Craft Beer QuarterlyPage 2Malt PagesSponsored by Cargill MaltAsk the Maltster: Tips on storing maltQ. I have been having intermittentproblems on my filter lately. Sometimes Ican get an entire run completed on a singlesetup, but other times I have to breakdown and restart to complete the run. Thefinished beer clarity also varies more thanI would like. I was wondering if the causeof my problems might be malt related?Any insights would be appreciated.A. The answer is maybe. Malt can contributeto both throughput and clarityissues, but there are also many non-relatedmalt factors that can have a similar impact.The true cause can be difficult to determine,but a little homework can probablyconfirm or deny malt as the problem.We’ll look at the throughput issue first.Throughput is usually limited by blindingthe filter bed. When the surface of thebed is overwhelmed by filtrate materials(yeast, haze components, etc.) it is possibleto bridge the porous surface of thebed and create an increasingly impermeablelayer. Eventually increasingbackpressure reduces throughput to thepoint where the filter bed has to be reestablishedor backwashed, dependingupon the type of filter being used.If the soluble protein of the malt isvery high this can contribute to theamount of chill haze proteins in the beer.If the beer is filtered at cold temperature,as it should be, these proteins will be insuspension and removed by the filter. Excessivechill haze could increase your backpressure as you are tying to remove morematerial. Your chance of blinding the bedis higher. The best way to combat this situationif you are using a DE filter is theincrease the dose rate of DE in order toaccommodate the higher load.Another negative contributor couldbe malt derived beta-glucan in the beer.Beta glucan increases the viscosity of beerand wort, In the same way that BG cannegatively influence runoff, it can alsomake filtration more difficult. Chances arethis is not the issue if your runoffs areclose to normal. The threshold for havinga very difficult runoff is significantly lowerthan the threshold for having trouble onthe filter. BG related filtration issues aremore relevant in larger breweries where vastquantities of high gravity beer are filteredare very high flowrates in a single run.While these two factors may influencefilter throughput, the vast majority of filterthroughput issues are yeast related. Avariable yeast load coming onto the filteris almost always the cause of unpredictablethroughput performance. If you havea microscope available you should be able‘La Chouffe Party’ detailsto establish a correlation if this indeed isthe case. In any event, you should use cellcounts of beer to be filtered as a basis foryour filter powder dosage rate.Protein issues can also be mitigated byjudicious use of kettle finings. An appropriatedose of kettle finings will enhancecold break formation and remove a significantquantity of haze sensitive proteinswhich will in turn make your filter runsmuch easier.As far as clarity is concerned chill haze(protein/polyphenol complexes) are usuallythe cause of variability. Since both ofthese compounds come from malt youcould say that malt is the cause. A slightmodification would be that the malt isthe cause in cases where the chill haze componentis excessive. Due to the nature ofmalt and beer there will always be chillhaze. The purpose of the filter is to removethis component. Proper filtrationtechniques make this possible. While filteroperation is beyond the scope of this answer,it is worth noting that filtering asclose to freezing as possible and maintainingthis temperature at all times throughthe filtration is absolutely critical. Allowingthe beer to warm up at any time willresolubilize the protein and allow it to bereintroduced to your beer.Again, good filtering practice can stillresult in clear beer with higher protein levelsbut at some point you have to determinewhat is acceptable. If you arebabysitting every filter run and your usingsignificantly more filter media andchillproofing aids there is a cost associatedwith this activity. If you can correlate thisto a significant increase in the total andmore specifically soluble protein in yourmalt, and you’ve ruled out other causalfactors, it’s time to give your maltster acall.In summary, there are many things thatcan affect filter performance. Yeast load isprobably the number one cause, but maltis also a contributor. Do some homework,read your malt analysis, and if you canmake a positive correlation between a parameterand performance make a call toyour maltster and see what they have tosay. Regardless of whether it is a malt issueor not, the call is sure to be an educationalexperience.Have questions about malt, barley orbrewing? Get them answered by our staffof Maltsers/Brewers. Just visit our web sitewww.specialtymalts.com and the Ask theMaltster section. We will post questions inCBQ.On May 29 th 2007, “Saint Pub,” inBaie St. Paul, Quebec played host to the“La Chouffe Party.” Baie St. Paul is located45 minutes past Quebec City onthe north shore of the St. Lawrence River,in the region known as the Charlevoix. Itis known for its beautiful rugged countrysideand in the winter, “Le Massif ” skiresort.The “La Chouffe” brewery from theArdennes region of Belgium with itsbrewmaster, Pierre Gobron, previousowner, Christian Baueraerts, and the Belgianwriter Ben Vinken, were invited for aday of brewing at the Saint Pub.Pierre was teamed up with NicolasMarrant, the resident brewer and togetherthey brewed a “Blanche” or Belgian WitBeer.This all started at 800 AM andthroughout the day brewers,homebrewers, and industry folk arrivedto watch (with beer in hand) the beer beingbrewed.For dinner, Allain Tremblay, the residentchef, with sous-chef Pascal Gravel andtheir dedicated entourage presented a authenticFrench, 5 course meal.All the courses were matched with eitherone of the 6 in-house beers or beerfrom “La chouffe.” The dessert was by farand away the “piece de Resistance” A realwork of art incorporating whole malt andwort into various desert forms.To break up the courses, Ben, thewriter got up and spoke of the history ofBlanche bier. One that has only startedrelatively recently. To keep the 5O or soguests amused everyone received a red “LaChouffe” elf hat which had to be wornduring dinner.This was all made possible by the passionshared by, Fred Tremblay and his wifeCaroline Bandulet who organized thisevent. The evening finished with time atthe pub’s bar enjoying the in house Belgianbeer.For more info, see:www.microbrasserie.com.Our next generation of Customer Service Reps continues to grow. We lastintroduced you to Westcoast CSR Kelly Bindl’s son Adam. We now introduceyou to Carter Krueger, son of CSR Brent Krueger. Congratulations Brent andAmy-Jo!
Craft Beer QuarterlyPage 3Malt PagesSponsored by Cargill MaltAC Andrew From Page 1yield lower protein levels. This is an ideal combinationfrom a farmer and brewer perspective.The farmers are more likely to grow a variety thatyields well, knowing their return is higher/acre and forbrewers, the lower protein can mean only one thing,higher extract and less time waiting for lautering to finish!AC Andrew was originally developed for the irrigatedfarms of South Western Alberta but has since beenadopted by farmers doing dry land farming in the SouthWestern Region as well. Andrew is a variety known assemi-dwarf, which means it isn’t a tall plant and has thewonderful characteristic of being lodge resistant, doesn’tfall over when the wind blows or rain comes down.So as maltsters, we have a decision to make amongstvarieties. There is only one way to do that and that is tobring in a shipment and do some small-scale trials. Maltingand Brewing trials showed AC Andrew to be thepreferred wheat for the desired beer character. This doesnot mean that other wheat varieties cannot be used, butweaknesses begin to show after malting. For example,when some of the Hard Red Spring varieties are malted,they showed generally a propensity to higher wort/beer· Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR)· Canada Prairie Spring White (CPSW)· Canada Western Amber Durum (CWAD)· Canada Western Extra Strong (CWES)· Canada Western Hard White Spring(CWHWS)· Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS)· Canada Western Red Winter(CWRW)· Canada Western Soft White Spring(CWSWS)colour due to the higher protein content. Higher proteinand lower extract may not be what some brewers arelooking for.Some highlights of its brewing characteristics are (basedon Congress wort analysis):AC AndrewExtract (Fine) 84%Protein12% d.b.Colour 2.50Diastatic Power 130-150Alpha Amylase 45-55Kolbach 45-50Viscosity 1.60-1.70Friability 65-75Beta-glucan 45-50Some of the more unique things to note in the maltinganalytics are: the high diastic power.This is a good attribute considering that traditionally,we relied on the malted barley for its diastatic power toensure proper starch conversion. If required, AC Andrewcan be utilized at a higher grist proportion. Theviscosity of 1.6-1.70 is a very good number.This is only 0.2 higher than the industry norm formalted barley, ensuring that difficulties with lauteringmalted wheat are minimized.For wheat malt the proteins are the dominant influenceon the flow characteristics as opposed to barley wherebeta glucan has the greater influence. AC Andrew showsvery low B-glucan numbers.Cargill’s Rocky Mountain Wheat Malt should definitelybe considered for producing an American wheatale, Bavarian Weissbier or any beer where a proportion ofwheat malt is required.References:Canadian Grain Commission:www.grainscanada.gc.caSecan technical Bulletin: www.secan.comPrairie Malt Ltd.: www.prairiemaltltd.comCargill Specialty Malt: www.specialtymalts.comThe Mondiale del La Biere is a taste of Europe, literallyFor the average North American Beerenthusiast, there are many festivals tochoose from. In the case of the Mondiale,it’s the closest feeling to being in Europewithout the long flight.The Mondiale is held at the HistoricWindsor train station right beside wherethe Habs play their Hockey. This year’sevent drew a number of breweries, big andsmall, from the area as well as some of themore common international beer companies.Also in attendance were cider, sausage,fudge and other artisanal type companieswhich allows you to break up the beertasting. In addition to visiting the beerbooths, one had the opportunity to sit inon talks on cooking with beer or listeningto guest brewers.From a beer perspective the Quebecbrewers reallyliketheir Belgian-stylebeers. Thefavouredbeer formost breweriesis aWitt beer(Blanche)with differentinterpretations.Thisis a greatplace to try this style.Medium-sized Craft Brewers will usuallyhave a standard Pilner type or Pale Ale(blonde) with an amber of differing styles.‘The Quebec brewers are not afraidto try new things. It is always a greatsurprise to see what they bring to thefestival. ’This is certainly not hop country so theemphasis is on malt.Most of the artisinal/craft brewers,with their passion toward Belgian stylesare not afraid of the high octane beers withbrewers trying out different interpretationsof Trippels and DubbelsThe Mondiale is also a good place totaste some non-traditional beers usingother ingredients. The Quebec brewers arenot afraid to try new things. It is always agreat surprise to see what they bring to thefestival.For next year’s event check outwww.festivalmondialbiere.qc.ca
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