Process for producing a beer

Abstract

Process for producing a beer comprising the following process steps (100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800): - Cooking a bread mixture consisting of bread and water for the thermal breakdown of starch present in bread into sugar - Addition of malt to the cooked bread mixture, whereby the sugars contained in the resulting bread-malt mixture are processed solely with enzymes present in the malt - Addition of hops to a wort obtained from the bread-malt mixture - and subsequent fermentation with yeast

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a process for producing a beer.

[0002] Beers are available in a wide variety of varieties on the market. Beer production can be particularly country-specific, meaning the production method and the ingredients used can vary from state to state.

[0003] In general, beer's main ingredients are water, malt, hops, and yeast. According to the German Beer Purity Law, which dates back to 1516, beer may only be brewed with the four raw materials water, malt, hops, and yeast.

[0004] The German Beer Purity Law defines a high quality standard. Accordingly, beers produced according to it have a unique selling point.

[0005] Many beer producers deliberately forgo the quality standards defined by the German Beer Purity Law, particularly in order to produce a greater variety of beers and also to ensure the production of beers in large quantities and to use industrial, efficient production processes for this purpose.

[0006] An example of this is the provision of enzymes that are necessary in the beer production process to break down polysaccharides present in malt, a component of the beer, into monosaccharides or disaccharides.

[0007] While beer produced according to the German Purity Law (Reinheitsgebot) may only use enzymes contained in the malt itself, other types of beer use artificial enzymes. These can be obtained in large quantities in industrial processes and contribute to particularly efficient beer production.

[0008] A trend that has steadily increased in recent years has been toward sustainability in the production and provision of food. A key requirement is to carry out such production processes in a resource-efficient manner.

[0009] DE 38 28 786 C1 relates to a process for producing rye beer using a substantial proportion of rye by producing a malt, producing a wort by mashing the malt, and fermenting the wort with the addition of yeast. The process comprises the following steps: - Mashing at a temperature in the range of 30 to 40°C, - Keeping the mash at this temperature, - Drawing off the first part of the mash at this temperature, - Keeping the 1st main mash at this temperature, - Adding the first partial mash after boiling to the first main mash, achieving a temperature of the total mash of 50 to 55°C, - Drawing off the 2nd partial mash, - Keep the 2nd main mash at this temperature for 20 to 40 minutes, - Heating the 2nd main mash to a temperature in the range of 60 to 65°C and keeping it at this temperature for 20 to 40 minutes and - Add the second partial mash to the second main mash after boiling, achieving a total mash temperature of 70 to 80°C.

[0010] DE 37 06 303 A1 relates to a process for producing a lactic acid, long-life bread-based beverage. Bread and grains are mixed with a special sourdough and water and fermented for several days. Since only Lactobacillus, Lactobacillus casei, and Lactobacillus acidophilus are used, a specific spectrum of edible acids is produced, the most important characteristic of which is the predominance of L-lactic acid and the presence of enzymes. The beverage is free of glucose, sucrose, and fructose, and the ethanol content is below 0.05%. Bread flavor extracts are obtained with concentrated lactic acid or acetic acid from re-toasted bread (1:2), which are added at 0.1 to 1%.

[0011] The invention is based on the object of providing a sustainable process for producing a beer that meets high quality requirements.

[0012] To achieve this object, the features of claim 1 are provided. Advantageous embodiments and expedient further developments are described in the dependent claims.

[0013] The invention relates to a process for producing a beer comprising the following process steps: - Cooking a bread mixture consisting of bread and water for the thermal breakdown of starch present in bread into sugar - Addition of malt to the cooked bread mixture, whereby the sugars contained in the resulting bread-malt mixture are processed solely with enzymes present in the malt - Addition of hops to a wort obtained from the bread-malt mixture - and subsequent fermentation with yeast

[0014] In the process according to the invention, bread is used as an important component for the production of beer.

[0015] Different types of bread can be used in the process according to the invention, whereby different types of grain such as wheat, rye or spelt can be used to produce bread in a known manner.

[0016] The use of bread gives the beer produced according to the process according to the invention a novel flavor, which can also be varied by using different types of bread.

[0017] According to a particularly advantageous embodiment, the process according to the invention uses stale bread to produce beer.

[0018] The term "stale bread" refers specifically to bread that is no longer fresh, especially bread that has already gone hard. Such stale bread can no longer be sold in grocery stores, especially bakeries, and is therefore sorted out as waste. In the best-case scenario, the stale bread is then used as animal feed. However, large quantities of stale bread are now disposed of as garbage. This does not only apply to stale bread that is sorted out in grocery stores.

[0019] By means of the method according to the invention, such old bread can now be used for beer production, i.e. the old bread is returned to the cycle for the production and use of food.

[0020] The process according to the invention thus contributes significantly to sustainability, particularly to the utilization of existing resources. On the one hand, this makes a significant contribution to environmental protection, as the reuse of stale bread results in significantly less waste. Since waste is thus actively reduced, the costs of waste disposal are also reduced. On the other hand, improved utilization of resources in the form of food contributes to sustainability.

[0021] In the process according to the invention, bread, especially stale bread, is mixed with water in a first step. This mixture is cooked for a predetermined time, which is chosen so that the starch present in the bread is thermally broken down into sugar.

[0022] After the cooking process, malt, especially barley malt or rye malt or wheat malt, is added to the bread mixture, preferably after a cooling process, resulting in a liquid bread-malt mixture.

[0023] This mixing process occurs because bread, especially the starch it contains, does not contain enzymes. In contrast, malt does contain enzymes. Enzymes are essential for beer production, as they allow the conversion of polysaccharides into monosaccharides or disaccharides, which are then fermented into alcohol, i.e., ethanol, in a subsequent fermentation process.

[0024] According to the invention, an enzymatic conversion of polysaccharides into monosaccharides and disaccharides in the bread-malt mixture takes place solely by the enzymes contained in the malt of the bread-malt mixture.

[0025] In order for this conversion to take place sufficiently and completely, the ratio of bread to malt in the bread-malt mixture is chosen appropriately.

[0026] Ideally, the bread-malt mixture should contain a maximum of 30% bread. In principle, a higher proportion of bread is also possible.

[0027] Advantageously, the bread-malt mixture contains a proportion of bread in the range of 30% and a proportion of malt in the range of 70%.

[0028] The percentages are given in weight %.

[0029] It is advantageous to further process the bread-malt mixture according to the specifications of the German Purity Law.

[0030] A key aspect of the process according to the invention is that not only the enzymes contained in the malt of the bread-malt mixture are used for beer production. Rather, all further process steps that are carried out starting from the bread-malt production to produce the beer comply with the requirements of the German Purity Law.

[0031] In particular, an essential requirement of the German Purity Law is met: the only other components used to produce the beer are hops and yeast.

[0032] After the enzymatic treatment of the bread-malt mixture, hops are added and the liquid part of this mixture, i.e. the wort, is fermented with yeast.

[0033] Since, in addition to bread as an additional ingredient, the beer produced by the process according to the invention contains only water, hops, malt and yeast as components in accordance with the requirements of the German Purity Law and, in particular, the addition of artificial enzymes can be dispensed with, the beer produced in this way is suitable for obtaining approval as a special beer in accordance with the regulations of the German Purity Law.

[0034] The invention is explained below with reference to the drawing. It shows: Fig. 1: Flow diagram of the process according to the invention for producing a beer.

[0035] Fig. 1 shows a flow chart showing the essential process steps of an embodiment of the process according to the invention for producing a beer.

[0036] In a first process step 100, bread, especially stale bread, is mixed with water. The resulting bread mixture is heated to 100°C, i.e., cooked. The cooking process is carried out long enough to thermally break down the starch present in the bread into sugar. Typically, the cooking process takes place over a period of half an hour to one hour.

[0037] In a second process step 200, which follows the cooking process, the bread mixture is cooled to a cooling temperature of approximately 60°C.

[0038] After the cooling process, malt, in particular barley malt, is added to the bread mixture in a third process step 300, resulting in a bread-malt mixture. The proportion of malt in the bread-malt mixture is approximately 70%, and the proportion of bread is approximately 30%, with the percentages being by weight.

[0039] In a fourth process step 400, multiple sugars are broken down into simple and double sugars using only enzymes contained in the malt, which can be fermented into alcohol in a subsequent fermentation process.

[0040] This fourth process step is divided into several sub-process steps in which the bread-malt mixture is brought to different temperatures at which different enzymes contained in the malt are effective.

[0041] First, the bread-malt mixture is heated to a temperature of approximately 62°C. At this temperature, the enzyme β-amylase is active.

[0042] The bread-malt mixture is then heated to a temperature of approximately 78°C. At this temperature, the enzyme α-amylase is active.

[0043] Then, in a fifth process step 500, the bread-malt mixture is lautered, i.e. the solid components are separated and a wort is obtained as a liquid component, which is further processed.

[0044] In a sixth process step 600, the wort is heated to 100°C and thus boiled. Hops are then added.

[0045] In a seventh process step 700, solid hop components are separated from the wort.

[0046] After cooling the liquid part of the wort, it is fed into a fermentation vessel with yeast, where in an eighth process step 800 a fermentation process takes place in which monosaccharides and disaccharides are fermented to alcohol.

Claims

[1] Process for producing a beer comprising the following process steps (100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800): - Cooking a bread mixture consisting of bread and water for the thermal breakdown of starch present in bread into sugar - Addition of malt to the cooked bread mixture, whereby the sugars contained in the resulting bread-malt mixture are processed solely with enzymes present in the malt - Addition of hops to a wort obtained from the bread-malt mixture - and subsequent fermentation with yeast [2] Method according to claim 1, characterized by that the bread mixture consists of stale bread and water. [3] Method according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized by that the bread mixture is cooled to a cooling temperature after cooking before this malt is added. [4] Method according to claim 3, characterized by that the cooling temperature is in the range of 60°. [5] Method according to one of claims 1-4, characterized by that barley malt, wheat malt or rye malt is added to the bread mixture. [6] Method according to one of claims 1-5, characterized by that the bread-malt mixture contains a maximum of 30% bread. [7] Method according to claim 6, characterized by that the bread-malt mixture contains a proportion of bread in the range of 30% and a proportion of malt in the range of 70%. [8] Method according to one of claims 1-7, characterized by that the bread-malt mixture is further processed according to the specifications of the German Purity Law. [9] Method according to one of claims 1-8, characterized by that the bread-malt mixture is heated or cooled to different temperatures, with different enzymes in the malt being active at each temperature. [10] Method according to one of claims 1-9, characterized bythat the beer produced is a special beer according to the German Purity Law.

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