Beer Concentrate Ascorbate Stabilization Against Haze and Off-Flavors
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Liquid beer concentrates tend to develop haze and off-flavor notes during storage, with the specific compounds responsible for these issues not being well understood.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating 0.01-1.5 g/L of ascorbate into the beer concentrate to prevent or minimize haze and off-flavor formation, achieved through membrane separation and freeze concentration processes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If beer concentrate is produced by removing most of the water to achieve high concentration, then the benefits of producing beer from concentrate are realized, but the concentrate exhibits significant instability including haze formation and flavour changes during shelf-life
Solution Approach 1:
Ascorbate acts as an intermediary stabilizing agent in the beer concentrate. It prevents oxidation of beer components that would otherwise lead to haze formation and flavour degradation. The ascorbate sacrificially oxidizes instead of the beer constituents, maintaining concentrate stability during storage.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the chemical composition parameter of the concentrate by adding ascorbate (0.01-1.5 g/L). This parameter change fundamentally alters the oxidation behavior of the system, preventing the formation of harmful oxidation products that cause instability in highly concentrated beer products.
2Stability of the object's composition
If ascorbate is added to prevent haze and off-flavour formation, then the stability of the beer concentrate is improved, but the complexity of the concentrate composition increases
Solution Approach 1:
Ascorbate serves as a sacrificial, short-lived stabilizer that is added in small amounts (0.01-1.5 g/L). It performs its stabilizing function during storage and is gradually consumed through oxidation, providing effective protection without requiring complex formulation systems.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The addition of ascorbate stabilizes the beer concentrate, maintaining its quality by reducing haze and off-flavors, allowing for stable storage and reconstitution into high-quality beer.
Implementation Method 1
the development of haze and/or the aforementioned off-flavour notes can be prevented or at least minimised by adding a small amount of ascorbate to the beer concentrate
Implementation Method 2
reducing the water content of the beer by means of membrane separation
Implementation Method 3
reducing the water content of the beer by means of membrane separation and/or freeze concentration
Data Source
AI summary
A liquid beer concentrate is disclosed having a water content of 25-90 wt. %, a carbohydrate content of 5-50 wt. %, a protein content of 1-6 wt. % and an ethanol content of 0-50 wt. %, and comprising 0.01-1.5 g/L of dissolved ascorbate. It was discovered that the development of off-flavour notes and/or haze formation in the liquid beer concentrate can be prevented or at least minimised by adding a small amount of ascorbate.