Low-Alcohol Beer Distillation for Aldehyde Flavor Balance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing low- or zero-alcohol beers suffer from overpowering worty flavors and sweetness due to high aldehyde levels and low alcohol content, leading to reduced drinkability and unbalanced taste.
Innovation Solution
A method involving distillation of restricted-fermentation beer to reduce specific aldehydes and ethanol content, optimizing the aldehyde-to-sugar ratio and flavor balance by incorporating ethanol and regular beer, enhancing drinkability and taste.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If de-alcoholisation is performed on regular beer to remove ethanol, then alcohol content is reduced, but flavor components are also lost resulting in flat flavor
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies selective extraction by using distillation to remove specific aldehydes (particularly 2-methylpropanal, 2-methylbutanal, and 3-methylbutanal) from the beer while preserving other flavor components. This selective removal addresses the flavor imbalance caused by de-alcoholisation without requiring complete flavor replacement.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the concentration parameters of specific compounds by adjusting the distillation conditions to achieve selective removal of aldehydes. By controlling the distillation process parameters, the patent optimizes the removal of unwanted aldehydes while maintaining desirable flavor compounds, thus restoring flavor balance.
2Quantity of substance
If restricted-fermentation is used to produce low-alcohol beer, then ethanol formation is limited, but aldehyde levels increase resulting in overpowering worty flavor
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful effect of high aldehyde content into a benefit by using distillation to selectively remove these aldehydes. The same distillation process that could potentially remove desirable flavors is optimized to specifically target and remove the harmful aldehydes while preserving other flavor components, thus turning a disadvantage into an advantage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs oxidation during the distillation process to accelerate the removal of aldehydes. By introducing oxidation conditions, the patent enhances the breakdown and removal of aldehyde compounds more effectively, reducing their concentration to acceptable levels while maintaining other flavor properties.
3Quantity of substance
If cold contact fermentation is used to produce zero-alcohol beer, then alcohol content is reduced to zero, but aldehyde quantity increases resulting in high sweetness and overpowering flavor
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies extraction through distillation to remove the excessive aldehydes produced during cold contact fermentation. By selectively extracting these aldehydes, the patent reduces the overpowering worty flavor and excessive sweetness while preserving the desirable flavor profile, thus achieving balanced zero-alcohol beer.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite flavor profile by combining the products of cold contact fermentation with controlled oxidation and distillation treatments. This composite approach integrates multiple processing steps to achieve a balanced flavor that neither cold contact fermentation alone nor simple de-alcoholisation can provide.
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 method results in a low- or zero-alcohol beer with reduced worty flavors and sweetness, achieving improved flavor balance and increased drinkability by minimizing overpowering tastes.
Implementation Method 1
subjecting the medium to a distillation step, thereby reducing the quantity of one or more aldehydes and thereby also reducing the ethanol content
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention discloses a method for preparing beer having an ethanol content of 0-1.0 vol. %, comprising providing a medium having an ethanol content of 0-20 vol. %, which medium comprises restricted-fermentation beer; subjecting said medium to a distillation step, thereby reducing the quantity of one or more aldehydes selected from the group consisting of 2-methyl-propanal, 2-methylbutanal, 3-methylbutanal, 3-methylthiopropionaldehyde, phenylacetaldehyde, hexanal, trans-2-nonenal, benzaldehyde and furfural in the medium, and thereby also reducing the ethanol content, if present, to a content in the range of 0-1.0 vol. %. The invention furthermore discloses beer obtained with the said process.