Liquid Beer Concentrate

Abstract

The present invention relates to a liquid beer concentrate having a water content of 25-90% by weight, a carbohydrate content of 5-50% by weight, a protein content of 1-6% by weight, and an ethanol content of 0-50% by weight, said liquid beer concentrate containing 0.01-1.5 g / L of dissolved ascorbate. The inventors have discovered that the addition of small amounts of ascorbate can prevent or at least minimize the appearance of off-flavor notes and / or haze formation in the liquid beer concentrate.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a liquid beer concentrate suitable for use in the preparation of high-quality reconstituted beer. More specifically, the present invention relates to a liquid beer concentrate having a water content of 25-90% by weight, a carbohydrate content of 5-50% by weight, a protein content of 1-6% by weight, and an ethanol content of 0-50% by weight, wherein the liquid beer concentrate contains 0.01-1.5 g / L of dissolved ascorbate. [Background technology]

[0002] The popularity of home appliances for preparing and dispensing carbonated beverages from concentrated syrups, such as SodaStream®, is rapidly increasing. The appliances produce carbonated beverages by carbonating water and mixing the carbonated water with flavored syrups. Given the high flexibility and convenience offered by the appliances, it would be desirable to have available beer concentrates that can be used to produce beer using similar appliances.

[0003] Because beer typically contains more than 90% water, removing most of the water can significantly concentrate the beer. The advantages of producing beer from concentrates are recognized in the art. However, producing a good-quality beer concentrate is a challenging task. For example, due to the high solute concentration, it is very difficult to prepare a beer concentrate that does not exhibit significant instability (e.g., haze formation or flavor changes) during normal shelf life.

[0004] WO 2017 / 167865 describes a single-serving container containing a malt-based beverage concentrate or a fermented beverage concentrate, the concentrate being in a liquid state and having a dynamic viscosity of up to 40.10 g / L. 3 mPa·s; a true extract density of at least 2.6°P; and an alcohol content of at least 1% by volume.

[0005] WO 2021 / 228871 describes a single-serving capsule containing at least two compartments, including a first compartment and a second compartment; the first compartment contains an alcohol-free beer concentrate, the liquid beer concentrate having an ethanol content of 0-1% alcohol by volume (ABV); and the second compartment contains an alcoholic liquid containing 12-100% by weight ethanol and 0-88% by weight water, the ethanol and water together constituting an alcoholic liquid of 80-100% by weight.

[0006] U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006 / 0286207 discloses a) a hop-based or malt-based beverage base; b) a stabilised mixture comprising: about 0.000001% to about 0.2% of a metal selected from zinc, magnesium, calcium, chromium, copper, iron, selenium, manganese, and combinations thereof, in ionic, salt, oxide, complex, chelate, or non-ionic form; and - about 0.01% to about 2.5% of an auxiliary ingredient selected from ascorbic acid, erythorbic acid, sugar alcohols, ascorbate, erythorbate, and combinations thereof a stabilizing mixture comprising The present invention describes a malt-based or hop-based beverage product comprising:

[0007] US Patent Application Publication No. 2016 / 346760A1 describes an oxygen scavenging polymer comprising a hydrophobic polymer and an oxygen scavenger. The US patent application further describes a method for preparing a beverage, comprising: a) providing a device comprising a container, an oxygen scavenging polymer, and at least one beverage ingredient; b) diluting the beverage ingredients with a liquid to prepare a beverage; The present invention describes a method including:

[0008] U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2016 / 222332 A1 describes a method for preparing a beverage by mixing a base liquid with ingredients and dispensing the beverage, such as mixing concentrated beer with hop concentrate, fruit concentrate, spices, flavoring ingredients, and foam enhancers.

[0009] Czech Republic Patent No. 10769U1 relates to an aqueous concentrate or beverage or an aqueous-alcoholic concentrate or beverage comprising, inter alia, 0.01 to 5.0% by volume of natural compounds from the group of vegetable acids, such as fruit acids, in particular citric acid, malic acid, succinic acid, ascorbic acid, and tartaric acid, and mixtures thereof. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] The inventors have observed that during storage, liquid beer concentrates tend to develop haze and / or off-flavor notes that have been described as "aniseed" and "estery." It is currently unknown which components cause the formation of this haze or which compounds are responsible for this off-flavor note. However, the inventors have surprisingly discovered that by adding small amounts of ascorbate to the beer concentrate, the development of haze and / or the aforementioned off-flavor notes can be prevented or at least minimized.

[0011] Thus, one aspect of the present invention relates to a liquid beer concentrate having a water content of 25-90% by weight, a carbohydrate content of 5-50% by weight, a protein content of 1-6% by weight, and an ethanol content of 0-50% by weight, said liquid beer concentrate containing 0.01-1.5 g / L of dissolved ascorbate.

[0012] The present invention also provides a process for preparing a liquid beer concentrate according to the invention, said process comprising the steps of: Prepare beer, reducing the water content of the beer by membrane separation and / or freeze concentration to produce a liquid beer concentrate, where the membrane separation is selected from nanofiltration, reverse osmosis, and forward osmosis; Adding a source of ascorbate Includes:

[0013] The present invention also relates to a single-dose capsule comprising at least two compartments, including a first compartment and a second compartment, wherein the first compartment comprises the liquid beer concentrate according to the present invention and the second compartment comprises an alcoholic liquid, said alcoholic liquid containing at least 30% by weight of ethanol and not more than 65% by weight of water.

[0014] The present invention also relates to a method for preparing a beverage, said method comprising: providing a liquid beer concentrate according to the invention; Diluting liquid beer concentrate 3 to 10 times with carbonated water Includes:

[0015] Finally, the present invention relates to the use of ascorbate for reducing the formation of off-flavors and / or haze in a liquid beer concentrate, wherein ascorbate is added to said liquid beer concentrate in an amount of 0.01 to 1.5 g / L. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] A first aspect of the present invention relates to a liquid beer concentrate having a water content of 25-90% by weight, a carbohydrate content of 5-50% by weight, a protein content of 1-6% by weight, and an ethanol content of 0-50% by weight, said liquid beer concentrate containing 0.01-1.5 g / L of dissolved ascorbate.

[0017] As used herein, the term "beer" refers to a yeast-fermented malt beverage, optionally hopped. Beer is generally produced by a process that includes the following basic steps: mashing a mixture comprising malted barley, optionally supplementary grains, and water to produce a mash; Separating the mash into wort and spent grain; Boiling the wort to produce boiled wort; Fermenting the boiled wort with live yeast to produce fermented wort; subjecting the fermented wort to one or more further process steps (e.g., maturation and filtration) to produce beer; and Packaging beer into sealed containers such as bottles, cans or kegs.

[0018] Hops or hop extract are usually added during the boiling of the wort to produce hopped beer. Depending on the style of beer and the brewing facility, the hopping method and timing used can vary.

[0019] As used herein, the term "beer concentrate" refers to beer from which water has been removed, for example, by nanofiltration, reverse osmosis, forward osmosis, and / or freeze concentration.

[0020] As used herein, the term "ascorbate" includes the compound ascorbic acid and dissociated forms of ascorbic acid (eg, dissociated ascorbic acid or dissociated ascorbate).

[0021] As used herein, the term protein refers to a polypeptide comprising a chain of at least 20 amino acid residues.

[0022] As used herein, the term "membrane separation" refers to a separation method in which molecules are separated by passing a feed stream through a membrane that separates them into two separate streams known as permeate and retentate. Examples of membrane separation include nanofiltration, reverse osmosis, and forward osmosis.

[0023] As used herein, the term "iso-alpha acids" refers to substances selected from the group consisting of isohumulone, isoadhumulone, isocohumulone, pleisohumulone, postisohumulone, and combinations thereof. The term "iso-alpha acids" encompasses different stereoisomers (cis-iso-alpha acids and trans-iso-alpha acids). Iso-alpha acids are typically produced in beer by adding hops to boiled wort. Iso-alpha acids can also be introduced into beer in the form of pre-isomerized hop extracts. Iso-alpha acids have a very bitter taste, with an estimated threshold in water of approximately 6 ppm.

[0024] The term "hydrogenated iso-alpha acids" refers to materials selected from dihydro-iso-alpha acids, tetrahydro-iso-alpha acids, hexahydro-iso-alpha acids, and combinations thereof.

[0025] As used herein, the term "hulupone" refers to a material selected from kofulupone, n-hulupone, adhulupone, hydrogenated versions of these materials, and combinations thereof. Hulupone is an oxidation product of hop beta acids.

[0026] As used herein, the term "capsule" refers to a compartmentalized container suitable for holding two liquid components separately in accordance with the present invention.

[0027] As used herein, the term "serving" is synonymous with "single portion" or "unit dose" and refers to a capsule containing a sufficient amount of beer concentrate and alcoholic liquid to prepare one serving of reconstituted beer. Typically, a serving of reconstituted beer is in the range of 120 ml to 1000 ml.

[0028] As used herein, the term "added" refers to compounds that are not derived from the beer from which the concentrate is derived.

[0029] The liquid beer concentrate of the present invention preferably has a water content of 30 to 85% by weight, more preferably has a water content of 35 to 80% by weight, and most preferably has a water content of 40 to 75% by weight.

[0030] The carbohydrate content of the liquid beer concentrate is preferably in the range of 8 to 45% by weight, more preferably in the range of 10 to 40% by weight, most preferably in the range of 11 to 35% by weight.

[0031] Liquid beer concentrates typically contain starch hydrolysis products in the form of sugars and oligosaccharides, which are formed during mashing. Depending on the yeast used, so-called fermentable sugars, including glucose, maltose, and maltotriose, can be digested by the yeast during fermentation.

[0032] Unlike the sugars maltose and maltotriose, maltotetraose is not significantly digested by most brewer's yeasts. As a result, the concentration of maltotetraose is usually little affected by yeast fermentation. The liquid beer concentrate preferably contains 10 to 100 g / L, more preferably 12 to 80 g / L, even more preferably 15 to 60, and most preferably 18 to 40 g / L of maltotetraose.

[0033] In one embodiment of the present invention, the liquid beer concentrate is an alcohol-free beer concentrate produced by dealcoholization of alcoholic beer. Liquid beer concentrates according to this embodiment typically contain only limited amounts of maltose and / or maltotriose.

[0034] Preferably, the liquid beer concentrate of dealcoholized beer contains maltose at a concentration of 0 to 20 g / L, more preferably 0.2 to 15 g / L, even more preferably 0.3 to 10 g / L, most preferably 0.5 to 8 g / L.

[0035] The liquid beer concentrate of dealcoholized beer preferably contains maltotriose in a concentration of 1 to 30 g / L, more preferably 2 to 25 g / L, even more preferably 2.5 to 22 g / L, most preferably 3 to 20 g / L.

[0036] In another embodiment of the present invention, the liquid beer concentrate is an alcohol-free beer concentrate produced using a fermentation method that produces substantially no ethanol (ethanol-limited fermentation). Liquid beer concentrates according to this embodiment typically contain relatively high levels of maltose and / or maltotriose.

[0037] The liquid beer concentrate according to this embodiment preferably contains maltose at a concentration of 60 to 400 g / L, more preferably 90 to 300 g / L, even more preferably 120 to 280 g / L, and most preferably 150 to 250 g / L.

[0038] The liquid beer concentrate obtained from alcohol-free beer produced using ethanol-limited fermentation preferably contains maltotriose at a concentration of 30 to 150 g / L, more preferably 40 to 120 g / L, even more preferably 45 to 110 g / L, and most preferably 50 to 100 g / L.

[0039] The protein content of the liquid beer concentrate is preferably in the range of 1.2 to 5.5% by weight, more preferably in the range of 1.4 to 5.0% by weight, most preferably in the range of 1.5 to 4.5% by weight.

[0040] The combination of water and ethanol preferably constitutes at least 50% by weight of the liquid beer concentrate, more preferably 55-90% by weight, most preferably 60-88% by weight.

[0041] Preferably, the water, carbohydrates, protein and ethanol together make up at least 90% by weight of the liquid beer concentrate, more preferably at least 92% by weight, and most preferably between 94% and 99.5% by weight.

[0042] The liquid beer concentrate preferably contains 0.05 to 1.3 g / L of dissolved ascorbate, more preferably the liquid beer concentrate contains 0.075 to 1.2 g / L of dissolved ascorbate, and most preferably the liquid beer concentrate contains 0.1 to 1.1 g / L of dissolved ascorbate.

[0043] In a preferred embodiment, the liquid beer concentrate is a pale lager concentrate.

[0044] In one embodiment of the present invention, the liquid beer concentrate is an alcoholic beer concentrate that can be reconstituted with carbonated water to produce an alcoholic beer. The liquid beer concentrate according to this embodiment preferably has an ethanol content of 10-50% ABV, more preferably 12-45% ABV, and most preferably 15-40% ABV.

[0045] The alcoholic beer concentrate preferably contains 50 to 1,000 mg / L, more preferably 60 to 800 mg / L, and most preferably 70 to 400 mg / L of hop acids selected from iso-alpha acids, hydrogenated alpha acids, hop acids, and combinations thereof.

[0046] In an alternative embodiment, the liquid beer concentrate is a low-alcohol beer concentrate. The liquid beer concentrate according to this embodiment preferably has an ethanol content of 0-5% ABV, more preferably 0-2% ABV, even more preferably 0-1% ABV, and most preferably 0-0.5% ABV.

[0047] The low-alcohol beer concentrate preferably contains 0 to 20 mg / L, more preferably 0 to 10 mg / L, and most preferably 0 to 3 mg / L of hop acids selected from iso-alpha acids, hydrogenated alpha acids, hop acids, and combinations thereof.

[0048] The pH of the liquid beer concentrate is preferably in the range of 3.0 to 6.0, more preferably in the range of 3.2 to 5.5, and most preferably in the range of 3.5 to 5.0.

[0049] The riboflavin content of the liquid beer concentrate is preferably in the range of 250 to 3,000 μg / L, more preferably 300 to 2,500 μg / L, more preferably 350 to 2,200 μg / L, and most preferably 400 to 2,000 μg / L.

[0050] The liquid beer concentrate preferably contains 150-5,000 μg / L, more preferably 200-4,000 μg / L, even more preferably 250-3,500 μg / L, and most preferably 300-3,000 μg / L of linoleic acid. In addition to linoleic acid, the liquid beer concentrate typically also contains other fatty acids, such as oleic acid and / or alpha-linolenic acid. Oleic acid is preferably present in the liquid beer concentrate at a concentration of 300-3,000 μg / L, more preferably 400-2,500 μg / L, even more preferably 500-2,000 μg / L, and most preferably 600-1,800 μg / L.

[0051] Alpha-linolenic acid is preferably present in the liquid beer concentrate at a concentration of 100 to 1,200 μg / L, more preferably 120 to 1,100 μg / L, even more preferably 150 to 1,000 μg / L, and most preferably 180 to 900 μg / L.

[0052] Preferably, the liquid beer concentrate does not contain any added metals selected from zinc, magnesium, calcium, chromium, copper, iron, selenium or magnesium, more preferably the liquid beer concentrate does not contain any added metals other than alkali metals, most preferably the liquid beer concentrate does not contain any added metals.

[0053] Preferably, the liquid beer concentrate does not contain any added catalase, more preferably the liquid beer concentrate does not contain any added enzymes.

[0054] Preferably, the liquid beer concentrate does not contain any added citric acid or citrate.

[0055] In a preferred embodiment, the liquid beer concentrate contains no added phytate or added phytic acid.

[0056] The liquid beer concentrate preferably does not contain a capsicum infusion, more preferably the liquid beer concentrate does not contain a fruit infusion, and most preferably the liquid beer concentrate does not contain any infusion.

[0057] In a particularly preferred embodiment, the liquid beer concentrate does not contain any added substances in addition to ascorbate.

[0058] Another aspect of the present invention relates to a process for producing a liquid beer concentrate, said process comprising: Prepare beer, reducing the water content of the beer by membrane separation and / or freeze concentration to produce a liquid beer concentrate, where the membrane separation is selected from nanofiltration, reverse osmosis, and forward osmosis; Adding a source of ascorbate Includes:

[0059] In a preferred embodiment, the source of ascorbate contains 50 to 100% by weight of ascorbate calculated on dry matter, and preferably the ascorbate contains 80 to 100% by weight of ascorbate.

[0060] An aqueous solution of ascorbate may suitably be used as the source of ascorbate in the present process.

[0061] Preferably, the beer provided in the process according to the present invention has an ethanol content of 0-12% ABV, more preferably 0-8% ABV, even more preferably 0-2% ABV, and most preferably 0-1% ABV.

[0062] In one embodiment, the beer provided is an alcohol-free beer produced by dealcoholization of alcoholic beer.

[0063] In another embodiment, the beer provided is obtained by cold contact fermentation.

[0064] In a preferred embodiment, the provided beer contains 0-5 mg / L of hop acids per gram of dry matter, the hop acids being selected from iso-alpha acids, hydrogenated iso-alpha acids, hulupons, and combinations thereof.

[0065] In a preferred embodiment, the water content is reduced by reverse osmosis.

[0066] In another preferred embodiment, the water content is reduced by freeze concentration.

[0067] Another aspect of the present invention relates to a single-dose capsule comprising at least two compartments, including a first compartment and a second compartment, wherein the first compartment comprises a liquid beer concentrate according to the present invention and the second compartment comprises an alcoholic liquid, said alcoholic liquid containing at least 30% by weight of ethanol and not more than 65% by weight of water.

[0068] The single-serving capsules of the present invention may comprise two or more compartments. Most preferably, the capsule contains two compartments, one containing the liquid beer concentrate and the other containing the alcoholic liquid.

[0069] According to a preferred embodiment, the at least two compartments are separated by a separating wall and closed by a shielding foil or a lid.

[0070] Preferably, the first compartment of the single-serving capsule contains 10-60 mL, more preferably 15-50 mL, most preferably 20-40 mL of liquid beer concentrate.

[0071] The second compartment of the single dose capsule preferably contains 4 to 25 mL, more preferably 6 to 20 mL, most preferably 7 to 15 mL of alcoholic liquid.

[0072] The total internal volume of the first and second compartments preferably does not exceed 75 mL, more preferably falls within the range of 15 to 65 mL, and most preferably falls within the range of 20 to 60 mL.

[0073] The liquid beer concentrate and alcoholic liquid are preferably contained within the capsule in a weight ratio of 7:1 to 1:1, more preferably in a weight ratio of 6:1 to 1.2:1, and most preferably in a weight ratio of 5:1 to 1.5:1.

[0074] In a preferred embodiment, the alcoholic liquid contains 13 to 90% by weight of ethanol and 10 to 87% by weight of water, more preferably 25 to 85% by weight of ethanol and 15 to 75% by weight of water, and more preferably 40 to 82% by weight of ethanol and 18 to 60% by weight of water.

[0075] Preferably, water and ethanol together constitute 85 to 100% by weight of the alcoholic liquid, more preferably 90 to 100% by weight, and most preferably 95 to 100% by weight.

[0076] The alcoholic liquid preferably contains 30-2,000 mg / L of hop acids selected from iso-alpha acids, hydrogenated iso-alpha acids, fulvulcanized hops, and combinations thereof, with the ethanol and water together comprising at least 90% by weight of the alcoholic liquid. More preferably, the alcoholic liquid contains 50-1,800 mg / L, more preferably 100-1,500 mg / L, and most preferably 200-1,000 mg / L of hop acids.

[0077] The alcoholic liquid used in the capsules may suitably comprise ethanol obtained from the dealcoholization of alcoholic beer. Vacuum distillation is commonly used to remove alcohol from beer. The distillate thus obtained contains ethanol, water, and various volatile beer flavoring substances. Such a distillate may be advantageously utilized as the alcoholic liquid in the capsules, particularly if a liquid beer concentrate is produced from the dealcoholized beer. As used herein, the term "vacuum distillation" also encompasses "vacuum evaporation."

[0078] Thus, in a preferred embodiment, the alcoholic liquid comprises a distillate obtained by distillative dealcoholization of alcohol-containing beer, and most preferably, the alcoholic liquid consists of such a distillate or is an aqueous dilution of such a distillate.

[0079] Preferably, the alcoholic liquid contains 50 to 2,000 mg, more preferably 70 to 1,500 mg, even more preferably 90 to 1,200 mg, and most preferably 100 to 800 mg of ethyl acetate per kg of ethanol.

[0080] Preferably, the alcoholic liquid contains 5 to 200 mg, more preferably 7 to 150 mg, even more preferably 9 to 120 mg, and most preferably 10 to 80 mg of isoamyl acetate per kg of ethanol.

[0081] In a preferred embodiment, the alcoholic liquid contains 400 to 5,000 mg, more preferably 600 to 4,000 mg, even more preferably 700 to 3,500 mg, and most preferably 800 to 3,000 mg of amyl alcohol per kg of ethanol. As used herein, the term "amyl alcohol" refers to an alcohol of formula CH 12 Refers to alcohols containing O.

[0082] In another preferred embodiment, the alcoholic liquid contains 8 to 240 mg, more preferably 11 to 170 mg, even more preferably 13 to 140 mg, and most preferably 15 to 100 mg of phenylethyl alcohol per kg of ethanol.

[0083] Preferably, the alcoholic liquid contains 2 to 50 mg, more preferably 3 to 40 mg, even more preferably 3.5 to 32 mg, most preferably 4 to 25 mg of phenylethyl acetate per kg of ethanol.

[0084] Another aspect of the present invention relates to a method for preparing beer from a liquid beer concentrate according to the present invention, said method comprising the steps of: providing a liquid beer concentrate according to the invention; Diluting the liquid beer concentrate with carbonated water 3 to 10 times, preferably 3.5 to 8 times; Includes:

[0085] In a preferred embodiment, the liquid beer concentrate is provided by a single-serving capsule as described hereinabove, and the method comprises: introducing the single-serving capsule into a beverage preparation device; Discharging the liquid beer concentrate from the first compartment; releasing the alcoholic liquid from the second compartment; combining the discharged liquid beer concentrate, the discharged alcoholic liquid, water, and carbon dioxide to produce an alcoholic beer; Dispensing alcoholic beer Includes:

[0086] The release of the liquid beer concentrate and the alcoholic liquid can occur simultaneously or sequentially in any order.

[0087] The released liquid beer concentrate can also be combined with the released alcoholic liquid, water, and carbon dioxide in a variety of ways.

[0088] In a preferred embodiment, first water and carbon dioxide are mixed to produce carbonated water, which is then mixed with the released alcoholic liquid to produce an alcoholic, carbonated aqueous liquid, which is finally mixed with the released liquid beer concentrate.

[0089] In another preferred embodiment, first water and the released alcoholic liquid are mixed to produce a dilute alcoholic liquid, and then carbon dioxide is mixed to produce an alcoholic carbonated aqueous liquid, which is finally mixed with the released liquid beer concentrate.

[0090] In yet another preferred embodiment, water, carbon dioxide, and the released alcoholic liquid are mixed in a single step to produce an alcoholic carbonated aqueous liquid, which is then mixed with the released liquid beer concentrate.

[0091] Preferably, the carbonated water contains 1 to 8 g / L, more preferably 2 to 7 g / L, of dissolved carbon dioxide.

[0092] Another aspect of the present invention relates to the use of ascorbate for reducing the formation of off-flavors and / or haze in a liquid beer concentrate, wherein ascorbate is added to said liquid beer concentrate in an amount of 0.01 to 1.5 g / L.

[0093] The present invention is further illustrated by the following non-limiting examples. [Example]

[0094] Example 1 Beer concentrate was produced using freeze concentrate from a commercial lager beer (ABV 5%).

[0095] The beer concentrate so obtained was divided into three equal parts, and a small, equal amount of water or an aqueous solution of ascorbic acid was added to each part to obtain the ascorbic acid concentrations listed in Table 1.

[0096] [Table 1]

[0097] The beer concentrate and original beer were evaluated by an expert panel before and after storage for 1 month at 20° C. Immediately prior to evaluation, the beer concentrate was reconstituted by combining 60 mL of concentrate with carbonated water at a temperature of 0-4° C. to a final volume of 250 mL.

[0098] The original and reconstituted beers were rated on a scale of 5.5 to 7.0. The results of the panel evaluation are summarized in Table 2.

[0099] [Table 2]

[0100] Panelists noted that after one month of storage, Beer Concentrate A exhibited an off-flavor profile described as "aniseed."

[0101] Example 2 The experiment of Example 1 was repeated, except this time a different commercial beer was used. The results of the panel evaluation are summarized in Table 3.

[0102] [Table 3]

[0103] Panelists noted that after one month of storage, Beer Concentrate A exhibited an off-flavor profile described as "estery."

[0104] Example 3 A non-hopped lager (containing 5% ABV) was dealcoholized by vacuum distillation (Schmidt-Bretten, Bretten, Germany - feed: 5 hL / hr; steam mass flow: 100 kg / h; outlet pressure: 3.5 bar; vacuum setting: 90 mbar; outlet temperature: 3°C). The resulting dealcoholized beer had an ethanol content of 0.01% ABV.

[0105] The dealcoholized non-hopped lager was concentrated by nanofiltration using the following settings:

[0106] [Table A]

[0107] composition [ka] A (total length) = 1016mm B(ATD diameter)=100.3mm C (connection diameter) = 19.1mm D F (Core tube extension - feed side) = 26.7 mm D C (Core tube extension - concentrate side) = 26.7 mm

[0108] Maximum Operating Limits Pressure: 80bar ·Temperature: 28℃ Pressure drop: 0.7bar Feed flow: 3.6m 3 / h Chlorine concentration: <0.1 ppm Feed Water SDI (15 min): 5.0 Feed water turbidity: 1.0 NTU Feed water pH: 3.0 to 10.0 Maximum concentrate to permeate flow ratio for any element: 5:1

[0109] Filtration Run The circulation of the beer was achieved by a piston pump with a capacity of 1 m 3 / h with a maximum discharge pressure of 20-80 bar. The test unit was protected by an overpressure relief valve limited to approximately 30 bar and set at 40 bar.

[0110] The production of the initial permeate started at a pressure (osmotic pressure) of about 15 bar.

[0111] A total of 100 liters of beer was filtered, yielding 84.6 liters of permeate and 16.1 liters of liquid concentrate. As a result, the achieved concentration factor was 100 / 15.4 = 6.5.

[0112] The composition of the beer concentrate so obtained is shown in Table 4.

[0113] [Table 4]

[0114] The beer concentrate thus obtained is divided into two equal parts. A small and equal amount of water or an aqueous solution of ascorbic acid is added to each part to obtain the ascorbic acid concentrations listed in Table 5.

[0115] [Table 5]

[0116] The beer concentrate and original beer are evaluated by an expert panel before and after storage for 1 month at 20° C. Immediately prior to evaluation, the beer concentrate is reconstituted by combining 33 mL of concentrate with carbonated water at a temperature of 0-4° C. to a final volume of 200 mL.

[0117] Evaluation by an expert panel showed that beer concentrates containing added ascorbic acid were more stable than beer concentrates without added ascorbic acid.

[0118] Example 4 Beer concentrate (20% ABV) was produced using frozen concentrate from lager beer (7% ABV).

[0119] The beer concentrate thus obtained was divided into two equal parts: one part was spiked with ascorbic acid at a concentration of 1.0 g / L (beer concentrate 1), and the other part (beer concentrate A) served as a control.

[0120] Beers were prepared from these beer concentrates by combining 60 mL of concentrate with carbonated water at a temperature of 0-4° C. to a final volume of 250 mL. Reconstituted beers were prepared immediately after production of the beer concentrates, after storing the concentrates at 30° C. for 1 month and 3 months, and after storing them at 4° C. for 6 months.

[0121] The turbidity of the beer concentrate, the reconstituted beer, and the original beer (i.e., the beer before concentration) was measured. The turbidity of the reconstituted beer was measured immediately after reconstitution.

[0122] The turbidity was measured at a scattering angle of 90°, a temperature of 0° C., and a wavelength of 650 nm. The results are shown in Tables 6a and 6b.

[0123] [Table 6a]

[0124] [Table 6b]

[0125] Beers prepared from Concentrate A and Concentrate 1, as well as the original beer (i.e., the beer before concentration), were also evaluated by an expert panel before and after 3 months of storage at 30°C. The beers were rated on a scale of 5.5 to 7.0. The results of the panel evaluation are summarized in Table 7.

[0126] [Table 7]

Claims

1. A liquid beer concentrate having a water content of 25-90% by weight, a carbohydrate content of 5-50% by weight, a protein content of 1-6% by weight, and an ethanol content of 0-50% by weight, said liquid beer concentrate comprising 0.01-1.5 g / L of dissolved ascorbate.

2. 2. The liquid beer concentrate of claim 1, comprising 0.05 to 1.3 g / l of dissolved ascorbate.

3. 3. The liquid beer concentrate according to claim 1 or 2, wherein water, carbohydrates, proteins and ethanol together constitute at least 80% by weight of the liquid beer concentrate.

4. Liquid beer concentrate according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the riboflavin content of said liquid beer concentrate is preferably in the range of 250 to 3,000 μg / L.

5. 5. The liquid beer concentrate according to any one of claims 1 to 4, having an ethanol content of 0 to 1% ABV.

6. 6. The liquid beer concentrate of claim 5, wherein the liquid beer concentrate contains 0-20 mg / L of hop acids per gram dry matter, and the hop acids are selected from iso-alpha acids, hydrogenated iso-alpha acids, hulupon, and combinations thereof.

7. 5. The liquid beer concentrate according to any one of claims 1 to 4, having an ethanol content of 10 to 50% ABV.

8. 8. The liquid beer concentrate of claim 7, wherein the liquid beer concentrate contains 50 to 1,000 mg / L of hop acids per gram dry matter, and the hop acids are selected from iso-alpha acids, hydrogenated iso-alpha acids, hulupon, and combinations thereof.

9. A process for preparing a liquid beer concentrate according to any one of claims 1 to 8, comprising the steps of: -Prepare beer, - reducing the water content of the beer by membrane separation and / or freeze concentration to produce a liquid beer concentrate, wherein the membrane separation is selected from nanofiltration, reverse osmosis, and forward osmosis; - reducing the water content of the beer by membrane separation and / or freeze concentration to produce a liquid beer concentrate; Adding a source of ascorbate; The process includes:

10. 10. The process of claim 9, wherein the source of ascorbate comprises 50 to 100% by weight of ascorbate calculated on dry matter.

11. 11. The process according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the beer provided has an ethanol content of 0-1% ABV.

12. 12. The process of any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein the beer contains 0 to 20 μg / L of hop acids per gram dry matter, and the hop acids are selected from iso-alpha acids, hydrogenated iso-alpha acids, hulpon, and combinations thereof.

13. 10. A single-dose capsule comprising at least two compartments, including a first compartment and a second compartment, wherein the first compartment comprises a liquid beer concentrate according to any one of claims 1 to 9, and the second compartment comprises an alcoholic liquid, the alcoholic liquid containing at least 30% by weight of ethanol and no more than 65% by weight of water.

14. 1. A method of preparing a beverage, comprising: Providing a liquid beer concentrate according to any one of claims 1 to 9; - diluting the liquid beer concentrate 3 to 10 times with carbonated water; A method comprising:

15. 1. Use of ascorbate to reduce the formation of off-flavors and / or haze in a liquid beer concentrate, wherein ascorbate is added to said liquid beer concentrate in an amount of 0.01 to 1.5 g / L.

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