| Abstract: | On the basis of results obtained in micro-brews four beers were produced on a 50 litre scale with 50% of the following adjunct materials: debranned sorghum, extruded debranned sorghum, corn starch and extruded corn starch. The extruded materials were processed in an infusion mash while the regular adjuncts were submitted to a preliminary boil, followed by a cooling step (to 45°C) and a subsequent infusion mash. The results indicate a normal fermentation in all cases, no impact of extrusion upon the colloidal stability and the colour of the resulting beers although the saccharification and filtration rates are seriously impaired during the production process inter alia due to the presence of intact starch granules in the extruded products. If these problems could be overcome, it seems perfectly possible to produce beers with high percentages of extruded adjuncts containing no nitrogeneous substances. Indeed, extrusion of debranned sorghum leads to the presence in beer of nitrogen containing compounds (e.g. alkylpyrazines) responsible for highly obnoxious flavours described by a professional taste panel as giving “artificial”, “coffee”, “burnt” or “caramel” odours. These negative flavour characteristics are absent in the beer produced with 50% of extruded corn starch. |
