Z. JIANG (1), X. Liu (1), L. Thamm (2), Z. Yue (3), G. Zhou (3); (1) Yantai University, Yantai, China; (2) Ganter Brauerei, Freiburg, Germany; (3) Shandong Institute of Light Industry, Jinan, China

Poster

In this study, a novel approach to produce alcohol-free beer is described. The process mainly includes the following steps: specialized mashing, limited fermentation, and vacuum distillation to prepare the concentrated extract. Breweries can produce alcohol-free beer using the extract. Wort of 11.0°P, which had low levels of fermentable sugar, was prepared by infusion mashing. When the level of fermentable sugar was reduced by 25%, the fermented medium was quickly cooled from 18 to 0°C and held for 2 days. After being degassed and separated from yeast cells, the young beer was concentrated at the vacuum with a degree of 0.06 MPa. The concentrate of 60°P was diluted to 4.0°P with deoxygenated water and stored at 1°C. CO₂ was added to 6.0 g/L, followed by the addition of regular matured beer. The mixture was incubated for 2–3 days to develop normal beer aroma. Analysis of the prepared alcohol-free beer showed several favorable parameters, including alcohol level at 0.5% (vol/vol), color at 7.0 EBC, TBA (thiobarbituric acid) value at 1.05, and ratio of alcohols to esters at 1.08. Compared with traditional methods for alcohol-free beer production, this novel approach potentially constitutes a favorable alternative for producing alcohol-free beer with regular beer characteristics and satisfactory stability.

Zhumao Jiang, associate professor of food fermentation engineering, doubles as director of the Food Fermentation Engineering Survey Section in the School of Life Sciences of Yantai University. Zhumao got his bachelor’s degree in food engineering from Wuxi Institute of Light Industry (now Jiangnan University) in 1982, and worked in Huaiyin Industrial College (now Huaiyin Institute of Technology) teaching and researching food microbiology and brewing technology. Since 1995, he has been working in the Yantai University, Science and Engineering College of Chemistry and Biology, teaching and researching, in turn, fermentation technology and bioengineering equipment in bioengineering, fermented food technology, and food additives in food science and engineering. He is also a member of the China-Germany Brewing Technical Service Center, a permanent member of the Chinese Society for Microbiology, and a council member of the Chinese Institute of Food Science and Technology Branch on lactic acid bacteria.