Sweet Wort Production (Methods & Plant)

Question 1

What is a isothermal mashtun and what is it used for?(6)

Answer 1

Combined mashing in, conversion and wort separation vessel

They can only used well modified malt

No facility for mixing and heating

Isothermal (single temperature)

No heating jackets

Ideal for small operations, not particulary suitable for large batch productions

Question 2

What can happen if all the starch isn’t converted in the mash?

Answer 2

Washes out during sparging into the kettle where it can gelatinize and be carried through the brewing process to form hazes in the final product

Question 3

What is a cereal cooker?(5)

Answer 3

Decoction system

Used to boil mash of maize or rice

Enzymes which are stable and active at 80c plus (boiling)

Returned to MCV then to lauter

Can be avoided by adding pre-gelantinized maize or rice in the form of flakes, these can be put straight into a MCV

Question 4

What happens to the starch in the MT?

Answer 4

Broken down and converted to sugars

Question 5

What happens to proteins in the mash?

Answer 5

They are broken down into amino acids

Question 6

What is a hammer mill?(3)

Answer 6

Maybe used if the mash is to be separated in a mash filter

Here the filter bed is very thin and husk protection isnt neccessary

Produces a very fine grind giving good wetting, subsequently enzyme activation and rapid extraction of the sugars from thr particles

Question 7

To the eye what should the grist look like?

Answer 7

Large pieces of husk, small pieces of white grist and little flour

Question 8

What is a wet mill?(3)

Answer 8

May be used for lager production

Husk receives extra protection because it is steeped in water before milling proceeds

Typically these only have a single pair of rolls

Question 9

The less well modified the malt the finer it needs to be ground, and the faster the extraction process,the finer the malt has to be ground

TRUE or FALSE?

Answer 9

True

Question 10

Husk and other particles contain tannis and lipids which will make the beer unstable, reduce the head and go stale

TRUE or FALSE?

Answer 10

True

The purpose of wort separation is to separate the sugars in the wort and malt residues from the husks ect

Question 11

What is the cause of these problems?

• Run-off problems
• Excessive volumes of trub / high hazes
• Flavour problems
• Fermentation problems (e.g. due to smothered yeast in extreme circumstances)
• Variable yeast flocculation
• Poor filterability
• Potential shortening of shelf life due to haze formation

Answer 11

Due to high hazes in the wort

Question 12

What are 4 roll mills?(2)

Answer 12

Often used for well modified malts where starch is readily available

Adequate for mash tun operations

Question 13

What will unfermentable sugars do to the finshed beer?

Answer 13

These sugars will contribute to the desired mouthfeel of the finished beer

Question 14

Mineral salts, vitimins, lipids, fatty acids and amino acids all contribute to beer how?

Answer 14

Allow healthy yeast growth

Question 15

What will proteins in the wort do to the final product?

Answer 15

Help for foam

Question 16

What happens to the pH in the mash?

Answer 16

It drops

Question 17

What is a lauter tun and what is it used for?(3)

Answer 17

Converted mash is transferred from the MCV to the lauter tun

Will give good wort quality and extract recovery

Recirc the cloudy wort

Question 18

What is a mash conversion vessel (MCV) and what is it used for?(5)

Answer 18

Fitted with heating and stirring facilities

Can be mixed to ensure homogeneity

Less well modified malt can be used here because different temperature stands can be used

Has to be transferred to a lauter tun or mash filter for recovery of the wort

MCV may also be linked with a separate mash cooker, or cereal cooker

Question 19

What is a 6 roll mill?

Answer 19

Often used for milling less modified lager malts where the starch needs to be finely ground to allow rapid wetting in the mash vessel

Question 20

What does effective wort separation mean?(2)

Answer 20

Maximising extract recovery

Absence of particles and starch in the wort

Question 21

What is a 5 roll mill?

Answer 21

Very similar to a 6 roll mill

These are less commonly used than 6 roll mills, as there is little financial gain

Question 22

What is a mash filter and what is it used for?

Answer 22

Numerous plates and frames, which overall form a very large area of very thin beds

Rapid turnaround times and high extracts are achievable

Enable a very fast run-off of wort and effective sparging

Some filters have membranes built into the plates which allow the cake to be squeezed and thus obtain a slightly higher yield and drier cake than non-membrane pressess

A modern mash filter is a series of polypropylene filters

Question 23

What is a mash tun and what is it used for?

Answer 23

Acts as a conversion and wort separation vessel

Wort may be recycled on top of the mash until clear, to remove the fine solids but can blind the bed so usually not carried out

Filtration gives a very bright wort through a deep bed

Is slow and extract recovery is moderate

Question 24

What is a 2 roll mill?

Answer 24

Most commonly used by smaller brewers

The grist composition cannot be as accurately controlled compared to those produced by 4 or 6 roll mills

Question 25

What can spent grain be used for(2)?

Answer 25

Animal feed

Biofuel (dried using relatively high pressure belt presses and dried further using the hot exhaust from the furnaces)

Question 26

What is the purpose of milling?

Answer 26

To prepare the malt for mashing and start conversion