Brewing process

Imagine a process where shower-sour beer could be brewed predictably and consistently in just 16 hours, preserving the crisp, refreshing flavors of modern sour beers. Chr. Hansen brings 145 years of fermentation experience to the sour beer space with its introduction of Harvest LB-1, the company’s addition to the SmartBev line. Harvest LB-1 is a freeze-dried, direct inoculation culture of Lactobacillus plantarum from Spanish grape must, designed to optimize production while providing producers with excellent results with every brew.

Sour beer can trace its origins back to brewing traditional lambic, kriek and berliner weiss style beers in Belgium and Germany. Modern sisters, however, offer a new take on this long-standing drink, offering a lighter taste, fruity notes thanks to the addition of ingredients like raspberry, yuzu, elderflower or combination infusions. These characteristics make tart beers attractive options for more casual occasions, for consumers who may not appreciate the taste of conventional beers (preferring the crunchy and fruity taste of wine or cocktails), and for those who wish. moderate their alcohol consumption by looking for a drink that is low in alcohol.

In recent years, the sour beer category has seen significant growth, with sales up 40% in 2019 and 43% the year before. Producers interested in increasing their production of these beers – or even expanding their consumer base by tapping into this market for the first time – are increasingly looking to improve consistency and quality of results while preserving the unique and characteristic flavors. that distinguish sour beer. .

Harvest LB-1 Brings a New Consistency to Sour Beer Making

Traditional sourcing is a production method that can be difficult to control, leading to inconsistent results, increased risk of wasted batches, and difficulty in scalability. With the direct co-inoculation and co-inoculation of Harvest LB-1, brewing sour shower beer becomes simpler and more predictable, allowing producers to avoid the unpleasant flavors that can occur during uncontrolled fermentations and more. slow. In just 16 hours, growers can reliably produce clean, refreshing flavors from a culture that ensures transparency of the strain’s origin, histamine-free infusion, and a two-year shelf life in between. purchase and use for better planning and flexibility.

When kettle sourcing with Harvest LB-1, the fermentation process starts almost immediately due to the high cell count and the purity of the culture. Chr. Hansen developed Harvest LB-1 to produce clean, crunchy flavors and aromas. Carefully selected Lactobacilli strain provides rapid and safe acidification.

Some feedback

Already, the results of Harvest LB-1 speak for themselves. Customers report that the incorporation of Chr. Hansen’s premium sour beer culture in their recipes makes production easier and ensures consistency between the beers they need to increase production.

“Our favorite attribute is that [Harvest LB-1 works very quickly] and gives us a consistent and clean flavor profile, ”says Ryan Jackle, Head Brewer at US-based Brewing the Wise Man in North Carolina, while being “very easy to use.”

Will Brown, head brewer of Colonial Brewery Company in Melbourne, Australia, also reports that after facing production speed challenges and consistency issues for kettle sours, the implementation of Harvest LB-1 [and BACTIV-AID™] gave him “complete confidence in these products for [help us] meet our specifications in a short time while remaining cost effective.

“While we have built our reputation on perfecting fermentation processes primarily in the dairy industry, we are delighted to enter categories that could also benefit from our expertise,” says Nathalia Edwards, Chr. Hansen Business Development Director in Fermented Beverages.

“The sour beer space is growing and this is a great opportunity for breweries to reach new consumers who don’t see themselves as beer drinkers. Consumers are more interested in drinks that offer refreshing, tangy and complex flavors, ”continues Edwards. “Ideal for warmer weather and lighter occasions, these drinks are influenced by classic European beers but offer a cool experience, along with the low sugar and alcohol content that our increasingly caring consumer base seeks. health.”

To learn more about Harvest LB-1, visit www.GusmerBeer.com. Gusmer Enterprises is the exclusive North American distributor of Chr. Hansen.

While our taste for beer has not changed since humans discovered it over 5,000 years ago, a microbrewery has invested in modern automation technology to change its brewing process. Carbon dioxide (CO₂) plays an important role throughout the beer making process. Initially, it is produced during fermentation while it is usually discharged as a by-product. Later in the process, brewers use the gas to purge the bottles and force the beer to carbonate during bottling to preserve its flavor.

Too much pressure chars the beer too much, making it difficult to serve properly and create a bad experience for consumers. Too little carbonation can reduce the number of air bubbles that trap the aroma, an important part of the craft beer experience. Low carbonation can also make the beer flat, ruining the whole batch.

One of the largest microbreweries in Quebec had relied on a fully manual process to manage the 25 CO₂ cylinders used in its brewing process. We will keep this unnamed brewery, as this article is for analytical purposes only. The manual process used by this Quebec brewery created inefficiencies that cost time and money as well as impacting safety. For example, the brewery team could not accurately determine when a bottle was empty, so they had to estimate when to switch to new vats. Changing them too soon resulted in wasted CO₂. Changing them too late could damage the batch with under-carbonation.

In addition, the gas cylinders were stored on site, taking up valuable floor space and creating the potential safety risks associated with the storage of more than two dozen gas cylinders. Employees had to physically move tanks, each weighing about 100 lbs, to change them three to four times a week.

The search for the right components

The microbrewery contacted Beauce Technology, a Quebec-based company that specializes in the design and installation of gas manifold systems. Jimmy Roy, vice-president of Beauce, said he worked with the brewery to design a gas distribution system manifold that offers more efficiency and control than the manual system. As Beauce began to develop a solution, the team encountered challenges, including pressure regulators that were not functioning properly and solenoid valves unable to handle the high flow capacity. Components had to be found that would not only solve individual problems, but also work together to create an effective system.

La Beauce was looking for the right solution when it met a team of Emerson Automation Solutions during a conference organized by the Association des microbrasseries du Québec. After learning more about the challenges of Beauce, the Emerson team recommended TESCOM SG3 Series Single Stage Regulator, which is suitable for high purity applications.

“This regulator solved many flow and pressure control problems. We tested it and it worked perfectly, ”said Roy. The regulator also offered regulating precision and repeatability for the high level of precision control required by the brewery.

As an integrated solution provider, Emerson was also able to recommend a solenoid valve solution from its broad automation portfolio: the ASCO 291 Compressed Natural Gas Valve. The value is specifically designed for compressed natural gas applications that require the ability to handle pressure greater than 5,000 psi. Its wide pressure range makes it well suited for a brewery application.

The valve would allow the new system to withstand a high flow capacity as well as an expected pressure range of 200 to 5,000 psi.

Emerson’s 291 valve features a low-maintenance PEEK piston and durable operation in a compact design. Its stainless steel construction also makes it ideal for applications in the food industry.

Go from manual to automation

With the critical components in place, the Beauce could integrate the regulator and valve into the designed electronic control system. Control system maximizes CO₂
while eliminating the downtime associated with manual failovers. When the cylinder pressure drops to a predetermined level, the automated system closes the valve on the vacuum side and opens the valve on the other side. The opening speed of the valve can be controlled to avoid system shutdowns, which Roy says can be a challenge in a distribution system regulating high flow applications.

“But when we use Emerson’s ASCO 291 solenoid valve on the TESCOM SG3 regulator, together they can handle the high flow,” he said.

In addition to automating gas delivery, the electronic control system gave the brewery an easy way to access information about the system that it did not previously have. The secure control system, based on a Linux operating system, provides real-time and historical line pressure data. Beauce’s design also incorporates a personalized touchscreen interface and a mobile-friendly dashboard.

Deliver fast results and encourage automation

Investment in brewery automation quickly reduced production inefficiencies caused by the use of manual processes and lack of actionable information. The increase in efficiency reduced the number of cylinders needed from 25 to 10. The reduction by more than half of the use of cylinders has reduced manual labor and the risk of occupational accidents that cause it. accompanied. It also reduced the costs of labor, transportation and storage.

Quebec brewery can now monitor CO₂ which saves him time and money and makes more informed production decisions. Additionally, the system offers scalability, making it suitable for breweries of virtually any size.

Roy said: “The app is perfect for a small brewery as it can handle as many bottles as needed, giving them flexibility as they grow. ”

Since the implementation, the company considers that its CO more efficient₂
using and increasing production saves nearly $ 17,000 per year on gas usage costs, a reduction of 42% compared to the non-automated system. In addition, the transition to automated gas distribution saves the brewery close to $ 4,000 per year in productivity costs.

They’ve gone from doing everything manually with little control or insight to an automated solution that maximizes resources, saves money, reduces manpower, increases security, and delivers real-time data. It really simplifies the microbrewing process.

Naresh Kumar is the Director of Product Marketing for Emerson Automation Solutions.