Hi Tamar,
The difficulty in troubleshooting is that we never know the exact set up of a brewery and which options are practical or not.
But given the additional information, addition of the pectinase along with fruit during fermentation might be best, as stated in previous posts. The temperature is going to be warmer, which is good for the enzyme activity. There is active yeast, which will help to minimize concerns due to oxygen. There will be mixing in the tank due to fermentation. And there is the advantage of many days of contact between enzyme and pectin. Volatiles will be scrubbed from fermentation. That could be a positive or a negative.
Others may recommend enzyme addition in bright beer tank. It is cold, so this process will need more time and it needs mixing with the use of the carbonating stone or a pump.
If you treat the concentrate separately before addition to the beer, I would not warm it. If possible, it could also be treated in a mix tank with the pectinase before addition to the beer. Keep cold and mix gently to disperse the enzyme. Will probably need more than 1 hour. CO2 atmoshpere if possible.
For any option, test for pectin before going to the next step.
However, you also mention centrifuge instead of filter. It is known that beta-glucans can come out of solution due to the shear forces in a centrifuge. Was the previous beer filtered or separated with centrifuge when it was contract produced? If beta-glucans are the cause, then beta glucanase added to the mash will help.
Also, mannan from yeast are known to also cause haze when the beer is centrifuged. Again, due to shear forces. This does not seem to come up often, so I am guessing it is not the problem here either, especially since large chunks have formed in the beer you describe.
In any case, it would be worth the effort to examine the sediment under a microscope with use of appropriate staining techniques.
Here are links to two papers dealing with haze. The papers listed are open access.
Steiner et al (2010) Turbidity and Haze Formation in Beer –Insights and Overview
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/j.2050-0416.2010.tb00787.xSpeers et al (2003) Effects of β-Glucan, Shearing and Environmental Factors on the Turbidity of Wort and Beer
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/j.2050-0416.2003.tb00164.xGood luck and let us know how it turns out.
Andrew
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Andrew Fratianni, Dipl. Brew.
Sr. Enzyme Application Specialist
Brewing & Distilling Enzymes
IFF Health & Biosciences
andrew.j.fratianni@iff.com------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 08-25-2022 04:32
From: Tamar Banner
Subject: Orange juice and sediment
Sorry for the delay in my response on this. First, thank you very much to those who chimed in both on this thread and to me privately. All the information about orange juice and about maltodextrin that I received was very helpful and we're looking forward to our first batch with added pectin next month.
One follow up question -- the enzyme supplier said the enzyme is effective from 20-55c, and ideally at 50c. So that means we have to find a way to add it to the juice where we: heat the juice, add enzyme, mix for an hour, and then ideally settle out the pectin sediment before dosing it into the beer. I'm having trouble thinking of a way to do that without picking up a massive amount of dissolved oxygen. For reference we're talking about 300kg of OJ concentrate (going into roughly 8000 liters of beer). For those who have recommended pectinase, how do you keep the DO down, and do you know of one that's effective at colder temperatures?
Cheers,
Tamar
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Tamar Banner
Head Brewer
To Øl
Svinninge
45 31703340
Original Message:
Sent: 07-28-2022 15:45
From: Andrew Fratianni
Subject: Orange juice and sediment
Hi Tamar,
I don't think it is the maltodextrin added in the brewhouse. I would guess it is pectin in the fruit. It is coming out of solution as ethanol increases and pH decreases.
What you are doing is creating the pectin test with the beer. The pectin test is used to check for residual pectin and it is commonly used in the fruit juice industry. Those producers want to avoid the same.
The pectin test involves adding a few drops of fruit juice to acidified ethanol, which is usually made by adding a small amount of 0.5 N hydrochloric acid to ethanol. Any residual pectin added to the acidified ethanol will quickly come out of solution and is readily observed. Normally it floats, but it could also form a sediment over time. No pectin and the solution remains clear.
Since beer is a dilute acidic solution containing ethanol, any fruit containing pectin could very well give the same result when added to beer. Citrus fruits included. However, this reaction may happen at a slower rate, most likely after packaging, at your distributor, or on the retailer's shelf.
Sheer forces in the centrifuge may also contribute to this.
What to do? I recommend treating the fruit with pectinase before adding it to the fermenting beer. By treating only the fruit, there is less to treat, and you have better control over the process. Adding pectinase to your bright beer tank may not be effective. You may also be able to purchase fruit that has already been depectinized, but you will still need to confirm this with the pectin test.
Also, it is always advisable to have a look under the microscope. Spin down a sample on a benchtop centrifuge and have a look. A copy of "Beer Deposits" from Siebel Institute will be very helpful in both identification of particles and which stains to choose to help with identification.
Cheers,
------------------------------
Andrew Fratianni, Dipl. Brew.
Sr. Enzyme Application Specialist
Brewing & Distilling Enzymes
IFF Health & Biosciences
andrew.j.fratianni@iff.com
Original Message:
Sent: 07-26-2022 04:59
From: Tamar Banner
Subject: Orange juice and sediment
We make an orange gose that used to be made under contract with fruit added during fermentation.
When we started up our brewery with a tunnel pasteurizer, we made the decision to enhance the fruit flavor by adding the orange juice (concentrate) after fermentation. Because we have no way to pasteurize kegs, this made this a can-only product. So we made the decision to switch it back to the original recipe (fruit added during fermentation). We also made a couple small tweaks, including adding some maltodextrin in the brewhouse.
The first two batches after the switch looked fine when fresh, but then had significant separation with large chunks floating in the beer after 1-2 months of shelf life. As far as I know, we never saw this when we were adding the fruit after fermentation and pasteurizing. The beer is centrifuged but not filtered.
Does anyone have recommendations on what could be causing this sedimentation, only in the version where the fruit is added during fermentation? And what we might do to prevent it going forward?
Cheers,
Tamar Banner
To Øl Brewery
Svinninge, Denmark
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Tamar Banner
Head Brewer
To Øl
Svinninge
45 31703340
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