The Disadvantages of Using Adjuncts Flashcards
What is a major downside of using adjuncts in brewing?
Reduction in nitrogenous material
Adjuncts typically do not add proteins, polypeptides, or amino acids, diluting those from malt.
What is free amino nitrogen (FAN) and why is it important?
FAN is required for yeast to grow new cells and ferment wort effectively.
Insufficient FAN can lead to slow fermentations and off-flavours.
What can be added to adjust FAN levels in brewing?
Yeast nutrient
This helps support desirable yeast performance.
How can excessive adjunct use affect foam stability?
It can cause poor foam stability due to insufficient proteins and polypeptides.
Higher adjunct use dilutes the proteins from malt.
What is the effect of high adjunct use on mash enzyme levels?
It can lead to insufficient enzyme activity to convert all starch.
Malted barley provides enough enzymes for 15-20% additional starch conversion.
What can be done to overcome insufficient enzyme activity in the mash?
Add additional commercially produced enzymes
These may contain small amounts of proteolytic enzymes that can harm foam potential.
What do adjuncts contribute to the color of beer?
Little or no color, except for colored sugars or caramel.
A reduction in wort nitrogen also means less color from the Maillard reaction.
How can a shortfall in beer color due to adjuncts be compensated?
By using colored malt extract or caramel.
This can be more cost-effective than using additional malt.
What is a requirement when processing some adjuncts?
Additional processing equipment may be necessary.
For example, a cereal cooker is needed for non-pregelatinised adjuncts.
What temperature are sugar syrups typically stored at?
60-70°C
This temperature is necessary for efficient pumping due to viscosity.
What safety hazard do flour and starch products present?
They are ideal fuels for explosions.
Proper management of flour handling facilities is essential to control this hazard.
What problems can arise during wort separation when using adjuncts?
Wort separation problems can occur due to lack of husks and increased viscosity.
Some adjuncts can also contribute small particles that block the filter bed.
What is a consequence of using adjuncts like wheat, rye, triticale, and oats?
They can substantially increase wort viscosity.
This affects the rate of wort recovery in the brewhouse.
What issue arises from the finely divided nature of flours and starches?
They are prone to fungal spoilage due to moisture absorption.
This is unlike whole grains or larger particles.
