Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Dormant ferment containing product – or live microorganism... – Yeast containing
Reexamination Certificate
2000-09-19
2002-10-22
Achutamurthy, Ponnathapu (Department: 1652)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Dormant ferment containing product, or live microorganism...
Yeast containing
C426S064000, C439S093000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06468567
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is in the fields of biotechnology and food/beverage manufacturing. The invention relates to the production of malt beverages, and more particularly to the production of malt beverages having improved flavor-stability. In particular, the invention relates to methods and compositions for improving the flavor stability of fermented malt beverages such as beer, and to malt beverages produced by these methods.
2. Related Art
The Brewing Process
Overview. In the production of fermented malt beverages such as beer, a warm water extract of barley malt, with or without other unmalted grains such as rice or corn, is boiled with hops, cooled and then subjected to the fermentative action of yeast. The warm water used to extract the malt allows the action of several enzymes in the malt to hydrolyze the starch in the barley (and in the corn or rice) to fermentable sugar, which is acted on by the yeast to produce the alcohol in the fermented malt beverage.
Malting. Barley malt is steeped with water to produce steeped out barley which is germinated at a fairly low temperature. Germination is carried out with daily mixing and water addition as needed to maintain the moisture content at about 43%. The resulting green malt contains a high content of beer flavor precursors, beer flavor components, and coloring agents. After germination is complete, the green malt is heated at a high moisture content to generate beer flavor precursors, beer flavor components and also to reduce amylolytic enzyme activity. After heating, the malt is dried to a moisture content of 3.5-5.5% and a soluble protein content of 6.5-8%. The dried malt can then be mashed to produce a wort which is boiled with hops, cooled, pitched with brewers yeast, and processed by conventional brewing processes and in conventional brewing equipment.
Mashing. The malt, which may actually be a blend of malts (i.e., standard brewer's malt, high color, low amylase malt, etc.), is ground and mixed with 2.5 to 4 times its weight of warm water in large tubs and mashed at 35-40° C. for 5 to 15 minutes until it forms a thick malt mash. The mash is then permitted to rest for 45-90 minutes without stirring, then heated in steps to 70-73° C. while stirring, with time allowed at each step for the various enzymes to convert the starches into fermentable sugars. Following heating, the mash is held for 15-30 minutes, the temperature is raised to 75° C., and the mash is transferred to the lauter unit.
If rice and corn adjuncts are to be used, they are separately cooked and a cooker mash is obtained. Production of the cooker mash involves the use of adjuncts along with a 10%-30% portion of the malt (or the addition of commercial enzymes) in order to convert raw starch into fermentable sugars. The adjuncts and the malt portion are gradually brought to boiling and held there until the products are completely gelatinized. During the final stages of mashing (at the higher temperatures), the cooker mash and the malt mash are combined.
Mashing serves a three-fold purpose. First, it brings into solution those substances of malt (and adjuncts) which are readily soluble in warm water. Second, it permits malt enzymes to act on insoluble substances and render them soluble. Third, it provides a far-reaching enzymatic degradation of starches, proteins and gums into products of smaller size and lower molecular weight.
Lautering and Sparging. Lautering consists of the removal of the liquid, now termed the “wort,” from the insoluble husks or “spent grains.” Lautering begins upon termination of the mashing process, whereby the finished mash is transferred to a lautering tub. There it is allowed to rest for about ten to thirty minutes during which time the spent grains settle to the bottom. The lautering tub is equipped with a false bottom containing numerous perforations and an outlet leading to the true bottom of the tub. The mash is then allowed to settle for 10-20 minutes and run-off begun. The wort is recycled until reasonably clear. The clear wort is then pumped into a brewing kettle. Hot water is run through the spent grains to rinse out, or sparge, any remaining wort.
The lauter temperature is about 72-77° C. for both the bath and sparge water. The amount of sparge water used is about 50-75% of the amount of brewing water.
Boiling and Hopping of Wort: Primary Fermentation. The wort is boiled vigorously for one to two and one-half hours in the brew kettle. Hops (or extracts thereof) may be added at various stages of the boiling process, depending on the nature of the final product that is sought.
Wort boiling serves a number of objectives, including (1) concentration of the sparged wort, (2) complete inactivation of enzymes that may have survived the final mashing process, (3) coagulation and precipitation of high-molecular weight proteins and solids (termed “kettle break” or “hot break”), (4) extraction of desirable hop constituents, and (5) sterilization of the wort.
Cooling, Fermentation and Storage: Maturation. After boiling, the wort is strained to remove the solids, or “trub,” and the wort is then cooled to a temperature of about 12-16° C.
Fermentation is initiated when the wort is pitched with the proper amount of a pure brewer's yeast culture (typically about 0.7-1.5 lb/bbl). After 24 hours, fermentation is established and proceeds at an accelerated rate. Fermentation typically proceeds for about 7 to 10 days. During this period, the wort temperature must be controlled, since the fermentation process causes the temperature of the wort to rise. Once the yeast has metabolized all the fermentable ingredients in the wort, it settles to the bottom and is subsequently recovered and recycled for use in pitching other brews. As the fermentation process comes to a conclusion, the temperature of the wort begins to drop. The fermented wort (termed “green beer”) is drawn off for storage in a cold room tank, or “ruh,” where, its temperature is lowered to about 0-5° C.
Processing and Packaging. The “ruh” beer may be allowed to remain in the ruh tank for completion of the maturation process, or it may be transferred into a separate maturation tank upon further settling of any remaining yeast and other solids. Depending on the particular brewery, the beer is allowed to age from about 14 days to about 3 months. During this period, the beer clarifies and its flavor develops. Upon maturation, the beer generally is filtered to remove the yeasts and other solids.
The beer can undergo a single- or a double-pass filtration process. The double-pass filtration consists of two steps: a primary (coarse) filtration, and a secondary (fine) filtration. Filtered beer is subsequently stored in a finishing tank.
To prepare the beer for consumption, it is carbonated to a specified level. Then, depending on the form of packaging, the beer may be pasteurized. (In the case of the cold-filtered “draft” beers, a microfiltration system is used to remove contaminants, thereby obviating the pasteurization step.) Beer packaged in cans and bottles is usually pasteurized, while beer packaged in kegs (and sometimes bottles) remains unpasteurized. After final processing of the packaged product (e.g. labeling, etc.), the beer is ready for shipment to the consumer.
Other conventional processing steps well known to those skilled in the art may be used instead of, or in addition to, the above-disclosed general brewing methods. For example, the fermented wort can be diluted with water to produce a low calorie (40 or fewer calories per 12 ounces), non-alcoholic malt beverage (less than 0.5 volume percent alcohol) that closely simulates conventional beer flavor, taste and mouthfeel.
The Attributes of Fermented Malt Beverages
Malt beverages, especially beer, possess attributes readily discernable by the consumer. These attributes include foam, flavor and clarity. Of these, flavor is ultimately the most important characteristic to the consumer.
Flavor (purity) and after-taste (refreshing feeling) are typically measured within th
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