(A). Beer hazes-There are two types of beer hazes: temporary and permanent hazes.

Chill haze is

the most common type in beer; it is temporary in the sense that the haze appears on cooling the

beer, but disappears on warming. The greater the haze stability, the closer to 0 C the beer can be

brought before chill haze appears. Chill haze is formed by interactions between proteins and

polyphenols; the former are derived mostly from malt, whereas the latter come from both malt

and hops. Polyphenols (catechin family) and various oligomers are particularly active in forming

colloidal complexes with proteins from malted cereals, especially hordein (barley) and gliadin

(wheat). These proteins are rich in proline residues, which are disruptors thus forming random

coils in the proteins. Although these proteins are denatured during the early parts of the brewing

process, they will refold to some extent; never retrieving their native structures. The bonding

holding the complexes together is probably mostly weak hydrogen bonding that can be broken

at higher temperatures (25 C), thus explaining the disappearance of chill haze on raising the

temperature. However, chill haze appears to be a frequent precursor of permanent haze, the

transformation occurring over a period of time. It is possible that oxidation of units of

polyphenols, occurs to give o-benzoquinone units which can then react with amino acid residues

of proteins to give much stronger covalent bonds that cannot be broken by raising the

temperature by 20 C. Beers produced by low oxygen regimes suffer least from this problem.

Permanent hazes are essentially caused by brewing fault. All the haze types displayed here can

be avoided in the brewery by using hygienic brewing techniques, along with good quality

materials and in the absence of market abuse (rough handling, storage at high temperatures,

etc.).

(B) Adjuncts in beer- 2 kinds of adjuncts are used in brewing; in the sense that they can be solid

(mashable adjuncts) or liquid (kettle) adjuncts. Solid (mashable) adjuncts must firstly be

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gelatinized. Before added to the mash; mashable adjuncts must first be milled. These contain

starch hence it must be converted to sugar, providing substrate for yeast. This is accomplished by

gelatinization where - amylase can gain access to the granular starch molecules. A slurry

consisting of the adjunct and water is cooked (cooker), the starch granules start to adsorb water

and swell. They gradually lose their crystalline structure until they become large, gelfilled sacs

that tend to fill all of the available space and break with agitation and abrasion. Different

adjuncts have different gelatinization temperatures. It is impeccable (in some distilleries) that an

indirect proportionality exist between the slurry temperature of the adjunct (must be below

gelatinized temperature) and gelatinization temperature. This is done as to avoid frivolous belief

that the adjunct has been gelatinized which creates an impeccable layer of coating thereby

preventing penetration of enzymes to starch hence affecting conversion. Kettle adjuncts consist

of fermentable sugars (maltose). They contain the enzyme amylase and hence can convert their

own starch to sugar. These don not need to undergo mashing.Beta and alpha amylases directly

breaks down sugar hence kettle adjuncts do not need to be gelatinized; saccharification ensuses.

Some mashable adjuncts lack enzymes (eg. Rice and corn) whereas malted barley contains a

surplus of enzymes; stemming from malting process. Many distillers, however, go to the other

extreme and slurry at temperatures as high as 90C (190F). At these temperatures starch

gelatinizes almost immediately and with adequate agitation there is no increase in viscosity and

no loss of yield.

(C) Beer head- The foam in beer is generally considered to be the head on the top of the glass.

Beer head is formed from wort proteins, residual hops and yeast. Proteins consist of amino

groups which subsequently contain nitrogen which forms a constituent of beer heads.Mash ph

and temperature becomes important as these encoyage hydrophobic proteins. These aid in beer

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head formation. From hops a compound called isohumulone is found to affect beer heads in

terms of conferring stability to beer (head retention). In breweries 50% of bittering agent in hops

can be lost from boiling wort. Beers rich in bittering agents have good beer stability and hence

good head retention. This stems from iso acids in hops. The loss of hops from boiling sees many

breweries buying a pre isomerized hop product which stabilizes beer (3.5-5 ppm). Beers brewed

at high gravity tend to have poor foam performance. There are also other important visual effects

from the foam adhering to the side of the glass called Cling or Lacing. This effect is

particularly noticeable in beers, which form larger heads and have better foam performance. Beer

is a supersaturated solution of gas. In the case of lager this is carbon dioxide, but in the case of

ales may be a mixture of carbon dioxide and nitrogen gas. Bottle conditioned beers are

sometimes injected with nitrogen gas to influence beer head formation. When the beer is poured

out (either from a bottle or draught) the gas bubbles break out from solution and rise to the top of

the glass. As it pertains beer foam; 2 important parameters are considered, that is head formation

and head retention. The head formation is the ability of beer to form a head when poured. The

head retention is the ability of beer to retain a head once it has formed, after dispense. It is

necessary to have adequate head formation in order to ensure sufficient foam remains during the

consumption of the beer.

(D) Diacetyl in beers- Diacetyl is a compound responsible for butterscotch flavours that

sometimes arise in beers. An understanding of its mechanism, leading to its production can

control diacetyl levels in beer. Diacetyl and other vicinal diketones (VDK) are important

contributors to beer flavor and aroma. Its threshold in breweries ranges from 0.03mg/L-1.0mg/L.

Diacetyl is unstable in beers. For some beer styles diacetyl can be a desired flavor constituent;

eg. Belgian ales. Originally it was believed that diacetyl formed in beers was attributed to

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unsanitary brewery conditions. This was ruled out as even in sanitary conditions the flavor

compound oftentimes arose. J Owades pioneered a technique which highlighted yeast a being the

major frontrunner in diacetyl formation and reduction. Research later discovered aceotolactic

acid as being the precursor for diacetyl. Enzymatic reduction by yeast produces acetoin and

subsequently butanediol which does not impart added flavor or aroma to the beer. Some yeast

strains are not good reducers; hence high levels of diacetyl remains in beer (non-flocculent

yeast). Yeast cropping and subsequent reuse can trigger high levels of diacetyl. This is because

yeast becomes respiratory deficient and mutations arise which compromises yeast reduction.

Gram positive bacteria (Pediococci) and gram negative lactobacilli can elevate diacetyl levels.

Temperature also affects diacetyl production and reduction. Hence ales and lagers which have

different fermenting temperatures are affected. This leads to diacetyl rest in breweries. Diacetyl

reduction is high in ales than lagers. Wort deficient in valine and leucine leads to accelerated

diacetyl levels. Wort must have sufficient free amino nitrogen (FAN) for reduction of diacetyl

(ideally; 300-325mg/L).

(E) Malolactic fermentation of wines- preceding alcohol fermentation, some wines undergoes

secondary fermentation in the form of malolactic fermentation. The mechanism converts malic

acid to lactic acid. This process is de-acidifies wines. This is true for grapes produced in cooler

climates where due to soil terroir; wines in such regions are often acidic. Malolactic fermentation

is carried out by Oenococcuc oeni, Lactobacillus, Leuconostoc and Pediococci sp. These bacteria

impart stability to wine, enriching composition of wine aroma. Bacteria influence aroma through

metabolic activity and modification of aromas derived from grape (fruity aroma-esters, buttery

note and reduction of vegetative aroma). Enzymes hydrolyze flavor precursors thus attributing

aroma. Besides aroma, malolactic fermentation affects wine body and mouthfeel. For warmer

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regions, malolactic fermentation enhances organoleptic quality of the wine. Oak barrels are used

for malolactic fermentation of wine. Vanillin derived from oak is often used by lactic acid

bacteria to sub sequential aroma compounds. Acetaldehyde present in wine affects the

metabolism of lactic acid bacteria. O. oeni is responsible for reducing vegetative aromas and

conversely produces ethanol and acetate. The most significant feature of malolactic fermentation

is its capability to produce butter flavours in wine. These are VDK (vicinal diketones) such as

diacetyl, acetoin etc. Unlike beers, diacetyl formation is ideal. This is imparted from the

conglomerate of lactic acid bacteria. Pediococci and yeast present during fermentation. Such

actions of diacetyl provide wines with mouth feel. It was also highlighted from recent studies the

modal action of O. oeni to reduce methionine, hence contributing to beer flavor impacting

sulphur compounds.

(F) Maturation of rums- Ageing in wood is generally carried out in ex-Bourbon casks, their

singed interiors imparting both flavor congeners and an amber or dark brown color, depending

on the severity of singeing and on the resting time in cask. Most rum aged this way remains in

the casks for no more than five years, but a few (particularly some Demerara, Jamaica and

Martinique rums) are aged for longer periods up to around 20 years. Rum aged in stainless

steel vats (colourless) can impart colour by added caramel or dark rum.While the rums are

maturing in oak barrels, natural tannins in the wood are extracted yielding a rich brown cast

following aging. The alcohol in the rum acts as a solvent and attracts the tannins due to porosity

of the wood as well as esters imparting rich rum flavours; depending on the age of the spirit. This

is referred to as a cycle and depending on how long rum is aged, it can undergo many cycles

under maturation. On the other hand, any color acquired by a light rum during wood ageing can

be removed by filtration through charcoal. In general, casked spirits age more rapidly in

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subtropical climates than in cooler climates. They also lose a greater volume of liquid; around

10% per annum (angels share), as opposed to the 2% lost by Scotch whisky maturing in cask

in the cool, damp climate of Scotland. There are many differences in the concentrations of

certain components in the unaged white spirit and the cask-aged rums. In general, the aged rums

had higher levels of ethyl acetate, ethyl butanoate, ethyl isobutanoate, a number of other esters,

benzaldehyde and some terpenoids. On the other hand, sugar cane spirit have higher levels of

certain esters, some hydrocarbons, phenols and some edulans. Compounds normally associated

with wood ageing (e.g. acetals, certain lactones, phenols and terpenoids) are only present in the

aged rums.

(G) Blending rums- Distilleries with both pot and column stills have the advantage of

generating a number of rum marks. These are specific flavor profiles of rum. Due to pot stills

having high congers and esters generated from natural fermentation (heavy rum), different rum

marks are generated through blending. Column stills are pure hence lacking unwanted congeners

and hence flavours. Thus is becomes vital for blending different marks to achieve a desired rum.

Marks can be determined by GC or the natural sense of smell denoted Noses. Most aged rum is

destined for blends that are mostly medium bodied, consistent and whose bottles do not carry any

indication of age. However, there is a growing market for premium rums. Premium rums are

generally blends of spirits of different cask ages, whereupon the age of the youngest component

is stated on the bottle label, as for Scotch whisky. Premium rums, like fine Cognacs and malt

whiskies are meant to be sipped; they are usually medium to full bodied dark rums from Guyana,

Hati, Jamaica and the French West Indies, but premium rum is made elsewhere, notably

Barbados, Bermuda and the US Virgin Islands. A few rums from the French West Indies are even

vintage dated, like some Scotch malt whiskies. For rum, like most distilled beverages, the art of

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blending plays an important role in maintaining consistency of product character from year to

year. The blenders job is to ensure that consistency, which depends on the union of several

distillates (or marks) to strike the best balance in the final product. This depends on the age and

congener profile of the distillates available for blending. After ageing and blending, but before

bottling, cask-aged rum is chilled and then filtered to remove flocs formed by the precipitation of

fatty acids.

References-

T.W.G. Solomons. (1984). Organic Chemistry: John Wiley and Sons, New York.
Zalacain A, Marin J, Alonso G, Salinas M .(2007). Analysis of wine primary aroma
compounds by stir bar sorptive extraction. Talanta 71:16101615

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