Technical Session 17: Mashing Session
Simon Henke, TU München - Chair of Process Engineering of disperse Systems, Weihenstephan
Co-author(s): Jens Voigt and Karl Sommer, TU München, Chair of Process Engineering of Disperse Systems, Weihenstephan, Germany
ABSTRACT: During mashing the conversion of starch to
fermentable sugars is the most important result. Over the last decades
brewhouse technology and malt quality have improved substantially, so
mashing time is very short. Nevertheless the success of mashing is
controlled mainly after the mashing procedure by an iodine test or
laboratory analysis of the Congress wort. A proper in-line measurement
hasn’t been established. A procedural approach gives the opportunity to
control the mashing procedure in-line. The measurement parameter of the
presented method is the viscosity of the mash suspension. The viscosity
is a sensitive parameter that shows changes in the fluid phase of the
mash as well as in the disperse phase of the mash. A torque measurement
of the agitator in the mash tun provides the data to calculate
suspension viscosity. With this measurement and further knowledge about
the performance characteristic of the agitator, the development of mash
conversion is detectable. A thoroughly developed performance
characteristic is independent of the test suspension and only has to be
acquired once. This work gives detailed information about the
experimental way to set up the required power characteristic and the
resulting viscosity calculation. The presented procedure is possible for
every agitator system independent of its scale. Different experiments
were conducted varying the grinding parameters and water/grist ratio.
The influence of these parameters was monitored by the viscosity
measurements and is presented in this work. The gelatinization point, as
well as the saccharification of the mash, were detectable. So, the
measurement technique offers an easy way to better understand and
control mashing procedures.
Simon Henke graduated from
Technical University Munich in 2009 with an engineering degree in
brewing sciences and beverage technology. In 2010 he started his work at
the Chair of Process Engineering of Disperse Systems, TU Munich, as a
research associate. His fields of activity are mass transport phenomena
and procedural aspects of the mashing process. He is responsible for the
pilot plant brewery at the Chair of Process Engineering.
