BREWING
aroma recovery step is not undertaken so practically all aroma volatiles are lost. To overcome or at least ameliorate this loss of avour Flavourtech have devel- oped the Resin Adsorbing Column (RAC) which uses a charged polymer to adsorb the aroma compounds and ethanol. The ethanol is then washed out using water before the aroma com- pounds are desorbed into water for adding back to the dealcoholised beer. The production of AFBs down to <0.05% ABV is possible using the SCC and RAC. Rothaus Brauerei in Grafenhausen, Germany, have used the SCC to make its 0.4% ABV Pilsner and Hefeweizen and is pleased with the avour of the beer produced. Falling lm evaporators CENTEC GMBH produces the DeAlco- Tec dealcoholisation unit based around the falling lm evaporator. In this system the feed beer is passed through a heat-exchanger counter currently to the warmed dealcoholised beer leaving the column and on to degassing. The CO 2 driven off during degassing carries with it aroma volatiles – so this is passed to the falling lm column for processing. The heated beer is then fed into the top of the evaporation
the unit. This gives alternate spinning and stationary cones down the length of the chamber. In SCC the beer to be processed is fed in the top and ows down over cones. The centrifugal force generated by the rotation causes the beer to ow up the rotating cone as a thin layer (circa 1mm) and weir over onto the xed cone where it runs down due to gravity. Deionised water vapour is fed up through the unit and mixes with the beer at each of the weir points at the ends of the cones. On the underside of the rotat- ing cones are ns which act to promote turbulence between the liquid and vapour streams thus dramatically increasing mass transfer between the two. A two-stage operation is utilised for beer dealcoholisation with a rst pass removing aroma volatiles and some eth- anol at a maximum temperature of 30 ° C and then a second pass for ethanol removal at 45 ° C. The condensate from the rst pass is recombined with the dealcoholised portion to return the aroma volatiles. When used on a feed beer with an ABV of 4.8% the fraction containing the vola- tiles is 75% ABV so addition back to the dealcoholised fraction gives a beer of 0.5%ABV.
Spinning cone shaft
Spinning cone
Stationary cone Liquid/slurry inlet
Vapour plus volatiles outlet
Gas vapour inlet
Pulley for drive belt
Liquid outlet
Liquid vapour ow
Spinning cone shaft
Liquid and vapour mixing
Downward liquid ow
Elements of SCC (image courtesy of Flavourtech)
As with the SIGMATEC unit there is a net loss of aroma volatiles of around 80% through the process even after the recovery of the aroma fraction. If a beer of less than 0.05% is required the
Heineken 0.0 is twice brewed and fermented with Heineken’s unique A-yeast from natural ingredients with gentle alcohol removal and blending to achieve a fruity avour and slight malty note. In the most challenging brewing process of his career, Willem van Waesberghe, Global Craft and Brew Master at Heineken, stated; “Removing alcohol from regular 5% Heineken would have been easy, but it wouldn’t deliver the same premium beer taste that Heineken is known for. Heineken 0.0 is brewed from scratch and has a perfectly balanced taste with refreshing fruity notes and soft, malty nish.”
3 ● BREWER AND DISTILLER INTERNATIONAL
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