Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02310801 2000-OS-19
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BEER FLAVOR CONCENTRATE
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to the brewing and use
of a beer flavor concentrate, and more particularly, to
the brewing and use of a beer flavor concentrate from
which a final beer product can be produced through the
addition of carbonated water and alcohol.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The major component of alcoholic beverages
such as beer is water. Since such beverages may be
transported considerable distances, it has been
recognized that substantial transportation cost savings
could be achieved by reducing the water content of the
beverage prior to transportation and then rehydrating
the product after transportation.
Methods for producing concentrated alcoholic
beverages and then reconverting such concentrated
beverages back into final products are known in the
art. Various methods for concentrating alcoholic
beverages known in the brewing industry includes freeze
drying, reverse osmosis and ultrafiltration. All of
these methods start with a substantially finished beer
and then expel the water. The resulting concentrated
beverages can then be transported more cost effectively
and rehydrated at a final destination with water and
carbon dioxide.
Beer flavors that are intended to be added
during a typical brewing process are known. Such beer
flavors are added during the brewing process to change
the flavor of the beer being brewed. Such beer flavors
cannot stand on their own, i.e., cannot be made into a
final beer product through the addition of a diluent
such as carbonated water.
The color of beer is measured in degrees SRM
(standard reference method) which is a standard of the
American Society of Brewing Chemists (ASBC) and denotes
the amount of light absorbed at a single wave length.
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The SRM scale is nonlinear and runs 0-1000, with the
lower the SRM number, the lighter the color. Far
example, a colorless beer is 0 degrees SRM, an opaque
beer color is 100 degrees SRM, typical lager beer color
is around 2.5 degrees SRM, a stout beer is typically in
the range of 25-60 degrees SRM.
Hops, in the form of either the ground dried
cones or an extract, are a main ingredient in the
brewing process due to their contribution of bitter
flavors and rich aromas. The color of the malt is
measured in lovibond units (L) and the bitterness of
the brewed beer is measured in bitterness units (BU),
both ASBC standards.
It is known that isohumulones derived from
hops or an unreduced hop extract can cause light
instability in malt beverages. Specifically, the iso-
alpha acids of the hops reacts with light and a sulfur
compound to form 3-methyl-1-butene-2-thiol. The
exposure of such a beer to light can result in the
beverage becoming ~~light struck" and having a skunky
odor.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention provides a beer flavor
concentrate which can be shipped to a destination and
then converted into beer through the addition of a
diluent. The beer flavor concentrate is a very high
flavor product that can be made into a variety of types
of final beer products. The primary ingredients to be
added to the beer flavor concentrate to make the final
beer product include water, carbon dioxide and alcohol.
Additional ingredients that can be further added
include reduced and non-reduced iso-alpha acids and
dextrins. The iso-alpha acids are used to increase the
bitterness units of the beer to a desirable level and
the dextrins are used to give the final beer product
more body.
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The invention further includes a method for
making a beer flavor concentrate that can be used to
make beer which is either stable to light or not stable
to light.
The invention further includes a method for
making a final beer product using a beer flavor
concentrate.
By adding alcohol to the beer flavor
concentrate, further transportation cost savings can be
realized as well as further cost savings in making the
final beer product because inexpensive alcohols can be
added to the beer flavor concentrate at a final
destination to make the final beer product.
It is one object of the present invention to
provide a beer flavor concentrate.
It is another object of the present invention
to provide a beer flavor concentrate with high SRM
degree of color.
It is another object of the present invention
to provide a beer flavor concentrate with a color in
the range of 25-60 degrees SRM.
It is another object of the present invention
to prepare a beer flavor concentrate using malts having
colors in the range of L10 - L300.
It is another object of the present invention
to prepare a beer flavor concentrate having a
bitterness of approximately ~0 BU.
It is another object of the present invention
to brew a beer flavor concentrate having an alcohol
percentage by weight in the range of 1-6$.
It is another object of the present invention
to provide a method of brewing a beer flavor
concentrate.
It is another object of the present invention
to provide a method for converting a beer flavor
concentrate into a finished beer product through the
addition of a diluent.
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It is another object of the present invention
to provide a method for converting a beer flavor
concentrate into a finished beer product through the
addition of water, carbon dioxide and alcohol.
It is another object of the present invention
to provide a method for brewing a finished beer product
using a beer flavor concentrate.
It is another object of the present invention
to provide a method for brewing a light stable finished
beer product using a beer flavor concentrate.
It is another object of the present invention
to utilize a beer flavor concentrate to produce various
styles of beer products including, for example,
pilsners, dark beers, red beers, ales, pale ales, dark
ales, bocks, stouts and porters.
It is another object of the present invention
to blend multiple beer flavor concentrates to produce
various types and/or styles of beers.
It is another object of the present invention
to utilize a beer flavor concentrate in the production
of other non-beer alcoholic beverages.
It is another object of the present invention
to utilize a beer flavor concentrate to flavor non-
alcoholic foods.
Other features and advantages of the
invention will become apparent to those of ordinary
skill in the art upon review of the following detailed
description and claims. Before one embodiment of the
invention is explained in detail, it is to be
understood that the invention is not limited in its
application to the details of construction and the
arrangement of components set forth in the following
description. The invention is capable of other
embodiments and of being practiced or being carried out
in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the
phraseology and terminology used herein is for the
purpose of description and should not be regarded as
limiting.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The present invention pertains to the brewing
of a beer flavor concentrate that can be utilized to
produce a final beer product through the addition of a
diluent. The beer flavor concentrate is designed so
that when diluted with water, carbon dioxide and
alcohol, the resulting final beer product has desired
color, bitterness and alcohol levels. To make the
desired final beer product, the beer flavor concentrate
is produced with the desired characteristics such that
upon a predetermined dilution, the desired final beer
product is obtained.
With respect to color, the beer flavor
concentrate has a color that is preferably in the range
of 25-60 degrees SRM, and most preferably in the range
of 35-45 degrees SRM. To achieve this high color,
malts that produce high degree SRM beers are utilized.
Examples of such high color malts include black malt,
caramel malt, black malt, roasted malt, malt extracts
and other specialty malts known to the industry. Malts
with colors of L10 - L300 can be used, and malts with
colors in the range of L50- L80 are most preferred.
Coloring agents, such as caramel color and IMCA malt,
can also be utilized to produce the desired beer flavor
concentrate.
With respect to alcohol content of the beer
flavor concentrate, some alcohol is desired and too
much alcohol in the concentrate leads to an undesirable
precipitate. Alcohol gives the concentrate
microstability. Therefore, a small amount of alcohol
in the beer flavor concentrate is desirable to inhibit
growth of yeast, microorganisms etc., during storage
and shipping. Preferably, the beer flavor concentrate
has an alcohol level in the range of 1~ to 6~ by
weight, and most preferably, in the range of 2-4~.
Types of alcohols that can be added include, for
example, food grade ethanol or ethyl alcohol.
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Preferably, potable 95~ alcohol that has been distilled
from corn is added to the concentrate.
With respect to the bitterness of the beer
flavor concentrate, although several varieties of hops
can be used, the common varieties of Galena and
Tettnanger are preferred. It should also be noted that
hop extracts and hop oils can also be utilized.
Further, reduced iso-alpha acids are also utilized to
adjust bitterness to a consistent level and to afford
an additional level of microbiological stability, a
property well understood by the industry. Light stable
beers preferably have an iso-alpha-acids content of
less than 2 ppm and a tetralone (reduced iso-alpha-
acids) level of 4-16 ppm with 10 ppm being most
preferred. The beer flavor concentrate has a
bitterness in the range of 25 to 50 BU, and most
preferably, approximately 40 BU.
The dilution factor of the beer flavor
concentrate can be varied as desired. In the examples
set forth below, a dilution factor of 10 is used for
simplicity. Other dilution factors such as, for
example, 3, 5 or 7 can be employed as desired.
A skunk character may occur on exposure of
beer to light. Brown glass reduces the photoreaction
that produces skunk material. However, a beer
concentrate can be produced that is light stable.
By varying the constituents in making the
beer flavor concentrate and/or by blending two or more
beer flavor concentrates, various types of beers can be
ultimately produced such as, for example, reduced
alcohol beers, low and full calorie beers, having a
range of styles including pilsners, dark beers, red
beers, lagers, ales, pale ales, dark ales, stouts,
porters, etc.
It should be noted that the beer flavor
concentrate can also be utilized to produce a low
alcohol or non-alcoholic final beer product. When
diluting the beer flavor concentrate, the amount of
CA 02310801 2000-OS-19 , ' 6 '.,, ~~~,~~,~'' t
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alcohol to be added, if any, can be altered to produce
the desired low or non-alcoholic beer.
Natural flavors can also be added to either
the beer flavor concentrate or when diluting Lhe beer
flavor concentrate to further flavor the final product.
For example, citrus flavors can be added to produce a
fruit flavored beer product.
The beer flavor concentrate can also be used
to produce other alcoholic beverages in addition to a
beer product. For example, the beer flavor concentrate
can be used to produce brandy-like beverage or malt
wine.
The beer flavor concentrates can also be used
to flavor non-alcoholic foods such as breads. The
residual alcohol would be evaporated during heating or
baking of the food product.
The following examples are set forth for
illustration and are not intended to be limiting.
Example 1
The following example sets forth the
preparation of a beer flavor concentrate having a color
of approximately 40 degrees SRM, a bitterness of 40 BU
and an alcohol content of approximately 4o by weight.
The mashed malt is _~rst prepared from 35-45~
of a standard L2 pale mai~ with active enzymes and a
diastatic power of about 150, and 55-60% of a L60
caramel malt. The L60 malt gives a caramel-toffee malt
without a burnt taste. The mashed malt is blended with
water at 45° C for 20 minutes in a brew kettle to allow
the malted barley to absorb water. Next, the
temperature is raiseu to 62° C over 15 minutes to begin
breaking down the starches. The enzymes in the malt,
in particular beta-amylases, degrade the starches in
the malt to form fermentable simple sugars. The
temperature is maintained at 62° C for 15
minutes and then raised to 70° C over 15
minutes and maintained at that temperature for an
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additional 15 minutes. At 70° C, the starches
are breaking down into fermentable sugars. The
temperature is then raised to 77° C and held
there for 5 minutes to terminate the enzyme activit~~.
The mash is filtered using a standard filter press or a
conventional lauter tun and the liquid is recirculated
(Vorlauf) until i~ is clear. The clear liquid is
termed wort and is then pumped into the brew kettle.
The wort is thereafter hopped as follows.
Galena and Tettnanger hops are added to a 90 minute
boil before knocko~~t. Galena hops are utilized as the
battering hop and Tettnanger hops are used as the aroma
hop. Specifically, 1/3 of the Galena hops are added at
minutes into the boil. Another 1/3 of the Galena
15 hops and 1/3 of the Tettnanger hops are added at 30
minutes into the boil. Finally, at 60 minutes into the
boil, the final 1/3 of Galena hops and 2/3 of the
Tettnanger hops are added. The Galena hops contribute
approximately 30 BU and the Tettnanger hops contribute
approximately 10 BU.
Finally, the wort is aerated using filtered
air o~~ oxygen at 8 ppm by bubbling through the wort on
the way to fermentation or in the fermentation vessel
and conventional bottom fermenting lager yeast or top
fermenting ale yeast at 10 to 20 million cells per
milliliter are added, either enroute to or in the
fermentation vessel. The wort is fermented at 52-59°F
(52°F preferred) for lager yeast and 62-68°F (62°F
preferred) for ale yeast until EOF (end of
fermentation: fermentables converted to biomass,
ethanol, flavor molecules, and C02), typically 15 days
and 10 days, respectively. When at EOF, the
fermentation broth or beer flavor concentrate is cooled
to 45°F, held for about 1 day, and at which time the
yeast precipitating in the fermentor is removed.
Suspended yeast remain to mature the green beer flavor
concentrate, which is allowed to age for about 10 to 14
additional days. The concentrate is then
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conventionally filtered to remove the remaining yeast
and particulates using any standard filter such as a
plate and frame DE filter, resulting in a bright beer
flavor concentrate ready for shipment. The beer
flavored concentrate is stored and shipped under 6 to
psig COZ head pressure and cold at 29 to 34°F in
kegs, totes or tanker cars until ready to use.
In this example, the beer flavor concentrate
is diluted by a factor of 10 with carbonated water and
10 distilled corn alcohol to give a product with a color
of about 4.0 degrees SRM, a bitterness of 4.0 BU and
which is 3-7~ by weight alcohol.
Tetrahydroisohumulone which is a reduced iso-
alpha acids, such as Tetralone~" available from Kalsec
of Kalamazoo, MI, is added at a level of approximately
2-8 ppm to give the final beer product a bitterness in
the range of 6-12 BU. The bitterness can be adjusted
to the tastes of the market where the final beer
product is to be sold. Tetralone is 1.6 times the
bittering effect as compared to non-reduced iso-alpha
acids. Each ppm of Tetralone is approximately 1 BU.
Preferably, it is desirable to have 4 BU contributed
from iso-alpha acids and between 1 and 8 BU contributed
from reduced iso-alpha acids.
A dextrin such as Staley 200=" adjunct syrup
available from A.E. Stanley Manufacturing Co. of
Decatur, IL may then be added to increase the body of
the final beer product and to provide a real extract to
alcohol ratio (RE/A) of about 1. The Staley 200 syrup
is diluted to 20-30~ solids with diluent and added to
the beer flavor concentrate using a mixing loop, or in
line while moving the beer from one tank to another to
achieve mixing and the desired RE/A ratio.
Example 2
The process for producing a light-stable beer
flavor concentrate is largely the same as that
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described above in Example 1 with the following
differences.
In this process, approximately 3,000 ppm of
commercially available spent Galena hops (Galena hops
extracted with supercritical carbon dioxide) are added
during the boil and left in for the full 90 minute boil
as opposed to adding the Galena and Tettnanger hops.
Further, Tetralone'" at 10 ppm is added to the beer
flavor concentrate prior to shipping to provide
stability. The Tetralone!" is anti-microbial and is
necessary because the spent hops are very low in iso-
alpha acids.
The light stable beer flavor concentrate is
converted into a final beer product substantially the
1S same as in Example 1 above wherein carbonated water,
alcohol and Staley 200 adjunct syrup are added to
provide a final beer product.
