The Influence of Malt Properties on Efficiency and Quality in a Large-Scale Beer Wort Production Process

The aim of this study, as part of a collaboration between a malt house, a brewery, and a university, was to optimize the beer production process while simultaneously maintaining or even improving the quality of the beer and creating conditions for the optimization of the malting of barley grain. The Hurbanovo malt house provided 100 t of a specially prepared batch of malt for use in industrial-scale beer production at the Żywiec brewery (which produces 4.7 million hl annually). The malt, produced from barley variety Overture, was characterized by a higher extract and protein content and increased enzymatic activity. The test malt also demonstrated favorable properties such as higher friability, lower viscosity, and a two-fold shorter saccharification time. Four HGB worts were produced during production tests. Each brew used 21.5 tons of malt, yielding an average 1020 hl of wort, with an extract content of 15.5°Blg. The malt was milled in a two-roll wet mill with a capacity of 40 t per hour. Mash filtration took place in lauter tuns with a diameter of 12.4 m each. The produced worts were transferred into a fermentation tank with a capacity of 5500 hl, and then fermentation, maturation, and lagering processes were carried out. The tested batch of malt was examined in detail and compared with a standard malt blend from three different suppliers. The tests showed an increase in extract efficiency in the process, with a simultaneous reduction in extract losses (1.2%pt.). The filterability of the mash improved compared to the standard blend, and an improvement in wort quality was observed as a result of lower turbidity (by approximately 34%). The data obtained indicate an improvement in the process with the use of the specially prepared batch of malt.