College of Applied Science

Department of Food Science and applied nutrition

Beer processing Hand out

To
3rd-year FSAN students

By: Eskedar Getachew (Dr.)

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 Table of content

Chapter one:

Introduction

Modern/industrialized beer making.………………………………………….

I Brewing .……………………………………………………………………

1 Brew House .…………………………………………………………………

1.1 Raw Materials.……………………………………………….……………

1.1.1 Major ingredients .………………………………………………………..

1.1.2 Adjuncts .…………………………………………………………………

1.2 Processing and Steps.………………………………………….……………

1.2.1 Storage, handling, and Tipping.…………..…………………………….…

1.2.2 Milling.…………………………………………..……………………..…

1.2.3 Mash tun .………………………………………………………………..…

1.2.4 Mash filter.………………………………………………………………

1.2.5 Weak wort.………………………………………………………………

1.2.6 Wort copper.………………………………………………………….…

1.2.7 Whirlpool.………………………………………………………………

2. Fermentation.………………………………………………………………

2.1 Raw materials in the fermentation step .……………………………………………

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2.2 Science behind fermentation.……………………………..………………

2.3 Processing and steps.………………………………………………………..……

2.3.1 Yeast pitching (yeast generations).……….……………………………………

2.3.2 Yeast harvest. .…………………………………………………………………

3. Filtration and its processing step.………………….………..……………….………

3.1 Materials Used.……………………………………..……………………………

3.2Technology and processing steps behind filtration.………………………………

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 List of figures

Fig 1.1:Hops …………………………..…………….

Fig 1.1.1: Hop extract ………………………………

Fig 1.1.3: Hop pellets ………………………………

Fig 1.1.4: yeast ……………………………………

Fig 1.1.5: sugar ……………………………………

Fig 1.2.1: yeast ……………………………………

Fig 1.2: Brewing……………………………………

Fig2.1: Fermentation………………………………...

Fig 3.1: Filtration……………………………………

Fig 5.1: Sugar …………………………………………

Fig 5.2: Magnetic stirrer……………………………

Fig 5.3: Measuring balance…………………………

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Introduction

Modern/industrialized beer making

The first industrialized beer that was inexpensive and by far better tasting was known as a
porter. This beer was a combination of three beers, fresh brown ale, matured pale ale, and
matured brown ale, all in one. Starting from there, its production started to get advanced
with the installation of steam engines, saccharometers for the measurement of the wort
strength, calculating alcoholic concentration, and many more, including urbanization and
the industrial revolution, which are the factors for its worldwide consumption and
popularity. Following these inventions, advancing technology and investigating the
science behind brewing and fermentation, bottling, and many more became key factors in
the rise of industrialized beer-making. What makes beer making interesting is that its
invention and industrially made methods might have changed over the past, but the true
steps such as using cereals and fermenting are still intact, which draws a middle line of
blending the past, present, and future all together.

1 Brewhouse

1.1 Raw materials

1.1.1 Major ingredients

To categorize raw materials, the major ones are

● Barely
● Water
● sugar, Hops, and caramel
● Other auxiliaries

Malted Barely:

Barely is widely used cereal grain in beer processing. Barely is rich with carbohydrates
that provide sugar for the yeast to consume and ferment into alcohol and co2. Barely also
has protein which creates and retains foam. If combined with polyphenol it might cause

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haze to the final product.
Malting: it is a controlled activity that starts by allowing seeds to germinate then it is set
to dry to stop further growth into the plant. This process is used to turn the dry and hard
starch barely seed into softer to crush. Malting goes through three steps: steeping,
germinating, and kilning. Steeping means soaking the seeds in water to initiate the
germination process. And when germinating barely, the enzymes found within the seeds
are secreted to the starchy endosperm to break down the starch and protein into nutrients
to feed the embryo which acts as an initial food for the plant.

Once the starch and protein are converted to an edible nutrient, for the embryo, the same
nutrient for yeast so it goes to kilning process which is a heating and drying process to
stop the germination and feeding of the embryo because what is desired from germination
process is this conversion.

In the company, there are types of malt that are used by blending them according to the
brand's brew sheet. To list a few,

● A malt
● B malt local and foreign
● C malt
● Raw barely local and foreign
● Munich
● Cara malt
● Roasted malt

The difference in these malts is based upon the level of sugar extract they give and the
special malts which are Cara, Munich, and Roasted malts differ based on the color they
give for the beer. extract means the amount of sugar within the malt.

Water:
Water is by far the most used raw material because it takes up to 95% of the production.
Water is pumped from 4 wells and then goes through several processes in the water
treatment plant to make it clean; free from any microbial and chemical contamination so

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as to prevent any change in beer taste, odor, and flavor. The water is mainly used as a
raw material for the brewing process, and other processes such as packaging, cleaning,
and other sanitary purposes.

Hops
Hops are used to add bitterness, aroma, and anti-
microbial activity to the beer. There are currently four
types of hops that are used at Heineken. The three types
are used in wort copper depending on the band being
produced. However, one type of hop, which is an
isomerized hop, is used for correction purposes in the filtration step. Fig 1.1:Hops

The three types used in wort copper are hop extract, hop pellet, and Heineken hop. These
three are non-isomerized and are added during boiling, which will isomerize alpha acids
found in hops when boiled. Hop extract is used in many brands, but hop pellets are used
for additional purposes in some brands, such as the Harar brand to add more bitterness.
Heineken hops are used only for Heineken beer, along with a unique A-yeast for
fermentation purposes.

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 Fig 1.1.1: Hop extract

Fig 1.1.3: Hop pellets

Yeast

yeast is a single-celled fungus that is used to

turn the wort sugar into alcoholic beer
through a fermentation process. The yeasts
are carefully selected and carefully
maintained because they not only ferment
and produce beer but also alter the overall
character of the beer such as aroma, taste, and flavor. Fig 1.1.4: yeast

1.1.2 Adjuncts

Adjuncts are secondary sources that aid the brewing process. They are used for color,
flavor, and cost-effective purposes, and also using unmalted barely is great for foam

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stability. Adjuncts include unmalted barley and other cereal grains, fermentable sugar,
caramels, etc.

Caramel: it is a dark liquid produced by cooking a carbohydrate solution at a very high

temperature, usually with an inorganic reagent used for coloring, and if the amount dosed
is insufficient, there will be a caramel correction step in the filtration process. If the
amount of doses is not enough, there will be a caramel correction step in filtration.

Sugar
Sugar is an adjunct used as an additional fermentable
sugar source in beer making. The process of syrup
making is similar to brands that take sugar. The syrup
made at Heineken is slightly gold-color so it will not
affect the color of the beer profile. Some brands don't
use sugar syrup, but the Sofi brand uses a lot of syrup
as its main ingredient. The other brands that use sugar
syrup include Harar, Bedele regular, and special. Fig 1.1.5: sugar

Calcium chloride: It is added in the mashing process because it helps the yeast to
flocculate, improves protein precipitation that minimizes haze formation, and oxalic acid
from calcium oxalate.

Maize is an adjunct that is known to give a lighter flavor, color, and reduced body. It is
helpful in haze reduction because it doesn't give any soluble protein to the mash.

1.2 Processing: Brew house

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 Malt Hamme Grist Mash
intake r mill bin tun

Wort Preheat Holding Mash

copper er vessel filter

Whirl Wort FST

pool cooler Fig
1.2:Brewing

1.2.1 Storage, handling, and Tipping

Barely and other raw materials arrive at a warehouse to be tipped into a silo or to be
stored in the warehouse. Usually, raw materials arrive either in bags or in bottles for
chemicals, and then they are tipped according to their assigned places. It is tipped
manually into the silo, then the conveyor takes a small amount gradually and transfers it
to the silo. During tipping, raw materials go under a magnetic separator to remove any
metallic substances that can cause a high spark during the process of tipping. The
magnetic separator is the first precautionary and safety step. When tipping and sending to
silo tanks, if there are any substances that did not get caught during magnetic separation,
they might cause a spark. This spark can be inhibited from causing fire to the
surroundings by various automatic spark detectors. After tipping, malt is slowly taken
into the silo by a conveyor balancing itself and the pulley system by taking only a certain
amount at a time. Precaution is highly required in this step, especially since a spark can
be caused, which will cause a fire, and the fire can be easily transmitted since we use dry
malt as raw material.

1.2.2 Milling

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The company uses a hammer mill, which is a dry milling process used on dried malt. The
malt grains are cracked and milled by rotating them against the screen. Hammer mills are
used to get better extraction and starch conversion in wort production by creating more
surface area when milling fine grains. Hammer mills have holes and the diameters of
these holes determine the grist size. The end product is then placed in a grist bin, waiting
for the mash tun.

1.2.3 Mash tun

Mash in

At 53°C, water is added to start up the mashing process, along with the milled malt from
the grist bin. Temperature and PH play a critical role in this process of converting the
starch to sugar. Adjusting the temperature and adding a neutralizer to regulate the PH up
to 5.5 is very important. Rest phases: In the first phase, proteins are broken down into
amino acids by protease enzymes. Then, in the saccharification step, starch is converted
to sugar at 65°C. Auxiliary additives such as calcium chloride, artificial enzymes, and
phosphoric acids are also added in this step.

At HBSC there are 3 mash tuns that are made from stainless steel and covered with a
steam jacket to keep the temperature of the mash. The two mash tuns make smaller in
volume relative to the 3rd mash tun which can make twice. the amount of the two mash
tuns. The vessel is slowly heated up to 50-70 since the enzymes are activated in this
range and they are also sensitive to temperature. There is an agitator inside the vessel to
mix up the water, grist, and other added ingredients as well. After the grist and hot water
are added, additional week wort which is about 20HL is added. Then additives such as
(CaCl2, H3PO4, and enzymes) are added and mashed together for about 120minutes.

The heat from the steam and hot water forces the grist to gelatinize and it will be left to
gelatinize for 20 min under 50°c. The second step is called protein rest which is to allow
the enzymes to break the protein into amino acids by using brewery compass which is an
artificial enzyme. The conversion of protein into amino acid is vital because it is essential
for yeast propagation and beer maturation.

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The second step is to proceed with heating up the temperature to 67°c for about 17
minutes to denature the first enzyme and activate the second one. AMG enzyme consists
of alpha and beta amylase to hydrolyze the starch into sugar. Then it is left to rest for 50
minutes then it is heated to 70°C for 9 minutes to denature all of the enzymes. Then the
mash is tasted for the iodine test, ph, and OG test. The OG and Ph might differ from
brand to brand but each brand must satisfy its brew sheet.

Calcium chloride and phosphoric acid are added to act as buffers and react with amino
acid phosphate, polypeptide. These chemicals are added to lower the Ph of the mash.
Lowering its ph is needed because protein works best at a Ph of 5.4-5.6.

The two artificial enzymes that are used for mashing purposes are Breweries compass
and AMG, each used to convert the starch and protein into amino acid and sugar that is
edible for the yeasts in the fermentation process.

mashing time and temperature need to be regulated. Tannins and anthocyanins which are
released from the husks can affect the beers haze and also unsaturated oils which are
from the starch can be oxidized when the time is prolonged and that will affect the beer
taste and flavor, thus temperature, time, and ph are highly regulated and controlled.

1.2.4 Mash filter

Mash filtration is the separation of the wort from the remaining grain. The company uses
plate and frame machinery to filter the wort and defuse spent grain as a raw material. In
each plate, the mash is inserted, then upon compression, the wort travels through the
holes of polypropylene cloth, leaving the spent grain intact in between the frame and the
plate. Increase the extraction; hot water is sperged and then compressed. This wort is then
sent to a holding vessel.

1.2.6 Weak wort

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This step is a second round step that takes place after the wort is transferred to the
holding vessel. The wort produced after the second round is stored in a weak wort tanker,
which will be transferred to the next batch's mash tun step.

1.2.7 Wort copper

The wort from the wort holding vessel is transferred to the wort copper after passing
through a heat exchanger to increase its temperature before entering the wort copper. This
technique is found to be cost and time effective.

Wort copper is used as a wort boiling vessel, with temperatures reaching 100 degrees.
This step involves coloring with caramel and enhancing flavors with hop dosing.

The other advantage of boiling the wort is the sterilization process, which kills any
microbial activity that prevents spoilage. The protein from the malt will also combine
with phenols from the hops and sediment in the whirlpool stage. The hop by itself will go
through an isomerization process, giving enhanced flavor and aroma to the desired brand.

Whirlpool

This step is the rest of the processing. The main purpose is to slowly cool the high
temperature along with the sedimentation of unwanted, accidental grain particles and
coagulated proteins to the bottom. Zinc is added at this stage before the wort is sent to the
fermentation step. The addition of zinc is necessary for yeasts as an initial food source
and helps them propagate in a short amount of time.

2: Fermentation processing

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 TBF(2
YPT(7°P) BREW)
YEAST FST(10 days)

PITCHIN

STORAGE DEEP COOLING

YEAST
HARVESTING RUH

DEAD YEAST
THICK YEAST

SYST CFF TYT

EMPTYING

RECOVERED BEER

RBT

Fig2.1: Fermentation

At Heineken, fermentation is known as the heart of processing. It is a stage where sugar

is converted into alcohol(ethanol) and carbon dioxide, which is the main part of beer
production. In the factory, there are over 40 fermentation storage tanks and two
horap(horizontal tankers) for the Heineken brand. The company uses top to bottom
fermentation, with a low temperature and the yeast settles at attenuation. For the special
Heineken brand, the company uses its own A- yeast which works best if the tank is laid
horizontally to increase its surface area. The surprising fact about this process is that it
might seem that since the yeast takes a high surface area to complete the conversion of
sugar, it will take a small amount of time to reach its attenuation, but the fact is quite the
opposite. The Heineken brand takes a maximum of 30 days to fully ferment and
alcoholize properly, in which the time it needs is doubled from the other brands that use
regular FST, i.e., vertical.

2.1 Raw materials in the fermentation step

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Yeast

Yeasts are members of the fungal kingdom, which

includes molds, mushrooms, and toadstools. They
are single-celled fungi (Good fungi) that reproduce
themselves asexually by eating sugar as their food
and producing alcohol and carbon dioxide as their
bi-product.

Sugar → 2Ethanol + 2CO2 + Energy

Fig 2.1: yeast

2.2 The science behind fermentation

This is the most important raw material in the whole beer production since it is the one
that covers the sugar into alcohol and co2. Perhaps that is why the fermentation step is
called the heart of brewing. Its byproduct is the main reason why we use yeast in the first
place. Yeast can produce itself anaerobically, which makes it more suitable for beer
making since oxygen spoils beer.

When providing the best environment for the yeast (which is sugar), the yeast propagates
rapidly within a few days from the log face, even with the help of a zinc supplement as its
initial food source, then to an exponential stage where fermentation gets rapid, producing
alcohol and CO2.

When choosing the yeast for fermentation, brewers look for yeast that produces the
desired alcohol along with the desired flavors within the set time. The yeast is also
expected to maintain its genetic stability throughout the process. Though these criteria are
necessary, the major criterion is the yeast's ability to use the supplied sugar and turn it
into alcohol. The progress is measured by a saccharometer by the fall of its specific
gravity. We measure the fall because alcohol weighs less than wort.

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Since alcohol and CO2 formation cause an increase in internal temperature, the
temperature must be carefully maintained. Thus, to regulate this, heat exchangers YST
take place, acting as bags of cold ice.

2.3 Processing and Steps

Yeast comes to Heineken in its dry form. Then 1 kg of yeast is added to the rehydration
tank along with 20 liters of wort. In this step, the yeast is set to last for 4 hours to
rehydrate and prepare for propagation. After four hours of rehydration, the yeast is
delivered to YPT, which then adds 40 hl of wort to start its propagation. After the initial
propagation, 120 hl of wort is also added to the yeast propagation tank.

When the apparent extract reaches around 5°p, the yeast, along with 120hl, is sent to two
brew fermenters to further its propagation step. In TBF, we add 2 brews and wait until the
apparent extract reaches about 5°p. When our apparent extract reaches that point, we send
the whole brew to the FERMENTATION STORAGE TANK (FST) and wait till it
reaches the apparent extract point. When the fermentation is ready, we harvest the yeast
and send it to the yeast storage tank(YST). This yeast is a 0-generation yeast and can be
used as a first-generation yeast for more than 3 FSTs at the same time.

2.3.1 Yeast pitching (yeast generations)

Yeast is pitched at the first brew and goes to the desired FST along with the first brew of
that brand. After pitching in the first brew, we send in the rest of the brews, but the yeast
will not be added after pitching once. Other than Heineken, all brands at Heineken use
top to bottom fermentation, so when the second brew gets to the same FST, the yeast
floats at the top. That way the yeast starts on top and ferments to the bottom. Yeast is
pitched up and can multiply up to 60-80million cells per milliliter during fermentation.

2.3.2 Yeast harvest.

Yeast after finishing its fermentation is harvested after checking its viability and
consistency of cell yeast count. If it is able to continue fermentation, then it is transferred
to a yeast storage tank and will be used as a second generation. Yeast storage tanks are

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kept at around 2 °C. These tanks have agitators inside of them to keep their slurry from
sedimenting as yeast settles through time. A note to remember in YST is that yeast must
not be kept for more than 2 days because it will start to deteriorate.

Generations can go up to 5-6 but after that, it must be purged as it is naturally aged,
which can cause a delay in production. Yeast is harvested after the FST reaches RUH,
which is known as the rest of the harvest stage. Before the RUH stage, there are two
fermentation steps known as fermentation 1 and 2. Their difference is bound by the
increase in temperature.

Yeast goes to several laboratory checkups to make sure that there are less than 5% dead
yeast cells, physical validity, and free from any microbial contaminant. When going
through this check, if the yeast lacks one of these requirements, then the yeast is purged
and will no longer be used in another generation.

Deep cooling: step starters after yeast is harvested. This step is used to stop further
fermentation because not all yeasts leave the FST during harvesting. If it is not deep
cooled, the yeast goes into autolysis, which means leaking out undesirable substances
from the yeast due to the rapture of the cells, giving an undesirable flavor. Beers that are
ready to be filtered are kept in deep cooling as a storage option.

3 Filtration and its processing step

Matured UBT BMF FBT

beer

BBT Blending DILUTION SECURI

with DAW TY
with Fig
3.1: Filtration

It is a process that transforms mature beer into bright beer by filtering out undesirable
elements like yeast, polyphenols, and other elements. To avoid any biological or
chemical changes after packaging and to produce a clear beer that consumers will feel

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comfortable drinking, beer needs to be filtered. To remove these, we use BMF( beer
membrane filtration ). This will let the matured beer pass through its pours, leaving the
unwanted ingredients and yeast trapped in the middle.

3.1 Materials Used

Silica gel addition

Silica gel is prepared in a silica gel tank with a ratio of 65g to 1 hl of matured beer. Silica
gel is continuously stirred in the tank all the time to keep the gelation intact. We add
silica gel to help proteins, yeast, and other phenolic substances get trapped during
filtration.

PVPP (Polyvinylpolypyrrolidone)

PVPP is another filtration auxiliary material that helps to remove polyphenols and
removes the beer’s haze. There are two types of PVPP i.e., Regenerable and non-
regenerable. Regenerable PVPP is used by recycling it but non-regenerable PVPP is only
used once and once it is filtered from the beer, it can not be used again.

3.2Technology and processing steps behind filtration

UBT (unfiltered beer tank)

Matured beer comes to an unfiltered beer tank after passing through a heat exchanger to
lower its temperature by alcohol-water. Because of the alcohol content, this water does
not freeze, even at 0 degrees Celsius. This is very helpful because the temperature of the
matured beer needs to be lower than 0 degrees. After lowering the temperature, silica gel
is dosed into the line to cause coagulation with yeast and other chemicals and proteins
that, if unfiltered, cause haze. The UBT is then used as a buffer tank to stabilize the beer,
and regulate its pressure and overflow.

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BMF (beer membrane filtration)

Matured beer that is coagulated with silica gel is transferred into the 2 skids of BMF to
start the filtration process. A skid is a general group term for 18 modules. They are held
in pairs, giving 9 modules as 1 permeate. In the module, there are 2800 pores, each of
which has a 0.5-micrometer diameter.

FBT (filtered beer tank)

This is a tank that is again used as a buffer just like the UBT but to store bright beer
before the beer is sent to the BBT (bright beer tank). In the bright beer line, blending with
DAW and CO2 happens. To get around 12°p, the beer is blended with de-aerated water,
then carbonation blending continues to create stable foam.

A security filter

In this step, there is a trap filtration process, which is a security system that regulates the
inflow and outflow pressure. It has a filtration bed, and if the pressure of the inflow is
different from the outflow, it shows that there is an unfiltered beer that has passed the
BMF. It is also used as filtration to trap the yeast and other particles that have passed.

The other security filter is known as PVPP, which is used to remove the haze of beer and
give a more vibrant color view to the beer. After PVPP there is filtration equipment
called a trap filter which has filter beds. In the trap filter, there is a pressure reader in both
inlet and outlets that will monitor the pressure. The beer is expected to have similar
pressure in the inlet and outlet. If there is a difference, that will show that there is
unfiltered material left within the beer, and is removed in the filter bed.

BBT (bright beer tank )

These are the tankers that store bright beer until they are packed. This step requires
continuous evaluation as the tank fills because once a problem occurs in this step,
correction is extremely difficult.

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