Raw Materials Flashcards
This deck acts as a study aid for the introduction to many of the commonly used raw materials for spirits production, as well as the basics of how those materials are prepared for distillation and production.
A- and B-sugar are unrefined sugars which are sometimes referred to as…
Brown sugar as a result of their appearance.
After starch in potatoes has been cooked and gelatinized, what happens?
The temperature is dropped to 64° C / 147° F and enzymes are added to convert the starch to fermentable sugar.
What is bagasse?
The fibrous plant material left over after sugar cane has been pressed.
Both the B-sugars and B-molasses have a higher level of what than the A-sugar and A-molasses?
Impurities
Describe the glucose to starch to glucose process:
- Starch is formed when the plant bonds together glucose molecules, releasing water.
- Starch molecules are rolled into tight granules and stored in a protein net.
- The protein net is broken up by enzymes or heat (modification).
- Heat is used to unravel the starch granules to make them soluble (gelatinisation).
- Enzymes and water react with the glucoses that make up starch, breaking the bonds holding them together (enzymatic hydrolysis).
Describe the process of kilning.
- Kilning is done to stop the growth of the grains
- It is achieved by raising the heat of the green malt with warm, dry air
Does clarification remove all of the impurities in the sugar cane juice?
No, this process continues into the refining process.
During what process are most varieties of malted barley created?
During the kilning process.
What are exogenous enzymes?
Supplemental enzymes not derived from grains.
Fermentable sugars are also known as what?
Simple carbohydrates.
From what plants do distillers mostly obtain fructans?
Various species of agave.
How are grains other than barley usually processed?
Other grains are typically milled and cooked in water before being mixed with malted barley or another source of enzymes.
How do animals help with the growth cycle of plants?
Animals eat the sugar-filled fruit and then disperse the seeds through their scat.
How do most plants store their energy?
In complex carbohydrates, which are sugars linked together in long trains.
How does a distiller view fermentable sugars?
As the energy source to fuel yeast and alcoholic fermentation.
How does the distiller manage the temperatures of cooking when using more than one kind of grain in a mash?
The grain with the highest gelatinization temperature is added first, the grain with the lowest gelatinization is added last, and the temperature is lowered during the cooking process.
How is spoilage of raw materials typically caused?
Fungi or bacteria render raw material unusable, especially if it has already been affected by other animals.
This can be difficult to control as there is no easy way to keep microorganisms away from exposed sugars.
How is starch conversion different for the distiller when comparing the use of grains to agave?
Distillers do not need to use enzymes with agave, they only need to cook the fructans.
How is sucrose different to glucose and fructose?
Glucose and fructose are made during photosynthesis, while sucrose is made by bonding a glucose and fructose molecule together (after photosynthesis).
This is important because yeast are single-cell organisms, and the larger the molecule of sugar present, the harder it will be for them to process.
In growing filamentous fungi, how is the fungal growth stopped once enough enzymes are created?
The raw material on which the fungi is growing is cooled and dried.
How is wort drained, initially?
Through the solids of the mash, and before sparging.
How is starch formed?
- Starch is formed in plant cells by bonding individual glucose molecules together.
- As each bond is formed a molecule of water is released.
How quickly can black grape pomace be distilled once it reaches the distillery?
Immediately
If a pina is not cooked, how else could it be processed?
The pina can be processed using a diffuser, which shreds it into small pieces and mixes it with hot water and sometimes a small amount of acid. This liquid is then cooked to create fermentable sugars.
In order to remove juice from fruit, what are the two typical steps used for processing?
- Fruit is crushed
- Fruit is pressed
Some fruits are not pressed before fermentation, and the pulp is included with the juice.
Name three styles of Asian distillates:
- Baiju
- Shochu
- Soju
Name two specific distilled products made from sugar cane juice:
Rhum Agricole and Cachaça
Name two types of complex carbohydrates that plants use to store energy.
Starch and fructans.
Once roots and shoots appear, why is it important to constantly turn the grains?
This stops the roots from becoming entangled and it also releases heat and keeps the grains at an even temperature.
Once the grains are cooked, how is the conversion of starch started?
The temperature is lowered to 64° C, and the malted barley is added.
What is a pan boiler?
Used in sugar and molasses production, a pan boiler is used in a simple three-stage process to create sugar crystals. Cane syrup is placed in the pan boiler, where it concentrates and forms into crystals (often under vacuum conditions).
What is photosynthesis?
The process by which plants make their own sugar from carbon dioxide and water, which is then used for energy to power the plant’s growth.
Rhum Agricole and Cachaça are made from what product?
Sugar cane juice.
Starch and fructans are what?
Molecules made up of long chains of sugars - AKA complex carbohydrates.
What are sugar seed crystals?
In the production of sugar and molasses, these are used to act as a point around which sucrose can crystallize.
The process by which plants make their own sugar from carbon dioxide and water - used for energy to power the plant’s growth.
Photosynthesis
The yield of what is maximized with the production of Distillers’ Malt?
Alcohol (by preserving all of the enzymes and starch).
Today, what will a distiller typically use to affect starch hydrolysis in potatoes?
Commercial enzymes.
True / False:
Any fruit can be used to produce a spirit.
True
At least in theory, as long as there is a usable quantity of sugar-rich juice.
True / False:
Black grape pomace contains some alcohol.
True
Because the skins are pressed after alcoholic ferment.
True / False:
There is alcohol in the pomace of white grapes.
False
Because white grapes are pressed prior to fermentation of alcohol, the pomace will not contain any resulting alcohol.
What are endogenous enzymes?
Enzymes that come from the plant itself.
What are needed to break up starch granules into individual glucose molecules?
Enzymes and water.
What are the four basic parts of a grain?
- Husk - hard outer covering
- Bran - made up of a number of different layers
- Germ - part of the grain that will grow into a new plant
- Endosperm - where the starch granules are stored
What are the names of the starch materials used to cultivate fungi and create a source of enzymes in China, Korea, and Japan?
- China - qu, which is a solid cake of material
- Korea - nuruk, also a solid cake
- Japan - koji, grown on an individual cereal grain or piece of potato
What are the stages involved in making a sugary liquid from barley, and what takes place in these stages?
- Malting, in which modification takes place.
- Milling and mashing, in which gelatinization and enzymatic hydrolysis occur.
What are the three fundamental stages of producing Asian distillates?
- A raw material, usually a grain, is steamed to gelatinize the starch.
- Fungi (or sometimes bacteria are used) are grown on a small amount of the starchy material, and they release amylase enzymes.
- This material, full of enzymes, is added to the raw material where modification and enzymatic hydrolysis take place.
What are the three most widely-used fruits for producing large-scale spirits?
- Grapes
- Apples
- Pears
What are the three types of simple sugars often found in fruits and sugar cane?
- Glucose
- Fructose
- Sucrose
What are the two countries most closely associated with spirits made from pomace?
Italy and France.
What are the two problem areas that a distiller may face when working with raw materials containing sugar?
Spoilage and oxidation.
What are the first two products that are created by the centrifuge in sugar production?
- A-sugar and
- A-molasses
With “A” implying the highest quality products with the fewest impurities.
What are the two things cooking grains achieves?
- Heat breaks up the protein net
- Gelatinisation of the starch granules
What are two ways in which distillers can avoid losing their raw materials, such as delicate fruit, to spoilage and oxidation?
- Process the raw materials as quickly as possible after harvesting
- Blanket the materials under inert gas, such as CO2
What are amylases?
Enzymes required to break up starch.
What are fructans?
Fructans are a group of complex carbohydrates that are mostly made up of fructose.
What aromas and flavors might you expect to get from A- and B-sugars?
Complex toffee and caramel.
What can American whiskey producers use that Scottish producers may not?
Exogenous enzymes.
What can be one cause of yield loss on raw materials, such as fruit or sugar cane?
Animals eating the material.
What can happen if you press grape skins too hard when extracting juice?
Can extract bitter, unpleasant flavors.
Therefore, there is often some juice and sugar left in the skins, and this can be used for fermentation into alcohol before distillation.