from ingredients to beer

From Ingredients to Beer: From Design to Realisation

Stuart Howe

Contents

• Background: Brewing is complicated• Background: Flavour is complicated• Beer design: How the big boys do it• Beer design: Smaller brewery method• Summary • Questions, arguments and fighting in the car park

Brewing is easy peasy

• Beer is 4 basic raw materials• Cooked together in a simple process• Beer tastes of malt, hops and fruit• Flavour is controlled through recipe changes• It’s all down to selecting the right varieties• None of this is accurate!

• Liquor purity• Liquor salt profile• Liquor temperature • Liquor dissolved oxygen • Liquor pH• Barley variety• Malt modification • Malt colour • Grist composition • Special malt modification • Special malt roast

temperature • Special malt roast moisture

level• Special malt roast time • Grist size profile • Grist moisture level• Conversion temperature• Shear on mash• Mash viscosity

• Wort DO2• Wort heating regime • Wort pH• Wort viscosity • Final gravity of wort • Wort silicate level• Wort polyphenol level • Wort FAN• Wort Maillard precursor level • Wort beta glucan level• Type of kettle • Type of wort heater• Delta T on heating surface • Wort velocity • Temperature of heater • Steam pressure of heater • Evaporation rate• Boil vigour• pH drop in kettle • hot break formation in kettle• Wort colour• Boil pH drop• Level of Mg2+ in wort• Level of Ca2+ in wort

• Adjunct cooking temperature • Adjunct level • Mash pH• Run off profile • Lautering rate• Lauter rake angle • Sparge temperature• Sparge rate • Bed height • Collection rate • Hop type• Hop variety• Hop addition timings• pH at hop additions• Cation level in wort• Shape of kettle • Degree of reflux• Boil temperature profile • Type of trub removal system• Hop residence time • Transfer time and rate from

kettle • Design of calandria• Flow rate of calandria

• Cell mass increase• Wort DO2 • Wort FAN• Wort amino acid profile• Wort sugar spectrum• Zinc level• Vitamin level• Wort pH drop • Wort carbonate level • Vigour of fermentation • Rousing • Yeast viability • Yeast variety • Yeast vitality• Yeast autolysis • Yeast storage temperature• Yeast storage time • Yeast storage DO2

• CO2 levels of yeast storage • Ethanol levels in yeast storage • Shear stress on yeast • Osmotic potential of wort

• Cell mass• Metabolic state of yeast • Fermentation temperature• Fermenter shape• Fermenter top pressure • Fermenter depth • Yeast flocculation characteristics• Yeast head potential • Yeast cell concentration • Yeast growth rate • Fermentation temperature profile • Attemperation rate • Fermenter cleanliness• Number of yeast strains used • Presence of bacteria• Presence of wild yeast • Material of fermeter construction • Material of kettle construction • Concentration of fatty acids • Concentration of polyphenols• Concentration of silicates • Use of amylolytic enzymes• Use of proteolytic enzymes

• Degree of filtration • Temperature drop• Temperature of maturation • Concentration of dry hops• Type of dry hops • Variety of dry hops • Maturation yeast• Diacetyl rest • Free rise • Antioxidant use• Yeast concentration • Maturation vessel size• Maturation vessel pressure • Maturation vessle material • Wood treatment • Maturation addititves • Maturation additive concentration • Maturation additive size • Filtration delta P• Stabilisation regime • Stabilisation time










kettle • Design of calandria• Oil leve lof hops


kettle • Design of calandria• Degree of malt conversion


kettle • Design of calandria• Recirc through hops

Flavour is Complicated • Flavour = aroma + taste • Taste not just bitter, sweet, salt, umami, and

sour, these are just like the primary colours • Taste is sensed by taste buds or gustatory

calyculi on tongue, roof of mouth, inside of cheeks and throat

• Tastes can be hedonically enhancing or suppressive

Boring’s load of old bollocks

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Taste_buds.svg

Aroma • Involves only volatile compounds • Is sensed by receptors olfactory mucosa • No “primary colours” of aroma – much more

complex than taste• Aromas can be additive, antagonistic, synergistic,

hedonically enhancing or suppressive• How an aroma is perceived also depends on its

concentration (diacetyl)• Aroma can influence taste and taste can influence

aroma (ethyl-maltol)

Olfactory mucosa and nerve

Where it gets complicated• Receptors in your olfactory mucosa and gustatory calyculi

are stimulated by chemicals in the beer• They send an electronic message to the brain for

processing • The brain gives you an appraisal of what it might be • Every step in this process is subject to genetic variation

and inaccuracy • Beer flavour is conferred by 1000s of chemicals all

interacting • Despite the 1000s of aroma compounds evolution is quite

conservative (α-pinene)

Beer Design StagesConcept

Definition

Specification

Recipe

Pilot brew

Full scale brew

Market

Big Boys’ Design

1. Market research 2. Focus group3. Fuzzy front end 4. Attribute specification 5. Pilots6. Focus groups7. Full scale brew

Labatt Ice • 1992 in shrinking market

innovation needed• Idea generation developed beer

names • Focus groups used to select best

and define attributes • “Ice Brewing Technology™”

developed to attain attributes • Beer launched an became world’s

biggest selling Ice beer and gained 10% market share in Canada

Smaller Brewery Process

• The brew is often the first step in the process • Concept developed by brewer• Focus group of one or two• Pilot brew may be sold • Whether it is brewed again depends on sales • Brewer’s palate and understanding of the

market’s palate needs to be excellent • Product is personal to brewer

“We come up with ideas for new beers after a few jars in Cask, Pimlico”

Chalky’s Bite • Rick likes Sharp’s beers • Rick wanted to market a beer (£Kerching!)• Rick’s team asks Stuart to brew a beer with

wild fennel• Stuart re-educates Rick’s team• Pilot beers produced • Definitive pilot selected • Commercial scale beer brewed

Fennel • Shares many essential oil components with hops

such linalol and terpenes • Has non-sugar sweetness from estragole• Has mint like character from fenchone• Aniseed aroma from anisole, another hop

component • Dried fruit have very high concentrations of these

compounds• Every variety and type of fennel has a different

essential oil composition

Designing the beer around fennel• Selection of right base beer • Consistent supply of fennel• Controlling the dominance of fennel notes• Timing the point of addition• Beer sculpted from original beer through

iterative brews with small changes • Compromise on taste between design team

From pilot brew to full regular brand

• Upscale calculations • Split brews• Specify, specify, specify • Change to maintain

Summary

• Brewing and flavour are highly complex and interesting

• The process of beer design shows as much variation as breweries themselves

• Novel ingredients constitute a unique challenge to the brewer

• Flavour is sculpted through an iterative process• The beauty of the sculpture is in the eye of the

consumer

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