited by Godfrey and West
Macmillan 1996.
ORourke Mashing Brewers Guardian
December 1999
TECHNICAL SUMMARY
Malt specifications
Barley, and the malt produced, is derived from
natural living material, and hence subject to all
the variations which can occur as a result of
genetic and environmental conditions. It
follows that no two batches of malt are alike.
Malt is analysed in accordance with
standard industry tests such as the IoB, EBC
and ASBC methods of analysis. However,
standard malt specifications are not always a
reliable indicator of how well the malt will
perform in the brewery. Brewers and maltsters
are continually looking for better predictions of
brewing performance of a malt.
Barley variety
There is a list of approved barley varieties for
malting. Each barley variety has its own
Technical Summary 10
By Tim ORourke
Continuing this series of
technical summaries for
the Institute & Guilds
AME candidates.
characteristics through its genetic make-up
which will determine certain properties of
important to brewing. Some varieties produce
better malt than others.
Barley variety will influence malt quality in
terms of variables such as:
% nitrogen or protein in grain (see later)
% beta-glucan after malting
Size and homogeneity of grain plumper
grains yield better extracts and are easier to
malt and mill. Most brewers specify that all
grains should be 2.2 mm
Not all barley varieties have similar abilities to
produce enzymes, this can be important
particularly when using high levels of
adjunct.
The environment also influences these
factors, e.g. weather, soil type and the use of
fertiliser.
The barley variety used to make the malt is
considered important not only because of its
brewing properties, but because of special
characters it gives to the finished beer. Today
many traditional ale brewers still specify Maris
Otter as they believe it makes better quality
beer, even though this variety is no longer
recommended because of its poor yield and
agronomic performance.
Extract Yield
Extract is a measure of the amount of sugar
recovered from the malt after mashing. The
extract value is based on a laboratory mash.
There are two basic laboratory procedures
used for measuring extract.
The IoB method, which involves mashing
10% malt with, distilled water and letting the
mash stands for 60 minutes at 65C. The
extract is measured as the specific gravity of
the filtered solution at 20C. The results are
expressed as litre degrees per kilogram.
In the EBC (European Brewery Convention)
method two mash stand temperatures of
45C and 70C are used. The Extract is
expressed % sugar (sucrose) over total
weight of malt
Extract value for typical malt made from
standard 2-row barley.
Malt extract dry
IoB l/kg
EBCPlato
Standard ale malt
305 315 81 82
Standard Lager malt 300 310 80 81
27
TECHNICAL SUMMARY
28
in a number of ways:
Direct observation
The electron micrographs clearly show the
degradation of the cell walls. This is a
complicated and expensive technique for
routine analysis.
However, the presence of cell wall material
can be detected using a calcofluor stain. The
calcofluor dye binds with beta-glucans (cell
wall material) and fluoresces under UV light.
Thus if sectioned grains are exposed to this
dye those parts of the corn rich in beta-glucan
will fluoresce. This technique can be used to
determine both the proportion of corns that
have modified as well as the extent of
modification within individual corns.
By taking a series of transverse sections
through the gain it is possible to make direct
Indirect measurements
Another way of measuring modification is
assessing factors influenced by the
breakdown of the endosperm structure in the
grain:
1.During malting the protein matrix, which
surrounds the starch granules inside each
storage cell is broken down. The greater the
value of soluble nitrogen, the higher the
modification. The IoB analysis it is usually
expressed as the Soluble Nitrogen Ratio
(SNR), which is the soluble nitrogen/total
nitrogen expressed as a %. The EBC method
uses a similar ratio based the EBC mash
where it is called the Kolbach Index.
2. Unless the malt is fully modified a number of
cells within the endosperm will not be
degraded and will remain intact with coarser
milling. When the malt is mashed the
enzymes will not be able to penetrate the
cells and gain access to the starch. These
cells are ruptured with fine milling and the
extract can be recovered. Another
measurement of modification is the
course/fine difference, which measures the
difference in extract yield between finely
and coarsely ground malt. The smaller the
difference the better the modification.
3. During malting the cell walls in the
endosperm are dissolved away making the
grain softer and easier to mill. It is possible
to use this property to measure the degree
of modification, by measuring the amount of
energy required to grind the malt (Friability).
The method takes 50 grams of malt which is
milled with a constant pressure over a mesh
screen. The well modified grain will fall
through the screen leaving the chunks of
under-modified malt. The weight of ground
malt indicates the degree of modification. It
also measures the homogeneity or
evenness of modification.
4. Cold water extract measures the amount of
sugars broken down and released during
the malting process. higher cold water
extracts indicate higher modification (see
Table 1).
It is important to use malt that has been
correctly modified:
In under-modified malt all the cell walls have
Lager Malt
38 39
36
95
88
1.8 2.0
40 43
23
95
82
2.0 2.2
Murphy Half
page ad
29
TECHNICAL SUMMARY
30
email: nicky.baker@igb.org.uk
TECHNICAL SUMMARY
Technical Summary 11
By Tim ORourke
Whole hops
Composition
%
Total resins
15
Soft resin alpha acids
(8)
beta acids
(4)
Hard & uncharacterised resins
(3)
Essential; oils
0.9
Tannins/polyphenols
4
Protein (N x 6.25)
15
Water
10
Monosaccharides
2
Lipids and waxes
3
Amino acids
0.1
Pectin
2
Ash
8
Cellulose & lignin
40
Resins and oils will vary according to variety
Advantages:
Traditional form
Free from extraction solvents
Standard aroma & bittering product
Aids hot break formation & settling
Disadvantages:
Bulky and expensive to store
% alpha and aroma varies each year
Subject to loss of alpha and aroma on storage
Possible contaminates from debris and pesticide
Low utilisation (25 30%)
Higher losses of wort in spent hops
Costs of disposal of spent hops
21
TECHNICAL SUMMARY
Magnesium oxide is added to milled hops and gently heated before being
palletised and vacuum packed
Bitterness with good aroma properties
Direct addition to kettle during boiling can be added part way through the boil
Composition
Similar to Type 90 pellets
Almost all the alpha acid is converted to
the equivalent magnesium iso-alpha acid.
Slight reduction in beta acid content
Presence of magnesium and magnesium oixide
Pelletised Hops
Pelletised hops are made by milling whole
hops and compressing the hops into pellets.
These are generally packaged under vacuum
or in an inert gas such as nitrogen to reduce the
rate of deterioration. Pelletised hops are
available as:
regular pelletised hop, (type 90 pellets)
enriched pellets (type 45 pellets), where some
of the vegetative (non-alpha acid bearing
material) is removed to give a constant
product with a much higher alpha acid.
See Figure 3.
Hops of the same variety but with differing
alpha contents are often blended to give a
standard product with a constant alpha acid
appropriate for each variety and growing
season.
Pellets are added to the kettle where the
alpha acid is isomerised during wort boiling.
Hop Products
Beside whole hops (hop cones) and pelletised
hops, other hop products and extracts are used
either as alpha acids added to the kettle or as
Composition
Type 90 pellets similar to leaf hop but may be
standardised for alpha
Lower moisture content
Better utilisation through ruptured resin glands
Type 45 pellets increased alpha due to
concentration of lupulin gland.
Between 40 to 50% of vegetative material
is removed
Resin/oil concentration is approximately double.
22
Advantages:
Traditional product
Free from extraction solvents
Standard aroma & bittering product
Aids hot break formation & settling
Significant reduction in volume
Improved storage properties
Improvement in % hop utilisation
Easier disposal of spent hop debris
Disadvantages:
Bulky than extracts
Possible contaminates from debris and pesticide
Low utilisation (25 35%)
Advantages:
Similar to hop pellets
Better keeping properties
Better utilisation (50 to 60%)
Disadvantages:
Similar to hop pellets
MgO could be perceived as a chemical addition
Low utilisation (25 30%)
Hop extract
It is possible to extract the soft resins in a
variety of solvents, thus obtaining a
concentrated solution of alpha and beta acids
as well as uncharacterised soft resin.
Two typical solvent systems are used:
Organic: Principally Ethanol; and Hexane
Carbon Dioxide: Liquid and Supercritical
Carbon Dioxide. See Figure 4.
Resins and oils are extracted from the hops using solvents which are then
driven off.
To provide bitterness to beer
Direct addition to kettle during boiling
Whole hops
12 20%
2 12%
2 10%
0.5 2%
2 4%
4 12%
1 5%
8 12%
Advantages:
Less bulk storage
Good storage properties (several years)
Improved utilisation (45 to 65%)
Reduced pesticide residues
Minimal wort/beer losses
Liquid CO2
70 95%
30 60%
15 45 %
2 10%
None
None
0 1 10%
1 5%
Disadvantages:
Different brewing operation compared to whole
hops
Solvent extract
Solvent residue (minimal)
Altered aroma profile
Presence of chemicals
Supercritical CO2
Altered aroma profile
Highest cost of extraction
Possible impurities
Liquid extract CO2
Lower yield than supercritical
Higher cost per unit alpha than other extracts.
23
TECHNICAL SUMMARY
Table 5. Summary of benefits from using isomerised kettle hop extracts (IKE)
Preparation
Major use
Method of use
Composition
Supercritical CO2
Liquid extract CO2
Pure resins undergoes controlled heating with alkali metal salts which
isomerises most of the alpha acid.
To provide bitterness and late hop character to beer
Direct addition to kettle during boiling
Similar to pure resin extract- 90% of the alpha acid is isomerised
Essential oil components absent
High levels of purity
Contains similar amounts of essential oils as the leaf hop
Advantages:
Easy to handle and store
Standardised constant product
Precise control of bittering
Retains aroma contribution
High utilisation (50 to 75%)
High purity/ minimal residues
Minimal wort/beer losses
Disadvantages:
Restricted to those varieties processed
Considered to be chemically processed
Figure 7. The production of reduced iso- alpha- acid compounds from iso alpha acid.
24
Figure 7.
As well as providing different levels of
bitterness, some of the reduced humulones
have an effect in enhancing beer foam
character.
The products are usually marketed at
concentrations of between 5% and 20% in
aqueous solution.
If a brewery uses clear glass and reduced
iso-humulone, it is necessary to exclude all
Alpha acid extract from the resin is convert to alkali metal salt of iso-alpha acid
in buffered water solution.
Provides all parts of the hop bitterness
Added in line post fermentation
Composition
Alpha acids (HPLC)
Beta acids
Aroma compounds
Iso alpha acid (30% solution)
Potassium carbonate buffer
%
0 0.8
0 0.3
absent
29 - 31
68 - 70
Specification
pH (1% solution)
Haze (1% solution)
Gushing test
9.0 9.5
0 5 EBC
None
Advantages:
Easy to handle and store
No aroma contribution
Standard bittering product
High utilisation (70 95%)
Easy adjustment of bitterness
Disadvantages:
Expensive
No hop aroma contribution
Reduced kettle hop addition which contributes to
hot break
Reduced hop character in beer
Chemically processed
Advantages:
Traditional form
Free from extraction solvents
Standard aroma & bittering product
Aids hot break formation & settling
Disadvantages:
Costly
Utilisation lower (45 55%)
Chemically processed
If aroma is required it has to be added separately
Foam stability
Standard +
Much greater +++
Greater ++
Standard +
Table 8. Summary of benefits from using hop oils and late hop essence
Preparation
Major use
Method of use
The oil fraction from whole liquid CO2 extraction of hops is further extracted
and purified by vacuum distillation. Essences are fractionated from whole oil
by column chromatography.
Enhance hop aroma and flavour in beer
Added post fermentation
Composition
Hop oils
Late Hop Essence Spicy
Late Hop Essence Floral
Advantages:
Easy to handle and store
Standardised constant product
Available in variety of specific or generic forms
Provides means of precisely adjusting and
controlling late hop character
Less change in hop character over time than with
cone hops
Disadvantages:
Oil require top be emulsified before use
Essences are very costly
Some drinkers can detect the difference in dry
hop character between hop oils and whole hops
Extraction dosage rates are critical
Further Reading
Neve R.A. Hops published by Chapman and Hall
IoB Blue Book on Hops
ORourke T IOB Blue Book Brewhouse and
Brewing Materials (in print)
Morris Hanbury Jackson LeMay Ltd.
technical literature
Brewing Science Vol 1 ed J.R.A. Pollock various
sections
Malting and Brewing Science Hough, Briggs and
Stephens
New Brewer July 1994
Moir M (1988) Development in Hop Usage, Ferment
Vol 1 No 3,
ORourke T Back to Basics Brewers Guardian
April 1998.
25
TECHNICAL SUMMARY
Technical Summary 12
By Tim ORourke
Continuing this series of
technical summaries for
the Institute & Guilds
AME candidates.
Mashing in
Mash conversion stand
Run off
Drain down & Spent grains removal
Total turn around time
Flow rate u = filter surface area (A) x pressure differential across filter (P)
Beer viscosity x resistance to the flow of beer (L )
20 minutes
75 minutes
185 330 minutes
20 minutes
300 -440 minutes
Excluding the time taken for the mash conversion, the mash tun is the
slowest wort separating system. Mash tuns are well suited to their
traditional use in producing wort from well modified malt. They are the
cheapest system in terms of capital outlay and are the simplest to operate
with little or no automation.
Mash tuns can only use a single temperature for mash conversion and
as a result poor quality malts or malts requiring a protein or glucanase
stand cannot be handled. Mash tuns are also less well suited to modern
large batch production where high brewhouse utilisation and extract
efficiency are expected.
When using a Lauter Tun or Mash filter the mash is converted in a
separate mash conversion vessel often using a range of temperature
stands. The function of the Lauter tun and Mash filter is purely to separate
the solids.
Lauter Tun
Before transferring mash from the mash conversion vessel a layer of
brewing water or underlet is added to cover the plates in the lauter tun.
The transferred mash is allowed to settle on the lauter plates. The bed in
the lauter tun is shallower (around 0.5 m) and the vessel has a larger
diameter (greater surface area) than the mash tun. This gives it a better
filter performance and allows the use of finer grist, which helps extract
performance.
The initial wort collected from the lauter tun is re-circulated to ensure
that only bright wort (haze less than 5 EBC) runs to the kettle. The
medium fine grist used in the lauter tun causes an increase in the
resistance of wort run off, which has to be compensated by the use of
rakes to open the bed and allow faster filtration. The rakes must operate
in such a way to avoid the sparge being channeled through the bed and
to avoid the filter bed being totally disrupted. Slight increases in wort
viscosity can have a dramatic effect on run off performance.
Lauter Tun.
57
TECHNICAL SUMMARY
There are a number of different ways of running a lauter tun which vary
according to beer type, installation and tun design. Raking can be
continuous in a wave, or using a number of discrete steps The sparge
can be added continuously or as a batch addition when it is often
accompanied by a total break up and re-mash of the bed.
Most lauter tuns are fully automated and as well as controlling the wort
run-off rate, they also measure and control the differential pressure above
and below the lauter plates. When this pressure falls below a set pressure
it has reached a set bed condition. The run-off is stopped and the rakes
are lowered to the bottom of the bed and used to beak up the bed for 5 to
10 minutes before normal filtration is resumed.
To control a lauter tun run-off, the following properties can be
measured:
Wort flow rate (which can be accumulated to give total volume of wort
collected)
Flow rate and volume of underlet and sparge
Differential pressure which is the difference in pressure above and
below the later tun false bottom. This directly measures resistance to
flow through the filter bed.
Wort clarity wort should have a haze less than 5 EBC with less than 1
mg per litre of suspended solids.
Wort density as the density decreases, the wort viscosity also falls
allowing the lauter tun to run off more quickly.
Temperature of sparge
Dissolved oxygen is reduced by gentle filling usually from the bottom of
the vessel and through gentle operation.
These measurements can be used to control the lauter through:
Controlling flow rate rate of run off
Sparge rate, that is the rate of re-hydrating the bed and the amount of
water on top of the bed.
Sparge temperature (higher temperature reduces wort viscosity, but
also increases extract of unwanted husk compounds).
Raking and set bed routines (these are primarily to relieve the build up of
differential pressure across the lauter bed).
Re-circulation at the start of run off and often after a set bed the worts
are re-circulated on top of the lauter tun until they are bright before
running to the kettle.
The large number of plates and shallow bed depth gives a high filter
flow rate and the fine grind coupled with a thin filter bed results in high
extract efficiency without the reduction in wort quality.
The sequence below shows the series of events during a mash filter
run.
Filling
Mash is pumped at low pressure
from the mash conversion vessel
Duration
Pressure
Volume of run off
5 mins
0.7 bar
nil
Filtration
The solids in the mash form a cake
on the surface of the filter cloth.
Clear wort is run off to the kettle.
Duration
Pressure
Volume of run off
Filling
30 mins
0.7 bar
175 hl
Pre-compression
After all the mash has been
transferred from the mash mixing
vessel, gentle air compression is
applied to the membrane which
forces the strong wort through the
bed.
Duration
Pressure
Volume of run off
5 mins
0.9 bar
10 hl
Filtration
Sparging
When most of the strong worts has
been squeezed from the grain, the
membrane pressure is slowly
released and sparge water is
pumped through the mash inlet;
Time in mins
3
11
4
41
74
10
16
8
25
192
Volume Hl
23
20
205
475
141
179
93
l000
58
Duration
Pressure
Volume of run off
35 mins
0.7 bar
175 hl
Pre-compression
Final Compression
When all the sparge has been
supplied the membrane is
compressed at high pressure and
the grain bed squeezed dry.
Duration
Pressure
Volume of run off
10 mins
1 to 1.5 bar
20 hl
Cake discharge
Sparging
10 mins
none
nil
Final Compression
Spent Grains
After wort separation is complete the waste material left behind called
spent grains and is drained down and sold for cattle feed.
The removal of the grains depends on the mash separation system:
Mash Tun thrown out by hand, or removed by a mechanical arm which
rotates over the false bottom of the tun and pushes the grains towards
outlet ports.
Discharging
Lauter Tun usually combined with the lauter rake equipment, where
either the rake arms turn to present a flat surface pushing the grains
towards outlet ports, or a bar attached to the rake arms descends to
achieve the same purpose.
Lauter Tun
Circa 97.5 %
Higher sparge lower
gravity wort
Circa 3- 4 hours
8 - 10 brews/day
Full charge 35 %
More problematical run off
Mash Filter the filter is opened up and the grains fall out, occasionally
with sticky grains the cloths may require scraping.
8m dia.
Higher more moving parts
Good
Wet moisture > 78 %
After grain discharge the plates or cloths are usually hosed off, in
preparation for the next brew, and the vessels will receive a full hot CIP at
least once per week. The discharged grains are usually conveyed either
by a screw conveyor or using compressed air to a storage silo, where
they can be loaded into local transport for removal.
The % solids of the grains is between 19 and 36% depending on wort
extraction system and drainage, where there is no concern over effluent
and when the brewery is adjacent to suitable agricultural sites, the grains
are discharged wet and removed for storage and ensiling on the farm.
If the grains cannot be taken away wet then it is necessary to dry the
grains. In which case after draining down, the grains may be passed
through a decanter centrifuge to remove excess moisture before being
dried in a drum oven.
Fraction
Mash Tun
Husk
20%
Coarse Grits
35%
Fine Grits
35%
Flour
10%
Lauter Tun
15%
5%
30%
30%
Mash Filter
<5%
5%
35%
>45%
ONLINE
www.igb.org.uk
Please visit our web site for information on all IGB activities and services
59
PEOPLE
MACHINES
MATERIALS
PROCESS
METHODS
MEASUREMENT
ENVIRONMENT
Good planning is the essence of achieving the right end result, if this is not achieved,
there is a nightmare to follow, and there is not much sympathy around! Good planning
also means that when you are challenged you have the answer, and the consequences of
any change are immediately known. So before developing a packaging line ensure that all
parties have been consulted, and that there is total agreement on the objectives. So whom
should you involve? The simple answer is, the customer, but sadly there is not one but
many of them. My list would include planning/sales, marketing, manufacturing
(production and engineering managers and shop floor), and finance. Make sure that the
top person is approached in each area, and ask that he/she nominate individuals who will
be asked to sign off what has been agreed. There will then be a steering committee
involving all these people and a project owner who would normally be someone from
manufacturing who will work with the project and then finally take it over. This may
seem a bit petty but a lot of money is being invested, so it is important that a great deal of
up front work is carried out. If the reader works for a small company all this may not be
necessary, as communications are easier and ownership is extremely clear. It is also
likely that the same people will be around throughout the project! However, a clear plan
still needs to be put together. All this may seem extremely obvious, but so many fall at
this hurdle.
After the requirements have been established, the line layout and type of plant must be
decided. Specifications therefore need to be prepared and discussions take place with
suppliers. You should still remain reasonably flexible in your approach, as suppliers will
often as not come up with good ideas.
On one occasion I remember talking to a supplier after the installation of his palletiser.
We in manufacturing had specified the patterns for palletisation, and these were duly
given to the supplier who actually suggested a better pattern for one particular format.
This was turned down by project because the pattern had already been specified! Later
on, when we discovered this, we changed the pattern on the suppliers advice, and it
worked much better. So have an open mind do lots of listening!
Line layouts and speeds are of the essence to good line performance. There are many
layout alternatives. The end result may depend on existing layouts but the modern
objectives would include (Mnemonic-FEEL DEMO!):
The line needs to be designed around the heart of the line i.e. the machine that does the
primary packaging. If this machine stops, the output is immediately affected. For a
beverage packaging line this would normally be the filler. A graph is then drawn with the
filler at the bottom of the graph this is known as a V graph (see fig 1). In cases where
a tunnel pasteuriser is installed, this may be at the bottom of the graph. However, if this is
FILLER /S EAME R
C OD ER
PALLET IS ER
MACHINE
Fig 1
Machines before and after the filler are planned to run faster by increments of 5 to 8%. In
this way the line stands the best chance of giving a good efficiency. The machine at the
bottom of the graph gives you the rated output for the line. The faster the line, the less
robust it is, and stoppages will also give a greater loss of output.
This leads us to the next point, accumulation. For slower lines, <500cpm, accumulation is
not as important, and also the V graph can be flatter. For higher speeds, however,
accumulation is required to give an effective line balance. There are two types, static and
dynamic.
The simplest form of static accumulation is the bi-directional table, which is fitted at right
angles to the conveyor. The product accumulates, and is then released into the conveyor
when the line restarts. The disadvantage of this type is that products maybe held on the
table for some considerable time, as the product will only be slowly released onto the
line. In fact on some tables, the product can sit on the dead plate at the end of the table
until it is physically pushed onto the conveyer. At a recent exhibition, drinktec interbrau
in Munich, Gebo Industries exhibited an in-line accumulation conveyer table. This has
the advantage of ensuring that no product is left behind and is a neat combination of the
dynamic and static types. It also takes up less space than dynamic accumulation on the
conveyor.
Dynamic accumulation can take place on any conveyors more than one slat wide.
Conveyors on a packaging line are divided into two distinct areas upstream and
downstream (see fig 2)
Upstream
Normal State:
Conveyors Full
Filler/
Seamer
Downstream
Normal State:
Conveyors 50%Full
Fig 2
Upstream conveyors feed the core machine, in this case the filler, and downstream
conveyors take product away from that machine. The upstream conveyors will normally
run full, so if for any reason a machine feeding the filler should stop, there is a buffer of
cans on the conveyor to keep the filler running. Conversely, the conveyors downstream
3
will run around half full which allows them to fill up when there is a stoppage
downstream. So how much accumulation does one have? When it comes down to it, it is
a matter of money and space. The best advice one can give is to analyse the most
common stops on a line and relate the accumulation capacity to these. There are now
some brilliant packages available that allow line performance to be simulated there are
companies around that can do this for you, conveyor manufacturers should also be able to
do this for you.
For an existing line it is worthwhile spending some time on ensuring that your line is in
balance and that the accumulation space is being properly used. On many occasion I have
seen people increase the speed of the filler and expect higher output, the reverse actually
takes place. A line always runs better when it is allowed to run continuously at the correct
rated speed. It may be that the line has to be re-rated, or that machines upstream and
downstream need to be speeded up. I have seen new plant being installed on a line and as
it runs at a different speed to the de-installed plant, it throws the line out of balance.
Another consideration is the line layout. There are two distinct ways to go a straight
line or a U shaped line (See figs 3&4). The latter gives the best solution from the
ergonomic point of view, as machines are much more accessible and also more visible.
However, this will not be the easy solution if straight lines are already in place, or when a
range of different pack formats are required. Should the latter be the case, a comb layout
will be necessary giving a choice of routes. Whatever is chosen the above objectives
FEEL DEMO - should be met in order to give a satisfactory performance.
In conclusion, the competence of the operating crew is absolutely key to achieving good
output, but I also believe that a well-designed and balanced line makes a big difference to
both morale and therefore output. Good planning is the essence; then ensure it is in
balance and, finally, look after it!
The next article is about measurement of line performance with a little financial input.
PEOPLE
MACHINES
MATERIALS
PROCESS
METHODS
MEASUREMENT
ENVIRONMENT
Good planning is the essence of achieving the right end result, if this is not achieved,
there is a nightmare to follow, and there is not much sympathy around! Good planning
also means that when you are challenged you have the answer, and the consequences of
any change are immediately known. So before developing a packaging line ensure that all
parties have been consulted, and that there is total agreement on the objectives. So whom
should you involve? The simple answer is, the customer, but sadly there is not one but
many of them. My list would include planning/sales, marketing, manufacturing
(production and engineering managers and shop floor), and finance. Make sure that the
top person is approached in each area, and ask that he/she nominate individuals who will
be asked to sign off what has been agreed. There will then be a steering committee
involving all these people and a project owner who would normally be someone from
manufacturing who will work with the project and then finally take it over. This may
seem a bit petty but a lot of money is being invested, so it is important that a great deal of
up front work is carried out. If the reader works for a small company all this may not be
necessary, as communications are easier and ownership is extremely clear. It is also
likely that the same people will be around throughout the project! However, a clear plan
still needs to be put together. All this may seem extremely obvious, but so many fall at
this hurdle.
After the requirements have been established, the line layout and type of plant must be
decided. Specifications therefore need to be prepared and discussions take place with
suppliers. You should still remain reasonably flexible in your approach, as suppliers will
often as not come up with good ideas.
On one occasion I remember talking to a supplier after the installation of his palletiser.
We in manufacturing had specified the patterns for palletisation, and these were duly
given to the supplier who actually suggested a better pattern for one particular format.
This was turned down by project because the pattern had already been specified! Later
on, when we discovered this, we changed the pattern on the suppliers advice, and it
worked much better. So have an open mind do lots of listening!
Line layouts and speeds are of the essence to good line performance. There are many
layout alternatives. The end result may depend on existing layouts but the modern
objectives would include (Mnemonic-FEEL DEMO!):
The line needs to be designed around the heart of the line i.e. the machine that does the
primary packaging. If this machine stops, the output is immediately affected. For a
beverage packaging line this would normally be the filler. A graph is then drawn with the
filler at the bottom of the graph this is known as a V graph (see fig 1). In cases where
a tunnel pasteuriser is installed, this may be at the bottom of the graph. However, if this is
FILLER /S EAME R
C OD ER
PALLET IS ER
MACHINE
Fig 1
Machines before and after the filler are planned to run faster by increments of 5 to 8%. In
this way the line stands the best chance of giving a good efficiency. The machine at the
bottom of the graph gives you the rated output for the line. The faster the line, the less
robust it is, and stoppages will also give a greater loss of output.
This leads us to the next point, accumulation. For slower lines, <500cpm, accumulation is
not as important, and also the V graph can be flatter. For higher speeds, however,
accumulation is required to give an effective line balance. There are two types, static and
dynamic.
The simplest form of static accumulation is the bi-directional table, which is fitted at right
angles to the conveyor. The product accumulates, and is then released into the conveyor
when the line restarts. The disadvantage of this type is that products maybe held on the
table for some considerable time, as the product will only be slowly released onto the
line. In fact on some tables, the product can sit on the dead plate at the end of the table
until it is physically pushed onto the conveyer. At a recent exhibition, drinktec interbrau
in Munich, Gebo Industries exhibited an in-line accumulation conveyer table. This has
the advantage of ensuring that no product is left behind and is a neat combination of the
dynamic and static types. It also takes up less space than dynamic accumulation on the
conveyor.
Dynamic accumulation can take place on any conveyors more than one slat wide.
Conveyors on a packaging line are divided into two distinct areas upstream and
downstream (see fig 2)
Upstream
Normal State:
Conveyors Full
Filler/
Seamer
Downstream
Normal State:
Conveyors 50%Full
Fig 2
Upstream conveyors feed the core machine, in this case the filler, and downstream
conveyors take product away from that machine. The upstream conveyors will normally
run full, so if for any reason a machine feeding the filler should stop, there is a buffer of
cans on the conveyor to keep the filler running. Conversely, the conveyors downstream
3
will run around half full which allows them to fill up when there is a stoppage
downstream. So how much accumulation does one have? When it comes down to it, it is
a matter of money and space. The best advice one can give is to analyse the most
common stops on a line and relate the accumulation capacity to these. There are now
some brilliant packages available that allow line performance to be simulated there are
companies around that can do this for you, conveyor manufacturers should also be able to
do this for you.
For an existing line it is worthwhile spending some time on ensuring that your line is in
balance and that the accumulation space is being properly used. On many occasion I have
seen people increase the speed of the filler and expect higher output, the reverse actually
takes place. A line always runs better when it is allowed to run continuously at the correct
rated speed. It may be that the line has to be re-rated, or that machines upstream and
downstream need to be speeded up. I have seen new plant being installed on a line and as
it runs at a different speed to the de-installed plant, it throws the line out of balance.
Another consideration is the line layout. There are two distinct ways to go a straight
line or a U shaped line (See figs 3&4). The latter gives the best solution from the
ergonomic point of view, as machines are much more accessible and also more visible.
However, this will not be the easy solution if straight lines are already in place, or when a
range of different pack formats are required. Should the latter be the case, a comb layout
will be necessary giving a choice of routes. Whatever is chosen the above objectives
FEEL DEMO - should be met in order to give a satisfactory performance.
In conclusion, the competence of the operating crew is absolutely key to achieving good
output, but I also believe that a well-designed and balanced line makes a big difference to
both morale and therefore output. Good planning is the essence; then ensure it is in
balance and, finally, look after it!
The next article is about measurement of line performance with a little financial input.
MACHINES
MATERIALS
PROCESS
METHODS
MEASUREMENT
ENVIRONMENT
Most people tend to focus on the Machinery and People. Production blame the Engineers,
Engineers blame the operators. Although this is a culture we would like to think has
passed us by, unfortunately, when there is pressure on output, this rather unhealthy
discourse tends to raise its head once more. When I visit operations that have not done a
full study on their plant performance, I often find that the materials that they are using are
the greatest cause of downtime. The frustration on the shop floor is enormous and the
answers are often found there. A simple example that I came across was with a labeller
that was applying pre-cut paper labels and the operator was struggling with the varying
sizes of label. It turned out that the company was buying from two different suppliers and
each company was cutting the label to a slightly different dimension. Materials are
probably the most comfortable item to look at because it mostly involves people outside
the manufacturing arena and also the results can be extremely rewarding!
So what is the best approach? I have listened to lecture in which a person from Quality
Assurance was saying that you need good specifications and that you ensure that the
suppliers keep to them, so far so good but who lays down the specification and is the
supplier really comfortable with it. In this instance the user wrote the specification and
then told the supplier that this is what he wanted. This can lead to an uncomfortable
relationship with the supplier and tends to set up a feeling of animosity. This goes back to
the days of material inspection and AQLs (Acceptable Quality Limits). In my mind a
component is either right or wrong why should there be any failures?
Interestingly the best approach is the one that favours the buyer and the manufacturer;
that is to have a single supplier and partnership where the supplier works closely with the
manufacturer to achieve the best result. Most suppliers are into this approach and like it
as they can then ensure that they are supplying the best materials for your plant and
understand why certain dimensions are critical or not as the case might be.
Specifications
These are important and can be divided into three parts. The first is an overall policy
statement it could relate to a restriction in chemical treatment or the use of compounds
used which you, as the user, do not want to come into contact with your product. It would
include the requirement for tests should the supplier wish to use a different form of
treatment; for example, use a different lacquer inside a beverage can. This may also
Rejects or Waste
Efficiency People
This month people is the theme:
PEOPLE
MACHINES
MATERIALS
PROCESS
METHODS
MEASUREMENT
ENVIRONMENT
There is no doubt that the most important part of a good process is the people that run it
they can make or break an operation. I have never found a magic ingredient, but one
thing for sure, most are guilty of not looking after this main asset properly by this I do
not mean conditions of employment, I mean ordinary things like communicating, interest
in the individual, and being consistent.
Management of people is one of the most written about subjects and many have made a
great deal of money out of it. Management of people has changed from control,
direction, compliance, discipline, measurement, feedback loops and union meetings to
empowerment, self management, involvement, co-ordinating, facilitating, enabling and
team meetings and the structures are now flatter.
I have been through management change that moved from one extreme to the other, and
there is no doubt that there are problems at both ends of this spectrum. The latter,
however, has to be the healthier environment to work in. The difficulty is that some of the
people who worked under the old regime often do not fit in to the new one. This leads to
some hard decisions about the people who clearly no longer fit in the organisation.
Empowerment and self-managed teams may be good things, but it also needs first class
production management - even better than before. However, there is so often a lack of it,
production managers run themselves into the ground chasing resources and seeking
emergency fixes for problems; instead of giving themselves time to understand, observe,
listen and then to improve the manufacturing process.
So why is this? I would suggest it is because manufacturing has become so tight that
resources have been stretched to the limit. There is always two streams of activity, firstly,
the real job of manufacturing producing good quality product as required - and
secondly the constant change programmes that enshroud manufacturing today. It is
difficult to do both well! Fifteen years ago it was Unions, today it is Change.
Resources are geared to cope with production, ignoring change, but for change
programmes, people in the manufacturing teams are needed. As most change
programmes have such a significant future impact on the plant the best people need to be
involved therefore manufacturing suffers. This cycle will continue, and so change needs
to be part of a team activity not something that is divorced from it. Often there are so
called change management teams but they are not always helpful to manufacturing.
They tend to build up resistance to change; then they need internal help, so you end up
with the same problem.
Coupled with this, manufacturing teams have become flexible. Apart from the obvious
advantages, this has other connotations. With the dedicated operators of the past,
machines were owned and cared for by specific individuals, now with flexibility the same
dedication is not there, and as a result machines are not receiving the same level of
attention. I was talking to a manufacturer of board a short while ago about flexibility and
ownership, and he identified immediately with this problem. Two issues arise from this:
!
!
To overcome this, training has to be good. Individual operators need to be trained and
properly assessed. With bigger operations that run a number of shifts this is really key.
The only way out is to have professional training perhaps with the help of NVQs - and
having done this, individuals operating the machinery need to be constantly assessed. I
also favour the nomination of key operators for individual machines, and linking them to
a technician, in order to bring some ownership back they can still be flexible but will
have a special interest they will also be the trainers for their specific machine.
In the next issue we will talk about maintenance and how initiatives like TPM (Total
Productive Maintenance) also have an impact on people. At the end of the day people are
a part of plant and process with which they are inextricably linked:
PEOPLE
PLANT
PROCESS
For this article I have chosen to talk about the issues that directly affect output. There are
two excellent chapters on the subject of people in a new book called Excellence in
Packaging of Beverages produced by myself and Eric Candy and recently published by
the Binsted Group. Tel 01256 764180.
PEOPLE
MACHINES
MATERIALS
PROCESS
METHODS
MEASUREMENT
ENVIRONMENT
Line efficiency is one of the most emotional topics in a packaging plant. As a result it is
important that figures are on time, calculated correctly and that they portray the correct
message. Initially efficiency was measured over the time that was available for
production. Take as an example a 2 x 8 hour shift operation running for16 hours per day.
If it takes one hour to start up the operation and two hours to close down, with half an
hour per shift allowed for breaks, the efficiency would be measured over 12 hours. This
can result in the manipulation of the efficiency figures, thereby creating a false picture.
Today, there is a much greater emphasis on yield, which is measured over the full period.
Therefore, using the above example, it would be calculated over the full 16 hours. Terms
like sweating the assets have entered the vocabulary, and benchmarking has become the
norm. It is therefore very important that there is no ambiguity, and when comparisons are
made, it is like for like.
The working day often starts with the question What efficiency did we get yesterday?
The yield figure is fine as a reply, but alongside this should be two other figures,
operation efficiency and utilisation. If the yield figure is the only one that is given, it is
open to too much interpretation and innuendo. Hours can be wasted discussing irrelevant
information. I have actually seen figures over the years become less and less relevant to
those that specifically require them, and senior management being overloaded with
information through management systems such as SAP. This is not healthy, as it can be
responsible for creating a blame culture. Investment in a real time measurement system
would improve this, but again, only if it is done properly. It must be geared for use by the
shop floor in order to allow improvement initiatives to be carried out at that level.
So what is yield? This is the good production in the warehouse divided by the rated
output of the line to give standard hours. This is then divided by the number of paid
hours. So for a three shift x 8-hour operation, this would be 24 hours.
Standard Hours = Production in the Warehouse
Rated Output /Hour of the Line
A correctly designed system ensures that managers spend the minimum amount of time
in the office, thereby maximising their focus on line issues. Measurement in real time
gives many other advantages as well; this would include informing component suppliers
of the status of the production line; this ensures that components do not run out or
become over stocked. The same goes for finished goods. A much more efficient form of
communication can be set up with warehousing and transport as they will have ready
access to production information. Another benefit is providing the finance department
with ready data that allows, for example, a more accurate costing of individual products.
This is especially important for products with short runs and long changeovers.
The accuracy of information is important for many reasons. Preventative Planned
Maintenance (PPM) relies on it see November Issue of Canning & Filling. This
information will also support Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) activities discussed in
the same article. For TPM to be successful the correct machines need to be targeted for
improvement, so that full analysis can be carried out. Furthermore, this accurate and
easily accessible data allows properly informed decisions to be made on machinery and
plant.
This article would not be complete without mentioning financial measurement.
Accountants can be perceived as being supportive or as a threat. They will always be
there, so it is wise to keep them on your side. This is especially important today as data is
not as visible as it once was. We need to know how the business is performing against the
challenging targets that are set for us, and help the operation to keep them on track. Two
measures, which I am familiar with, are PMDO (Costs of People, Maintenance,
Depreciation and Others) and TDEC (Total Delivered Economic Cost). Others would
include items like site maintenance, canteen etc. TDEC would include the cost of
materials and waste the variable costs. These costs, and certainly the PMDO element,
are often used for benchmarking and would be expressed against a unit of production;
this could be, for example, per litre or hectolitre (100 litres) or per case. Where a good
accountant can be extremely helpful, is in pinpointing where the variances are, making it
much easier to find the source of a problem.
Measurement is a wide-ranging subject and I hope the points made above will give some
food for thought. The key is to ensure that complexity is kept to minimum, and that
figures are on time, even in real time. If figures are not understood fully or they are late,
continuous improvement will be hindered significantly
JJCB/12/01/02
Efficiency Changeovers
This month changeovers is the theme:
PEOPLE
MACHINES
MATERIALS
PROCESS
METHODS
MEASUREMENT
ENVIRONMENT
Changeovers have become a big topic over the past few years with diversification of
products, globalisation and economic consumer response (ECR). ECR is all about fast
response to consumer demand and taking inventory out of the supply chain. None of this
helps the producer, and in fact there is very little over the last five years that has!
Manufacturing has had to cope with reducing costs, which inevitably means less
resource, shorter runs and more stock keeping units (SKUs). The manufacturer therefore
needs all the help he can get. We have already discussed good maintenance; this is a vital
ingredient to good line performance especially after changeovers.
Most manufacturers are now faced with too many changeovers, and ridiculously short
runs. The appeal is for sensible planning, rationalisation of product - in order to reduce
the level of changeovers, and innovation that fits as closely as possible to manufacturing
facilities already available. On many occasions I have found that planning schedules
could be changed this is especially important with a difficult product when longer runs
are needed for the line to settle down. Planners can be adamant as their focus is demand,
but after discussion it can often be found that a product can be produced fortnightly rather
than weekly. Planners are measured on Customer Service not Production Efficiency!
The message for production is to do everything possible to limit changeovers in the first
place.
I know a company who recently installed a new bottling line. It was only at this moment
that they looked at rationalising the different bottles used. Rationalisation need not mean
every product going into the same bottle, it can also mean bottles produced with the same
diameter. The project team worked with the glass manufacturers and marketing, and
ended up saving significant sums on change parts and changeover times. Why wait for a
new line?
An activity programme for this approach is shown in fig 1. This can take different forms
according to the components used, but a similar interrogation and result is required.
OBJECTIVE
Reduce
Changeovers
Changeover
Times?
Same Beer?
Do Not Know
Categorise SKUs
Collate
Information
Same Bottle?
Similar
Dress?
Short Runs
<4 hours?
Opportunities?
Proposals
Meeting with
Marketing/
Planning/Finance
Reduced number
of SKUs &
Changeover
Times
Having carried out this exercise and being sure that you have the best you can get, work
now needs to be carried out on the shop floor so as to ensure that the best situation for
changeovers exist. What approach is therefore necessary to ensure that changeovers are
carried out? One clich that sticks in my mind is A place for everything and everything
in its place. At Guinness we had a person who championed this and it went well.
Coloured boxes were painted on the floor for components etc and cupboards were made
to tidy away cleaning materials close to their point of use. This is certainly a good place
to start. Today, you will hear more about the 5Ss which have been central to the
Japanese methods that have evolved since the end of the Second World War. The
objective is similar but there are clearer messages enveloped in this approach. There are
many translations of the Japanese words but the interpretations are similar no matter what
you read! The 5Ss are as follows:
Seiri Sort the first important thing is to sort out what is and what is not
needed. If an item is not going to be used during the next 30 days, take it away
and store it in a separate location where it can be easily located at a later date.
Other components or parts can be stored close by. The only items that should be
directly visible in the workplace are those items directly associated with current
production. The important issue here is that the workplace is left uncluttered
Seiton Straighten out or Orderliness items that have been sorted out after Seiri
need to be arranged in an orderly manner. Racks need to be made and these
should be properly labelled. All parts must be easily accessed.
Seiso Scrub or Cleaning this means clean everything tools, machines,
change-parts, floor, ceiling it should all be impeccably clean.
Seiketsu Standard of Cleaning or Cleanliness this extends the concept of
cleaning to making it normal work practice that becomes a checking and active
routine. It emphasises that it needs to be done daily, and that it is not a one off
exercise!
Shitsuke Sustain or Discipline the four Ss above need to be engaged within a
standard for the plant so as to ensure that it is maintained. It should be constantly
audited more frequently after it has been introduced.
The above, when adopted, clearly assists in achieving smarter changeovers and prevents
the panic when looking for parts that you were sure were there last time. Indeed, in my
experience, it was probably another shift that did the changeover anyway making it easy
to blame someone else!
In the October edition of Canning and Filling the subject was Maintenance. Total
Productive Maintenance (TPM) was discussed and it is through this that machines can be
improved to give quicker changeovers by, for example, good settings and parts that fit
properly, or even modifications to give faster setting up and settling down times. One
simple thing that really helped us was having colour coded change parts. These are made
tailor made to suit specific component sizes, e.g. 275ml, 330ml and 500ml bottles. Many
manufacturers are now adopting this principle. The important thing is to ensure that a
reputable company makes the parts, as they must be a good fit. I have dealt with one such
company, Zepf Technologies. Apart from making change parts for existing machinery,
they have agreements with filler and labeller manufacturers to make change parts on their
behalf.
We have now covered three activities:
1. Reduction in the number of changeovers
2. Sorting out change parts through the 5 S philosophy
3. Making machines easier to changeover
This leaves one outstanding activity, and that is the methodology. Enter the Japanese
once more! Shigeo Shingo started carrying out some productivity improvement work at
Toyota in the early 1950s. It was here, when trying to improve ways to improve the
utilisation of large body presses, that he first had the idea of separating the changeover
operations into two fundamentally different types, Internal and External.
Internal Set Up such as mounting and removing dies that can only be carried out when
the press is stopped
External Set Up such as transporting the old dies to storage or conveying new dies to
the press, which can be carried out while the press is in operation.
Shingo had immediate success and it took a further 19 years to really develop it. The final
target was to reduce changeover times to less than ten minutes, hence the name given to
the method Single Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED). The objective is to convert as
much of the internal time as possible to external set up time. Although the work was
carried out in the automotive industry, its concepts are as equally applicable to any
production process.
One way to start this process is by recording each element of the changeover on a
camera. This, however, can cause great consternation, as we found out! Many people do
not like having their actions recorded on camera. Could it be used as evidence?! If you
can do this or indeed persuade the team to film themselves doing it, it is worthwhile for
analysis purposes. Here are two very useful exercises that will complement this activity:
1. Carry out a changeover study on a sheet that gives:
Event order
Description of Event
Event Time (plus box for total time)
Elapsed or Cumulative Time (plus box for total time)
Bar Graph for Event Time against each activity
Box marking activity as Internal (I) or External (E)
See fig 2
CHANGEOVER STUDY OBSERVATION SHEET
Event
Cum
Event Event
20 40 60
Time
Time
No
Ior
E
Total
From these studies, together with what has been learnt from the 5 Ss and TPM, work
instructions are prepared. This in my experience is so often not done, or if it is, it is not
done properly. An individual needs to be nominated to take ownership of the whole
process, which includes the work instructions and the final and most important bit the
installation across all shifts, training, and the review! Then, once satisfied, hand it over
for audit at an agreed frequency. It is important that this is done, otherwise the hard work
put in will be wasted, and old ways will slip back! There is no doubt that it is difficult to
put all this in place and sustain it, but the rewards are there. Figure 3 shows is a summary
of the above approach.
Activity Summary
REDUCE
SKUs
MACHINE
STUDY
5'S's
SMED
WORK
INSTRUCTIONS
DO IT!
Efficiency Maintenance
This month maintenance is the theme:
PEOPLE
MACHINES
MATERIALS
PROCESS
METHODS
MEASUREMENT
ENVIRONMENT
Maintenance is not the sexy part of packaging, which is why perhaps it never receives
enough attention. If a packaging line is under pressure, that maintenance slot is lost, and
if this becomes a habit, the line performance becomes worse, confidence in the plant
reduces, and morale is low. It becomes a vicious circle.
Less Time for
Maintenance
Additional Capacity
Required
Equipment Condition
Deteriorates
Increased
Variability
Rework Increases
Poor Quality
The above demonstrates this dilemma well, and although it is not a position we like to
find ourselves in, I suggest that there is not one reader who cannot identify with that
situation. How can this be overcome?
Let us assume that you are in this situation. Before you can do anything, it is important
that you know your equipment. Machines are inclined to move in a cycle. When they are
new or overhauled there is the teething phase adjustments, alignments have to be made.
The machine at this stage is receiving a lot of attention and will settle down. At this stage
interests wane because another machine has become a problem, and many of the
learnings that have been made about the machine are forgotten. Planned maintenance
schedules have probably been prepared but only 25 to 50% of these have been carried
out. The machine then starts to become unreliable again and major work is required once
more.
Adjustments and Alignments
Overhaul
Lack of Attention
Breakdowns
This raises the question about planned maintenance. If the schedules are not adhered to
the maintenance system is discredited and, indeed, the critical work may have been
missed. The key to this is to know your machine and to look after it; if it is ignored the
following will happen:
!
!
!
!
!
Unplanned Downtime
Catastrophic failures
Collateral equipment damage
Product quality suffers
Every day is a surprise!!
Percentage
Efficiencies also tend to follow the planned maintenance trend as the following graph
illustrates:
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Efficiency
Maintenance
(PM%)
Weeks
So how do you start to bring yourself on track? Initially there must be a clear
maintenance policy and it needs to be adhered to and measured. For example, as
illustrated above, planned maintenance compliance is as important as line efficiency, as
one will directly effect the other. Therefore, both should be reported together. The policy
should include:
!
!
!
!
!
Maintenance Approach
Capability/Skills required to carry out work
Resources use of contract, own skill limitation etc
Support tools, spares, planning etc
Training and Development
A lot of this work will hinge on knowing your equipment as already stated. So what does
this entail?
Firstly, a gathering of equipment history. Hopefully this is available if not this must
also be addressed and data built up from existing knowledge, and this then updated as the
facts emerge use every available source of information including the manufacturers!
The historical data needs to be sub-divided into two categories:
!
!
Repetitive failures
Major stoppages
Each will require a different approach and indeed may lead to machine modification in
some cases. Modifications should not be entered into lightly. They are often felt to be the
fun bit of maintenance and can go badly wrong. Any changes should receive as much
attention as any project and be properly planned. Plan Do Check Act. The data
gathered will help to build up a sensible preventative maintenance plan and indeed
change what is already in existence. The use of a CMMS (Computerised Management
System) is recommended.
Secondly, the involvement of the operator through activities like TPM (Total Prodructive
Maintenance). It is important that there is ownership. Sadly this has been lost through
operators now being flexible. I am suggesting that they should still be flexible but, at the
same time, maintain an interest in one piece of equipment. TPM is an important factor in
this as it provides a good systematic approach to understanding the machine and it
involves people. There is clearly not enough space to describe the process here, but
suffice to say that the process is designed to maximise the overall equipment
effectiveness. This is done by establishing and sustaining the optimal relationship
between people and their equipment. The objective is to eliminate the six losses as
follows:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Breakdowns
Excessive set-ups and adjustments
Idling and minor stops
Reduced Speed
Monitor
Identify Issues
Take Action
Decide Action
AUTOMATION
Brewery plant
It was not just the control side which
needed to improve to give full
automation. Plant had to be designed
and installed to give a fail-safe
situation which did not spoil the beer
The BREWER & DISTILLER INTERNATIONAL Volume 3 Issue 8 August 2007 www.ibd.org.uk
AUTOMATION
Automated tanks
Filtration
Filtration using vessel filters (screen
and candle filters) were automated at
an early stage (Fig 6). The closed
nature of the equipment made for
easy automation using hard wired
systems backed up by a turbidity
meter. The plants are normally
manned by a single operator,
whereas breweries which opted for
plate and frame filters tended to be
more manual and had more staff.
Full automation of large plate and
frame filters was trialled by a
number and failed by all!
I have been involved in a number
of potential filtration projects where
the desire to move from a more
highly manned plate and frame
operation to a fully automated vessel
filter plant, has failed because the
The BREWER & DISTILLER INTERNATIONAL Volume 3 Issue 8 August 2007 www.ibd.org.uk
Cost of automation
Automation is still costly, but
compared to 30 years ago is
relatively more affordable. For
example, in 1985, a 75 mm
Tuchenhagen mix-proof valve and
control head with feedback had a
typical market price of 1261,
compared to 1259 in 2007.
Considering that costs have risen by
Figure 5 below: A
modern Tuchenhagen
valve matrix on a tank
farm.
Figure 6 bottom: An
automated filter plant at
SABMillers plant at
Poznan in Poland.
Trends
The improvement in process control
instrumentation, plant schematics
(Fig 7) and trending of parameters
provides useful information for plant
operators. In my experience,
trending data has always been part of
the requirement of any plant control
system, but the information is not
The BREWER & DISTILLER INTERNATIONAL Volume 3 Issue 8 August 2007 www.ibd.org.uk
AUTOMATION
Utilities
The BREWER & DISTILLER INTERNATIONAL Volume 3 Issue 8 August 2007 www.ibd.org.uk
Figure 9: Schematic of
modern brewery IT
architecture showing
ERP, MES linking in
with SCADA and brewer
PLCs.
The future
I asked Paul Bunyan and Tony
Goodman of FMA about their view
of the future trends in IT and
automation in breweries. Their view
was that large breweries are
collecting their islands of
automation into plant wide systems,
with an emphasis on standards
which will ease maintenance and
bring consistency to information,
which would allow realistic plant
Those mouse-click
Brewmasters
I was talking to a German
Brewmaster the other day about
mouse-click brewmasters that is
brewers who work in automated
plant relying on PLC feed back for
all their information. We were in
grumpy old men mode and agreed
that this new breed of brewer was
technologically very competent, but
in the real world were not exposed to
the sounds, smell and vision of the
process, and therefore missed out on
having a true feel and understanding
of what was happening in their
Acknowledgements
My thanks go to Andrew Ball
(Tuchenhagen), Frank Ainsworth (CAL
Systems Ltd), Paul Bunyan and Tony
Goodman ( FMA Process Engineering
Ltd) and Robin Cooper for their help in
writing this article
The BREWER & DISTILLER INTERNATIONAL Volume 3 Issue 8 August 2007 www.ibd.org.uk
BREWING SCIENCE
By Paul Buttrick
Beer Dimensions
Surplus
yeast/bottoms
khl
Volume of beer
recovered
(65%) khl
Volume of yeast
for disposal
(35%) khl
Value () of
recovered beer
(6/hl)
20
40
80
13
26
52
7
14
28
78k
156k
312k
The calculations are based on: Surplus yeast is 4% of site volume; the beer recovery rate from the
yeast is 65%, leaving 35% surplus yeast; recovered beer is valued at 6/hl.
19
BREWING SCIENCE
500
1000
2000
119
238
476
Table 3 shows the same calculation if waste disposal costs increase to 3/tonne
Volume of beer brewed khl
500
1000
2000
1) Do nothing
Some brewers will decide that they do not
want to return any recovered beer for quality
reasons. These breweries will increasingly
have to address the problem of where and
how their surplus yeast will be disposed of in
20
159
316
636
21
BREWING SCIENCE
Figure 10:
Filtration module
from a ceramic
cross flow filter
Photo supplied by
Filtrox AG.
To sum up
Recovery of beer from tank bottoms can be
justified, with spent yeast from a recovery
process considered as a co- product with
Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank the following
companies for supplying photos, diagrams
and information for this article: Alfa Laval Ltd,
CAL Systems Ltd, Filtrox AG, GEA Wiegand
GmbH, Westfalia Separator Ltd, Pall Europe
Ltd, Wheyfeed Ltd.
The Author
After a long career with Whitbread and
Interbrew, including time as Head Brewer of
Boddingtons and Stella Artois Brewmaster,
Paul has started his own independent
consultancy Beer Dimensions. Paul has an
MSc in Brewing Science from Birmingham
University and is one of only a handful of
British brewers to have studied at
Weihenstephan (T.U. Munich). You can contact
Paul on paul.buttrick@beerdimensions.com or
www.beerdimensions.com
Where to blend-back?
This is determined by the quality of
filtrate/centrate and policy of the brewer.
Some brewers add beer back to the whirlpool
or into the wort stream just before wort
cooling. This can be successful as long as
22
Figure 13: Process diagram of a yeast dose-back pre-centrifuge process Diagram supplied by CAL
Systems Ltd.
BREWHOUSES
The Huppmann
brewhouse at Oettinger
Brau in Germany has
been installed within a
no frills industrial
building. Oettinger is a
leading supplier to the
supermarket trade.
A brewers view on a
modern brewhouse project
Mention building a new
brewhouse and any
brewers eyes light up and
the red mist descends at
the thought of gleaming
shiny vessels in a marble
hall set off with murals of
malt and hops and
modern lighting effects.
The reality is often quite
different and a lot of
thought, analysis and soul
searching have to be
done before the dream is
realised.
Brand image
By Paul Buttrick
Beer Dimensions
The decision by
SAB-Miller to retain
the triple decoction
process, a copper
heat exchange
surface, and direct
gas firing for Pilsner
Urquell is no doubt
the result of a
debate that puts the
beer and traditional
process used at the
heart of the image
demanded by this
unique beer.
Figure 1: A showpiece
Ziemann brewhouse at a
Latin American brewery.
BREWHOUSES
Figure 2: Pilsner
Urquell brewhouse
(2004). Note the copper
clad vessels with one of
two 10m lauter tuns in
the back ground. Over
100,000 visitors a year
inspect this view from an
elevated walkway.
Raw materials
The beer recipe can significantly
influence the capital cost of a
brewhouse, and its effect on ongoing
brewing costs. The degree of malt
modification dictates wort and beer
quality as well as brewhouse
processes. In traditional lager
brewing, under modified malt is
processed using a decoction system,
with mash boiling vessels being key
plant items. Many breweries are
using temperature programmed
mashes and some employ infusion
RIGHT: Figure 3:
Equipment schematic
for wet and dry
milling operation
diagram from
Huppmann
FAR RIGHT: Figure 4:
The Dispax milling
system in a Dutch
brewery photo
supplied by Ziemann
Mash Conversion
Milling
There are three main options for
milling. Dry milling normally uses
six roller mills and is still popular
with breweries using lauter tuns.
The milling is independent from the
mashing process and therefore a
lower rated mill can be used so that
the milling operation can utilise the
conversion vessel cycle-time,
whereas continuous steep milling
requires milling to take place in 20
minutes of the mashing process. It is
also reckoned that mill adjustments
available on the three sets of rollers
give a better opportunity for
optimisation of extract and run off.
Hammer milling is only used in
conjunction with the mash filter in
Wort separation
The big debate continues on the use
of lauter tuns and mash filters.
Historically mash filters had a brief
rise in the late 1970s, but
improvements in lauter tun design
reasserted their ascendancy until the
introduction of the Meura 2001
membrane mash filter (Fig 6).
Ziemann continue to offer modern
mash filters and lauter tuns. The
Ziemann TCM (Thin layer Chamber
Mash filter) produces up to 16
brews per day, the largest version
taking a 21 tonne grist. At present
there is no clear winner, except that
each brewer must make the decision
based on its own requirements.
Breweries using unmalted adjucts
and high gravity brewing often opt
for mash filters, as do breweries
with a low number of wort streams
requiring fast throughput and high
extract yields. Lauter tun
manufacturers, Briggs, Ziemann,
Steinecker (with Pegasus) and
Huppmann (with Lauterstar) have
continued to develop their
equipment to increase loading (up
from a norm of 160kg/m2 to over
200kg/m2) while reducing cycle
times and increasing extract. An
emphasis has been put on
decreasing down time (like spent
grain removal) with improvements
in rake design, automated raking
and run off control improving the
Continuous steep
milling is
recommended by
Steinecker
(Variomill) and
Huppmann (Millstar)
and can be used in
conjunction with any
lauter tun.
Conditioning of the
whole malt grain in a
continuous warm
water steep
increases the water
content of the husk
to approx 15 %
before milling.
Advantages over dry
milling are said to be
better and faster
wort separation with
opportunities for
increased lauter tun
loading, less
equipment and less
explosion risk (no
dry ground grist),
less oxygen uptake
due to mashing
taking place at the
same time as
milling.
BREWHOUSES
Wort Boiling
As energy costs rise, wort boiling
will continue to be an area of
increased attention. Modern
understanding of wort boiling has
enabled manufacturers to look at
wort volatile reduction and protein
denaturisation/ coagulation as
separate processes. The idea of
applying a minimum temperature
difference between the heating
medium and the wort by effectively
increasing heating area and
inducing two phase liquid/vapour
bubbles in the wort means that wort
evaporation can be reduced from
over 8% to 4 5%. Different
approaches have been made by
manufacturers, with some opting for
a separate volatile reducing step
after wort boiling.
Beers produced have similar
fermentation characteristics and
volatiles as well as reduced DMS
levels. Reduced thermal stress on
as applied by Steinecker
(Stromboli) creates a large heating
surface within an internal heater
which enables wort volatile removal
and precise protein coagulation at
low thermal load. The heater has a
specially designed two part spreader
for the heating and boiling part of
the cycle. A natural thermo-syphon
via a jet pump above the central
tube enables the heat input to be
reduced(Fig 10,11) As with the
Briggs Symphony system, fouling
of the heater is reduced, resulting in
a lower cleaning frequency( Fig
12,13) Huppmann introduced an
internal heater with a natural
thermosyphon called Jetstar in
September 2005.
Figure 9: The
temperature/pressure
chart of dynamic/low
pressure boiling
process supplied by
Huppmann.
BREWHOUSES
Figure15: A Ziemann
vacuum wort
stripping system
positioned after the
whirlpool but before
wort cooling photo
supplied by Ziemann.
Trub separation
It is easy to get
carried away with
new plant, but a
dedicated project
team and detailed
planning needs to
be in place from the
beginning. Bringing
the new plant on
stream is not always
as straight forward
as first thought and
a logical step-wise
programme of trials
to ensure beer
flavour and quality
match the
specifications is
fundamental.
A final word
It is easy to get carried away with
new plant, but a dedicated project
team and detailed planning needs to
be in place from the beginning.
Bringing the new plant on stream is
not always as straight forward as
first thought and a logical step-wise
programme of trials to ensure beer
flavour and quality match the
specifications is fundamental.
There should also be a
comprehensive blending operation
in place until all stakeholders are
satisfied with the result. It is
important that the Marketing and
Sales functions are included in this
process and the success criteria for
a successful flavour match is agreed
beforehand, so there is no dispute
when the time for the final sign off
comes.
The author
After a long career with Whitbread and
Interbrew, including time as Head Brewer
of Boddingtons and Stella Artois
Brewmaster, Paul Buttrick has started
his own independent consultancy Beer
Dimensions. Paul has an MSc in Brewing
Science from Birmingham University and
is one of only a handful of British brewers
to have studied at Weihenstephan (T.U.
Munich).
TABLE 1
Operation
Approximate
Energy usage
MJ/hl
Wort pre-heating
from 75C to 95C
5% wort evaporation
10% wort evaporation
12
73,900
159,200
12
24
73,900
147,800
159,200
318,400
Meura ad
FILTRATION
Filtration
the facts
A survey of systems and methods
In my early
Whitbread days, it
was always Process
and Packaging but
when the bigger
breweries were built
it became part of the
brewing area, mainly
because filtration
problems were often
pushed back upstream in the
brewery. We were
brewing lager and
had to deal with beta
glucans which
gummed up the
works and yeast that
refused to settle to
the bottom of tall
cylindroconical
tanks.
By Paul Buttrick
Beer Dimensions
The basics
Like all things, the laws of science
dictate performance and Darcy from
way back in 1856 still shows the
way. The table below develops his
law and applies it to filtration :
Applying this equation, it is easy to
12
The BREWER & DISTILLER INTERNATIONAL Volume 3 Issue 12 December 2007 www.ibd.org.uk
(Photo: Puresep.)
Choice of powders
(Schematic: Krones.)
Beer viscosity:
I can remember, over 25 years ago,
spending many hours in the
Samlesbury Brewery brewhouse
doing starch tests on wort with my
fellow brewer the late Bill Barker
we were known as Starchy and
Husk after a well know pair of
American detectives. Better
brewhouse procedures and a malt
specification to reduce beta glucans
in the wort, sometimes with the aid
of added beta glucanase, made sure
we were able to filter plenty of lager
in the hot summers of the late
seventies.
Schematic of the
Steinecker TFS filter.
This filter is specifically
designed to give an even
powder coating over the
whole candle.
Permeability:
The pressure differential across a
filter bed is determined by the
permeability of the filter bed, which
is dictated by the size and porosity
of the filter powder. Very fine
powder produces a quicker pressure
The BREWER & DISTILLER INTERNATIONAL Volume 3 Issue 12 December 2007 www.ibd.org.uk
13
FILTRATION
Big Bags
14
The BREWER & DISTILLER INTERNATIONAL Volume 3 Issue 12 December 2007 www.ibd.org.uk
RIGHT: Diagram of a
KHS Kometronic
precoat filter using
regenerable cellulose
fibres instead of
kieselguhr
Disposal
Disposal costs for spent kieselguhr
is an increasing part of the total
filtration costs. With landfill being
carefully controlled, costs will only
increase. Soil injection is used by
many companies in the UK. In parts
of Germany spent kieselguhr is
already considered as a chemical
waste which is extremely expensive
to dispose of and more countries will
follow suit.
KHS are in final stages of
developing a filter system called
Kometronic incorporating a precoat
filter replacing kieselguhr with
regenerable cellulose fibres.
I know that a number of
companies are looking at
manufacturing a replacement
powder but they are not at the
commercial stage yet. I am sure
there will be long queues of
interested brewers when they
eventually come on the market as
long as the economics are sound and
the material can be used on existing
filters.
Regeneration
Pall Food and Beverage has
developed a kieselguhr regeneration
system called Befis which is used in
conjunction with their Primus filter.
This system works on the principle
Norit BMS.
ABOVE: Schematic of a
600 hl/h Norit BMF,
showing from left to
right: cold store tank,
stabilisation dosing,
recirc/retentate tank,
filter, buffer tank,
carbonator, bright beer
tank.
LEFT: A 600 hl/hr (72
module) Norit BMF
installed in a brewery in
Belgium.
of regenerating and cleaning the
spent kieselguhr from a filter with
caustic, acid and an enzyme
preparation. This material is used as
the body feed for subsequent
filtrations. A fresh, new precoat is
needed on each filter run. Overall
kieselguhr savings of 70-80% are
possible.
The BREWER & DISTILLER INTERNATIONAL Volume 3 Issue 12 December 2007 www.ibd.org.uk
15
FILTRATION
Membrane modules
(each of 12m2) on a Pall
Profi filter installed at
Carlsberg in Fredericia
which processes up to
480hl per hour.
16
The BREWER & DISTILLER INTERNATIONAL Volume 3 Issue 12 December 2007 www.ibd.org.uk
Kieselguhr-free filtration
The issues associated with powder
handling and disposal of spent filter
powder have led to companies
developing kieselguhr-free systems
based on cross flow technology. This
technology is extensively used for
cider and wine, so what is the
situation with beer? Early attempts
by APV in the 1980s to filter beer
using ceramic membranes were
unsuccessful, but at least three major
players currently have systems in
use in breweries. The 0.7- 1.0 hl/m2
flow rates on cross flow filters are
slow compared with powder filters.
The principal of cross flow filtration
is straight forward with the
unfiltered beer circulating across a
polymeric 0.450.6 micron
membrane. A cross-flow rate of
approx 1.2 m/s has a pressure which
is above the pressure on the filtered
beer side of the membrane (this is
called the trans-membrane
differential pressure).
The pressure difference between
the rough and bright side of the
membrane provides the force to
push the beer through the membrane
and take out any particles. Because
there is a fast flow across the
membrane perpendicular to the flow
through the membrane, there is little
build up of solids. There is no dead
end filter bed to go through as in a
conventional filter, so there is no
static filter bed build up and hence
little pressure build up. There will
be some build up of solid material
on the membrane which will cause a
rise in the trans-membrane pressure,
and the process will continue until a
pressure difference of about 1.5 bar
is reached. The manufacturers of
cross-flow filters all use an interim
pulsing or backwashing
technique to disturb any solid build
up and reduce the trans membrane
pressure. A stage is reached when
the trans membrane pressure will
not reduce, in which case a chemical
clean is carried out.
If we are looking at the physics of
filtration, the same principles apply
crossflow filtration is enhanced by
a large surface area, thin filter bed,
and slow flow rate/m2, so there is
slower pressure build up compared
with conventional filtration.
The three systems presented by Pall,
Norit and Alfa Laval, all use
polyethersulphone membranes put
together in a series of modules.
FILTRATION
Another
development by
Steinecker (Krones)
is the TFS-Twin Flow
System candle filter
introduced in 2000.
This filter is different
in that there is no
filtered beer section
of the filter vessel.
The rough beer
comes into the
vessel, filtered beer
comes out through
the candles into a
manifold within the
body of the filter
which feeds directly
into the filter outlet
pipe.
Horizontal screen
Candle
Filtrox
KHS
Pall/Schenk
Krones/Steinecker
Novox
Orion
Niro
-
Filter-o-mat
Cosmos
Primus
Steineker FS 130K
Synox PF
Getra Eco
Ecoflux
Steineker TFS
Configuration
Module size
Size/modules etc
Membrane
Pore size
Flow rates
Number in use
18
Norit
Batch or continuous
9.8 m2
Blocks of 24 modules up to max
of 72 (600 hl/h)
Polyethersulphone
0.5 micron
0.8 hl/m2/h
19
Pall Alfa
Continuous
12 m2
Blocks of 20 modules (up to
240 hl/h per block)
Polyethersulphone
0.65 micron
0.5 1hl/m2/h
11
The BREWER & DISTILLER INTERNATIONAL Volume 3 Issue 12 December 2007 www.ibd.org.uk
Laval
Continuous
0.7 m2 cassette
Up to 432 cassettes
(up to 300 hl/h)
Polyethersulphone
0.6 micron
0.7 hl/m2/h
2
Another unknown
is the robustness
and reliability of the
membranes and
until better
guarantees and
replacement costs
are substantiated,
many brewers will
not take the
kieselguhr-free
route.
Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank those
companies who supplied information
and images in the preparation of this
article
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Email: info@puresep.com
www.puresep.com
The BREWER & DISTILLER INTERNATIONAL Volume 3 Issue 12 December 2007 www.ibd.org.uk
19
Amylase
A general name for the enzymes that breaks down starch.
Alpha amylase is an endo enzymes which liquefies starch by breaking
long starch chains in smaller polysaccharides.
Beta amylase is an exo enzyme which is a saccharifying enzyme by
breaking pairs of sugars off from the non reducing end of starch and
polysaccharide molecules to form maltose.
Astringency
A mouth drying/bitter harsh after tastes which are often produced by
polyphenols derived from malt and hops.
Attemperation
A term used for controlling or cooling beer during fermentation
Attenuation Limit
A measure of the fermentability of wort tested by fermenting with an excess of
yeast. It represents the amount of non-fermentable carbohydrates left in beer.
Auxiliary finings
Liquid finings made from alginate or silicate which helps to settle protein. It
usually works best when added sequentially in combination with isinglass
finings.
Bacteria
Small living organisms which lives by breaking down organic matter such as
beer. Specific bacterial species infect wort and beer producing off flavours
and turbidity.
Barley
A cereal a member of the grass family grows in temperate regions of the
world. Barley is the most common cereal used to produce malt for beer. It has
a thick husk which makes it robust in the malting process, and the husk forms
a filter bed during mash separation.
Barrel
A traditional volume for measuring beer. The UK standard barrel contains 36
gallons of beer. Barrels are still used in measuring capacity but few full barrel
containers (36 gallon casks) are still in use.
Beer
A drink produced by the fermentation of sugars derived from malted barley
flavoured with hops
Beta Glucan
A gummy material which comes from barley cell walls. It is largely degraded
during malting, but if present in wort or beer can cause filtration problems.
Bicarbonate
An soluble salt which produces temporary hardness reducing the fall in
acidity (pH), and generally has to be reduced in waters used for brewing.
Bicarbonates decompose to form carbonates which form a scale on heating
surfaces.
Bitterness
A taste associated usually associate with iso-alpha acids in beer (isomerised
alpha acids from hop). Some traditional ales were bitter and hence the term
is also used to describe types of ales with a high hop rate
Black Malt
Is made from pale malt which is then roasted in a malt drum. It gives beer a
black colour and strong burnt flavour.
Blending
The mixing of beers to achieve quality or in high gravity beer.
Bloom
A deposit on bottles often due to carbonates in the water
BOD
BOD is the measure of the amount of oxygen in milligrams per litre of sample
which is utilised over a five day period in the biological oxidation of the sample
after suitable dilution. It is often written as BOD5 to reflect the 5 day duration
of the test. BOD is an indication of the amount of oxygen which will be taken
up from a watercourse due to microbial growth on discharge of the sample.
Body Feed
Filter powder added to the beer flow in line to improve solids loading and to
aid filtration
Boiling Wort
A stage in the brewhouse process when clarified wort from mash separation is
boiled to stabilise the wort, remove unwanted aromas and isomerise the alpha
acids from the hops.
Bottom Fermentation
For a successful fermentation yeast has to be in suspension in the wort. Once
the fermentation is complete (the final gravity is achieved) lager strains of
yeast clump together or flocculate and sink and settle to the bottom of the
fermentation vessel.
Break
This is the term given to protein/polpeptide molecules which for insoluble
solids and settle to the bottom of the vessel. Hot Break or trub forms after wort
boiling and also contains hop debris. Cold break forms in cooled wort and can
often be collected at the bottom of fermentation vesses.
Bright Beer
Beer that has been through filter to remove visible haze and most microorganisms in preparation for packaging.
Brown Malt
A roasted malt which produces a reddy brown colour and gives beer a rich
malty, biscuit flavour.
Buffer Tank
Is any vessel used as a break between two processes eg between maturation
vessel and filter is the filter inlet buffer tank.
Calcium
It is an important metal ion which is added to mash and has a number of
beneficial effects in brewing particularly in help to drop pH which is
necessary for many enzyme activities and yeast growth and flocculation.
Calorie
A measure of energy. Beer has quite a low level of calories typically around
450 kcal or 1870 kJ per litre. Most of the calories in beer come from alcohol, hence
the higher the % alacohol the greater the number of calories.
Candle Filter
Is a design of primary filter where rods or candles are used to support the filter
aid.
Caramel
Dark burnt sugar which is usually added to beer to adjust colour.
Carapils
A continental darker malt used to add some colour but principally mouthfeel
and texture to lagers.
Carbohydrate
Complex sugars which are generally found as a energy store in plants such
as barley endosperm.
Carbon Dioxide
A gas which is produced during fermentation, under pressure it combines with
water to form carbonic acid. A level of carbon dioxide is present in all beer
and it proves beer with its fizz.
Carbonate
A salt which dissolved in hot water but tends to precipitate in cold water
producing a hard coat of scale or beer stone.
Cask Conditioned Beer
Beer that that remains unfiltered at the end of fermentation is conditioned and
matured in a cask. It is usually clarified in trade through the addition of
isinglass finings.
Centrifuge
Equipment for clarifying beer by spinning it at high velocity separating the
solids from the liquid. It is able to remove most yeast from beer in a matter of
seconds.
Cereal Cooker
A separate vessel used to prepare cereal adjuncts by heating (boiling) to
gelatinise the starch (used for adjuncts which have a gelatinisation
temperature greater than malt).
Colloidal stability
Haze causing colloids such as proteins and tannin must be removed from
beer. This is done through good brewing practice and chilling the beer prior to
filtration For beers which require a long shelf life adsorption stabilization
agents which are insoluble in beer are used to reduce the haze forming
compounds (principally protein and ployphenol) prior to filtration.
Chloride
Is a anion often added as Calcium Chloride and gives beer smooth full palate.
This is characteristic of many lagers and mild beers.
Chocolate malt
A dark roast malt used in dark beers and stouts
CIP Cleaning in Place
Automated system of vessel and line cleaning Cleaning In Place.
Clarification
Separating suspended solids from wort or beer.
Cling
Where beer foam adherers to a glass
Coagulation
The attraction of solid (often protein) to each other resulting in the formation of
solids during boiling
COD
A chemical method of measuring BOD used to look at the biological load in
effluent.
Collagen
A protein also known as finings usually derived from Isinglass and is added
to clarify beer.
Conditioning (Maturation)
Is the process during which the raw flavours of fermentation are removed and
Diacetyl
Diacetyl is a by-product of the metabolism of yeast during the fermentation
process. The majority is removed by well controlled secondary fermentation.
Small amounts of diacetyl in beer cause an unpleasant odour and taste of
butterscotch.
Diastase
General name given to enzymes that break down starch. In Brewing these are
mainly alpha and beta amylase.
Diatomaceous Earth
A powder made up of the mined skeletal remains of diatoms which is used as
a filter aid in beer filtration.
Dissolved Oxygen
A measure of oxygen dissolved in beer
DMS Dimethyl Sulphide
A flavour compound derived from malt which gives a sweetcorn character.
Dormancy
A natural delay in the onset of barley germination
Draught Beer
Beer served from large containers (casks or kegs)
Dry Hopping
The process of adding hops to casks beer to provide hop aroma
EBU (also called IBU)
A measure of beer bitterness (based on the European Brewery Convention)
Effluent
Process waste stream which leaves the brewery either for in house
treatment or to municipal treatment (Sewage Works)
Endosperm
The starch food store of the barley corn which provides the extract for
brewing.
Esters
A group of flavour compounds found in beer generally produced during
fermentation through the combination of acids and alcohols. They give beer
strong fruity aromas and taste.
Ethanol (ethyl alcohol)
The main alcohol produced by fermentation. This is an important property
which determines the strength of the beer.
Extract
A measure of sugar potential or yield from the raw materials. Most extract
comes from the malted barley but additional extract can be added in the form
of adjuncts.
False Bottom
The slotted base of a mash or lauter tun
Fermentation
The process when yeast metabolises simple sugars to produce alcohol abd
carbon dioxide (and some heat) under anaerobic conditions.
Filtration
The process of using a porous surface medium to hold back solids thus
separating solids from the liquid beer.
Finings
A changed material added either as liquids or solids and used aggregate
suspended particles in the beer to aid clarification. (eg Kettle finings, auxiliary
finings and isinglass finings)
Firkin
A container or cask which holds 9 gallons capacity
Flash Pasteurisation
Pasteurisation (heating) through a plate heat exchanger to kill/reduce live
micro-organisms
Flavour Stability
The extent to which a beer tastes as good on ageing as it did fresh when
packaged.
Foam
The stable head/bubbles on beer formed by protein coating bubbles of carbon
dioxide gas. Beer is the only beverage with a stable foam.
Fob
Excessive or uncontrolled foam
Forcing Test
A procedure for heating and holding samples at a higher temperature to check
for flavour or microbiological stability.
Gelatinisation
The initial process in mashing when the starch has to unwind from its
crystalline structure in order to make it accessible to enzyme degradation.
Keg
A metal container for holding beer (usually 11 gallon 50 litre or 22 gallon 100
litre some are as large as 36 gallons or a UK barrel)
Kettle / Copper
The name given to the vessel used for boiling wort
Keystone
A bung which holds the tap in a cask of beer
Kieselguhr
A filter aid made up skeletal diatoms used in beer filtration
Kilderkin (Kil)
A cask holding 18 gallons (half a barrel)
Kilning
The last stage in malting where the moisture is driven off to produce a stable
malt with increase colour and flavour compounds.
Krausening
The process of enhancing warm maturation (secondary fermentation) by
adding fermenting wort from a subsequent brew to the maturation tank of a
beer on completion of primary fermentation.
Labeller
Equipment for labelling bottles
Lacing
The effect of foam clinging to a glass of beer as it empties
Lactic Acid
An acid produced by certain bacteria (lactic bacteria) which can effect the
beer flavour
Lactobacillus
Species of lactic acid bacteria which produce acid and turbidity
Lag Phase
The stage at the start of a fermentation before the yeast start to replicate
(bud)
Lager
Beer brewed using traditional Continental methods (usually typified by using
bottom cropping yeast and pale lager malt)
Lagering
The process of maturing lager beer traditionally the beer was stored for
several months at zero or below.
Lautering
The process of wort separation using a lauter tun which is a filter vessel with a
false slotted bottom.
Legionella
A hazardous bacteria found in warm and cooling water assoacited with
cooling towers and tunnel pasteurisers
Lipids
Fatty material in raw materials such as malt and produced by yeast when
aerated at the start of a fermentation.
Liquor
A term used in the UK and Ireland for brewing water
Losses
The difference between the volume and strength of what you started with in
comparison to the volumes and strength at the start and finish of a process
Lupulin gland
The resin gland of the hop cone which hold the acids and oils used in
brewing.
Maize Grits
Broken embryo of Maize milled which has to be cooked in a cereal cooker
before being mixed with the malt mash.
Malting Variety
A type of barley suitable for malting
Maltose
The principle sugar produced by conversion of starch to wort during mashing.
Mash
The process of mixing grist (ground malt) and water at the necessary
temperature and mash thickness.
Maturation
Post fermentation processing during warm maturation flavour development
occurs cold maturation is required for colloidal stabilisation.
Micro-organism
A very small living organism usually only visible under a microscope.
Modification
A term to describe the change of barley into malt and the extent to which the
cell walls in the endosperm have been digested.
Nitrates
Chemical salts found in water often indicating contamination. There are
maximum permitted levels and many breweries use water treatment to
remove nitrates.
Nitrogen gas
Inert gas used to eliminate air or to give beer a stable head (nitrogen is
sometimes incorrectly used to describe proteins, polypeptides and amino
acids, found in beer)
Non Biological Shelf Life
The time that beer remains free of non biological haze (protein/polyphenol
complex chill haze)
OG
Original Gravity. The specific gravity or density of wort before fermentation
has started
Oxygen
Gas required by living organisms. It is added to stimulate yeast growth before
fermentation starts. If present in finished beer it will cause beer staleness
Palletiser
Equipment for loading packs onto pallets
Pasteurisation
Procedure for heating beer to sterilise it
Pasteurisation Unit
A measure of the degree of pasteurisation (1 PU is the energy given by
holding beer at 600C for 1 minute)
Pediococcus
An anaerobic of bacteria infecting beer
Perlite
A type of filter aid made from volcanic dust
pH
A measure of the acidity/alkalinity of a liquid (measures -log10 H+ ions)
Pils/Pilsner
A style of beer (lager) originally from Pilsen in the Czech Republic
Pin
A cask holding 4.5 gallons
Pitching
The process of adding yeast to wort to start fermentation
Roast Barley
An adjunct used in some dark beers and stouts to produce a very dark black
colour and roast bitter taste.
Rough or Primary Filtration
Used to remove most of the particles all yeast, most bacteria and settled
haze top produce beer from green beer.
Saccharification
The process during mashing when starch is broken down into simple sugars
principally through the activity of beta amylase enzyme
Saccharometer
An instrument for measuring specific gravity (see hydrometer)
Saccharomyces Cerevisiae
Yeast used in ale fermentation
Saccharomyces Uvarum
Yeast used in lager fermentation (sometime Saccharomyces Carlsbergensis)
Secondary Fermentation
A fermentation which occurs after the principle fermentation is complete
usually at a lower temperature to improve flavour or increase carbonation.
Shelf Life
The time during which a beer retains its marketable quality in terms of flavour
and haze stability.
Shive
A bung that fits into the top of a cask
Silica Hydrogel
A material for stabilising beer it adsorbs protein
Skimming
Removal of top cropping yeast after fermentation particularly for ale brewing
where the yeast is harvested from the top of the vessel.
Sparge
Water used to wash out extract from the mash after strong wort run off during
mash separation.
Spear
The tube in a keg used for filling and emptying the keg
Specific Gravity
A measure of the relative density of a liquid
Spent Grain
The brewery co-product which remains after all the wort is extracted and is
used for cattle feed.
Spray Ball
Equipment fitted to a tank for spraying water and detergent during cleaning
Stabilisation
The process of processing beer to retain quality
Staling
The process whereby beer loses its fresh flavour usually due to oxidation
Starch
The carbohydrate food source of plants
Starch Granules
Starch is held as granules in the barley endosperm
Steeping
First step during malting which involves adding water to grain to start
germination
Sterilant
Material for killing micro-organisms
Sterile Filtration
Fine filtration designed to remove micro-organisms
Sucrose
A simple sugar broken down by yeast outside the cell and used to fuel
fermentation.
Sulphate
A salt dissolved in water often added to bitter beers as permanent hardness
Sunstruck Flavour
The skunky flavour created when hopped beer is subjected to sunlight or UV
light
Tannin
A substance in barley or other plants which affects beer stability (also called
polyphenols)
Top Fermentation
A fermentation where the yeast floats to the surface on completion of
fermentation
Trub
Solids protein and hop debris created when wort is boiled and separated in a
whirlpool or hop back.
Tunnel Pasteuriser
A chamber where hot water is sprayed on packaged small pack beers (bottles
& cans) to heat them to kill any micro-organisms by pasteurisation.
Turbidity
A term for the cloudiness of beer
Vertical Leaf Filter
A type of beer filter
Viability
A measure of the number of live yeast cells usually done by staining
Vitamins
Substances essential for healthy yeast growth
Water Softening
A process for removing water hardness for boiler feed, CIP, and bottle
washer. Brewing water may be softened to remove temporary hardness or
have more extensive treatment.
Whirlpool
Equipment for clarifying hot wort which is not bittered with whole hops after
boiling
Widget
A smallpack insert for creating foam usually nitrogen gas
Wild Yeast
A yeast strain different from that approved for pitching the beer. Many wild
yeast strains affect flavour and beer stability.
Wort
Extract of malt produced in the brewhouse before fermentation
Yeast
A single celled fungus - micro-organism used to ferment wort
Yeast Count
A measure of the number of yeast cells in a sample
MATCHING BEERS
Palate matching
A brewers answer to provenance?
Provenance is a word that has
been used by beer aficionados
when breweries are closed or
famous brands moved. Palate
matching has been successfully
achieved by some, some have
failed. Paul Buttrick shares
some thoughts and considerable
experience on this topical
subject.
By Paul Buttrick
Beer Dimensions
Start Early
The BREWER & DISTILLER INTERNATIONAL Volume 3 Issue 3 March 2007 www.ibd.org.uk
27
MATCHING BEERS
Fig 1: A global lager showing one brand at three breweries in different countries.
heavily on expert tasters and is often carried
out away from where the action is. Only
breweries with ample sophisticated resources
can use these techniques.
Fig 2: A typical brand profile produced by FlavorActiV. A narrative describes the main brand attributes, it shows the beer descriptors that are
present, those which should be absent. A 12-parameter spider diagram is supported by an originsplot which details the contributions from grain,
yeast and hops. Each origin is split further into specific flavour characteristics altogether giving a very comprehensive finger print for the brand.
28
The BREWER & DISTILLER INTERNATIONAL Volume 3 Issue 3 March 2007 www.ibd.org.uk
Best
Special
Bitter
Bitter
Ale
2.5
3
3
2.5
3
1.5
3.5
4
3.5
4
1.5
2.5
2.5
2.5
3
3.5
Sweet
2.5
3.5
Bitter
Condition
Body / Fullness
Alcohol
Fruity/Estery
Hoppy/Floral
Malty
Burnt /Roast
Dark
0
1
2
3
4
5
no taste
very slight
slight
evident
strong
very strong
Fig 3 above: The key brand attributes for the Lovely ale range in tabular and spider diagram formats.
Fig 4 below right: A completed trueness to type form for Lovely Bitter in cask showing there is a way to go before matching is complete.
not be in a beer. The company also supply
flavour spikes in the form of capsules which
are specifically made to be used in taste
training and brand comparisons. There are
currently about 40 flavours available, which
are constantly being added to.
BRi is another organisation which is often
used by companies for flavour analysis and
training. These services, sit alongside its other
activities which include brewing research,
information services, and consultancy
services to member companies and other
customers.
Is there a difference?
Triangular taste test
This is the classic method to assess whether
tasters can tell the difference between two
beers. A number of tasters are asked to pick
out a different beer from three glasses, two
contain the same beer, and the third a different
one. Statistical analysis is used to say whether
there is a difference between the two beers.
Brewers use a 1*, 2* and 3* difference which
relates to a 5%, 1% and 0.1% probability of
the result being due to random variation. For
this test 7 or 8 tasters may be used, but
greater than 15 is ideal.
The test can also go on to ascertain why the
beers are different and which is preferred.
However, as only a small sip is taken, results
must be guarded and only used in conjunction
with tests involving larger volumes. These
tests do not require any special training and
can be undertaken by people other than the
breweries trained tasters.
Trueness to Type
In this test, beer is tasted against an agreed
brand profile. Each brand has a basic
description and a list of flavour characteristics
with a known intensity. There can be a list of
flavours but from experience, it is easier to
introduce if there are only about ten of the
more easily recognised flavours. The process
A Taster
APPEARANCE
On freshly poured beer, assess and add totals for clarity,head/foam and lacing/cling
Score
3
2
1
0
Brill
Clear
Hazy
Cloudy
TOTAL
CLARITY
CODE
PACK
4/1/07
Lovely Brewery
2/28/07
9 gal cask
Clarity, head,cling =
HEAD/FOAM
V.good
Good
LACING/CLING
V.good
Good
Thin
Poor
Fair
None
2
2
Very good = 7- 9
Good = 5 - 6
Fair = 4
Unacceptable = <4
A - Standard Flavours
Please taste the beer & score the following flavours. Put a mark in the appropriate column.
If you thing the beer is a little too bitter, mark the 1 - A little too much column
If you think the beer is just right for bitterness, mark the 0 - just right column
Less Intense
Weighting
Description
More intense
Standard
-3
-2
-1
-1
-2
-3
Much
Clearly
A little
JUST
A little
Clearly
Much
too little
too little
too little
RIGHT
too much
too much
too much
Body / Fullness
Alcohol
Fruity/Estery
Hoppy/Floral
Malty
Burnt /Roast
Sweet
Bitter
Condition
-1
x
x
-2
x
x
x
x
-1
-1
x
x
-5
B - Off and non-standard flavours
OFF/other flavours you have noticed that you think changes the overall beer flavour - these are to be deducted from the score
These flavours are normally something extra to the flavour of the beer and must score 1 to 5 according to intensity
-1
0
100
-7
74
-1
96
-8
70
-2
92
-9
66
-3
89
-10
63
-4
85
-11
59
-6
78%
=
=
1. ADD UP THE TOTAL STANDARD FLAVOURS (A) and TOTAL OFF FLAVOURS (B)
-5
81
-12
55
-6
78
A score of 80% is considered as True to Type,a score of > 85% is considered a very good example of this brand
The BREWER & DISTILLER INTERNATIONAL Volume 3 Issue 3 March 2007 www.ibd.org.uk
29
MATCHING BEERS
OVERALL OPINION
A score of 6 and over is acceptable,
A score of 5 is borderline
A score of < 5 is not acceptable
Score
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
Fig 6: The results from a drinkability test where one beer was initially preferred but after one than
one glass that preference changed.
30
The BREWER & DISTILLER INTERNATIONAL Volume 3 Issue 3 March 2007 www.ibd.org.uk
BRAND
BREWERY
MATCH REQUIRED
Trial No.
MATCHINGCRITERIA
TRUENESS TO TYPE
TRIANGULAR TEST
Overall score
Triangular Taste
Results
85%
Nil significant difference
7 or >7
Trueness to
type
Overall
Score
EXACT MATCH
COMMERCIAL MATCH
NO MATCH
Brew Date
Yeast
2-Jan
G1
Brewery A
3*
63%
2-Jan
G1
Brewery A
3*
74%
14-Jan
G2
Brewery A
2*
72
Woody/aldehydic
14-Jan
G2
Brewery A
2*
82%
25-Jan
G3
Brewery A
1*
81%
Yeasty/estery/sulphury
25-Jan
G3
Brewery A
Not done
Rough beer
7-Feb
G4
Brewery A
1*
85%
8
9
18-Feb
18-Feb
G4
G4
Brewery A
Brewery A
Nil Sig
Nil Sig
85%
87%
8
8
MATCH ACHIEVED
Brewery
Taste comments
Process change
Fig 7: A completed tracking chart for matching. The colour coding shows the progress towards an exact match.
the brand. There are very good companies
experienced in the drinks industry which do a
very professional job like MMR Research. The
format of the tests is agreed between the test
company and usually the marketing
department.
The test usually involves a carefully selected
pool of tasters which fit the demographics of
the brand and the location and conditions are
set up to be ideal for the brand. The
environment for the testing is also very
important, I remember a market test for a well
known lager during a very cold winter being
carried out in an ambient temperature which
was below that of the beer being served! The
reports from the tests include detailed
statistical analysis, with an interpretation on
their significance and recommendations.
There are some things to be wary about
consumer testing it is beneficial to have
experienced beer people as well as
marketeers involved in the tests in order to get
the best interpretation and follow up action. If
consumers are to be asked for a preference, it
is important that the test is more than just a sip
test, where sweeter blander beers tend to be
preferred. Preference tests should include at
least half a litre of beer. Four pints as in the
Boddingtons case above is not mandatory!
Because the cost of these tests is so high,
there can be a tendency to overcomplicate
them and make results more difficult to
interpret. Tests which involve many beers for
preference testing need to be very carefully
setup and results treated carefully; too often
these tests involve just sipping a number of
beers, and the results can be misleading. In
setting the test criteria, it is important to state
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The BREWER & DISTILLER INTERNATIONAL Volume 3 Issue 3 March 2007 www.ibd.org.uk
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