Impact of full-scale brewing processes on lager beer nitrogen compounds

Abstract

This paper analyses in a full-scale industrial process firstly the nitrogen compounds in all-malt and in maize-adjunct worts, then their fate during the main brewing steps and finally the influence on them of two different separation technologies: mash filter (Meura 2001) and lauter tun (Steinecker FVAS 26). Data showed that (1) maize-adjunct worts have a lower total nitrogen compounds than all-malt worts; (2) assimilable nitrogen represents 20–24% out of the total nitrogen in both all-malt and in adjunct worts; (3) free amino nitrogen nearly doubles in all-malt compared with adjunct worts; (4) proline and asparagine are the most abundant amino acids in both worts; (5) ammonium disappears during fermentation in wort with the lowest nitrogen content, i.e. in maize-adjunct wort. Moreover, the total nitrogen is reduced in all-malt by 80% with the Steinecker FVAS 26 lauter tun and 25% with the Meura 2001 filter, while in adjunct worts by 87% with the Steinecker FVAS 26 lauter tun and 29% with the Meura 2001 filter. After mash filtration, the content of assimilable nitrogen remains to be adequate for an efficient fermentation, but after lauter tun separation, the assimilable nitrogen reaches values that may compromise the regular fermentation process in both all-malt and adjunct worts. Therefore, when using lauter tun, we have to intervene to reduce its impact on nitrogen compounds and/or plan the wort nitrogen supplementation to overcome the stuck and sluggish fermentations.