Hops with high moisture content have a shorter storage life; in contrast, hops that are too dry disintegrate easily and lose their lupulin.
Hops and hop products intended for use in beer brewing or elsewhere in the food industry
The moisture content of whole hops, hop powder products or pellets is determined through the difference in weight before and after drying under standardized conditions.
This method describes the carry-over of aromas from PET containers. Returnable PET bottles should have no influence on the aroma or flavor of the beverages they contain.
Food production facilities which fill beverages in PET bottles
An increasing number of products with unique aroma formulations or very intense flavors are now being packaged in returnable PET bottles. This places new demands on the manufacturers of PET bottles and beverage producers as well as filling and packaging facilities. These bottles require more complicated cleaning procedures due to their lower heat tolerance, which in turn increases the likelihood of transferring odoriferous substances from one product to another. This phenomenon is universally referred to as the “carry-over” effect.
One source for this effect is the misuse of refillable PET bottles by customers who utilize them for storing highly odoriferous substances or chemicals. However, this effect is not limited to substances from previously used bottles but may also be attributable to adsorptive substances used in the materials of the packaging itself (seals, etc.), to inadequate cleaning or to any existing dead space in tanks, aggregates or piping systems. All of these factors are potential sources for the carryover of undesirable aroma components. Above all, filling a container with a product containing a less pronounced aroma than that of the preceding one can result in carry-over.
The expected haze-free shelf life of beer is best determined by employing so-called forced aging methods.
Suitable for all beers
Forced aging is the most practical means for determining the duration of shelf life and the potential for haze formation in beer. In the forced aging test, an appropriate number of bottles (at least five) are subjected alternately to temperatures of either 40 °C (untreated beer) or 60 °C (stabilized beer) and 0 °C until the turbidity increases by > 2 EBC formazin units as a result of forced aging.
By multiplying the value determined in performing the test, expressed in ‘days of shelf life at 40 °C or 60 °C’, by a factor specific to beer (conversion factor), it is possible to predict how long a beer will remain free of turbidity or haze in the package.
Determination of the overall brewhouse yield during wort production in order to monitor brewhouse operations
Wort from the midpoint of chilling/pitching wort
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) (OBYCW) in %.
This method describes how to determine whether there are pre-germinated kernels in a lot of barley as part of visual and manual inspection processes.
Barley intended for the production of malt; therefore, the kernels are to be evaluated on the basis of the characteristics described below.
Barley is visually inspected for the presence of “open” pre-germination which may be evidence of the presence of “hidden” pre-germination.
This method describes how to determine the hop storage index (HSI) in hops and hop products.
Hops and hop products intended for use in beer brewing or elsewhere in the food industry
The oxidative degradation of the α-acids and β-acids in hops and conventional hop products is determined using a spectrophotometer. The HSI can be referenced in addition to or together with the spectrophotometric method for determining the α-acids and β-acids in hops outlined under R-300.04.110 α- und β-Säuren in Doldenhopfen und Hopfenpellets – Spektralphotometrische Methode.