Search: monitoring brewhouse operations

The hot break material (trub) and any hop particles which may be present in the wort, must first be removed. After the wort has been cooled to 2 °C, it is filtered through a glass fiber filter. The residue remaining on the filter is dried and then weighed.

Cold break material or cold trub refers to all material that settles out in the process of chilling wort after separation of the hot trub or hot break material. Cold trub can be filtered out of the wort and primarily consists of proteins (48–57 %), tannins (11–26 %) and carbohydrates (20–36 %). The amount of cold break material in wort depends on the quality and composition of the raw materials, brewhouse equipment and wort handling. In academic and professional circles, opinions regarding the significance of cold break material for downstream processes and for the quality of the finished beer are strongly divided [1, 2, 5]. Under certain circumstances, the quantity of cold break material in wort may exceed 250 mg/l, especially where accelerated fermentation is practiced. Ultimately, this can detract from the flavor of the finished beer [3]. Breweries, where removal of the cold break material has been practiced successfully, determine the quantity of cold break in their pitching wort at regular intervals, in order to evaluate the efficacy of their separation equipment.

The extract yield in the brewhouse is highly dependent on optimal milling of the malt or other grain. The composition of the brewery grist should therefore be monitored on a regular basis.

The sieve analysis is performed on a sample of brewery grist of a known weight with a shaking device containing a set of sieves (according to DIN ISO 3310-1 specifications or a Pfungstädter plansifter sieving device).

The sieve analysis is performed on a sample of brewery grist of a known weight with a shaking device containing a set of sieves (according to DIN ISO 3310-1 specifications or a Pfungstädter plansifter sieving device). The material retained on sieve 1 is then poured into a 500 ml graduated cylinder and the volume (without shaking) is read on the graduated cylinder.

Since determination of the hot wort yield can be problematic and the cold wort yield as described above does not represent a measure of the total extract obtained from the grain bill, an attempt has been made to record all of the extract recovered, with the exception of that remaining in the spent grain. This value is then compared to the laboratory yield. The result is expressed as the total yield (overall brewhouse yield) (OBY_CW) in %.

Higher molecular weight starch degradation products react with iodine after precipitation with alcohol. The reaction between iodine and starch results in the formation of an inclusion-type compound, evident by a change in color.

If a beam of light strikes a particle with a diameter larger than the wavelength of the light, the light is scattered. In measuring turbidity during the lautering process, it has been shown that only light scattered in a forward direction should be measured to achieve a meaningful correlation between the concentration of solids and the measurement value. Measurements performed at a 90° angle do not correlate with the amount of solids in wort due to particle size and dependence on color. Measurements performed at a 12° angle not only measure the amount of scattered light, but also the absorption (light transmission). The utilization of dual light beams eliminates disruptive factors, such as color, the age of the lamp and window fouling.

Measuring the turbidity during lautering serves to monitor and control lauter bed cutting operations and recirculation of the turbid wort as well as the quality of milling and mashing processes. There is a direct relationship between the turbidity profile during lautering, the results of the photometric iodine test and the solids content of the lauter wort.