Module 7: Alcoholic Beverages

Objective(s):
Learn how to set up a system of
biochemical reactions between substrate
and an organism and control decomposition
of the substrate and products formation.
• Alcoholic Beverages:
– They are flavoured solutions of ethanol derived from numerous substrates, such as grains (as
in beer), grapes and other fruits (as in wine) or any carbohydrate source (as in distilled spirits)
OR,
– any fermented liquor, such as wine, beer, or distilled spirits, that contains ethyl alcohol, or
ethanol (CH3CH2OH), as an intoxicating agent.
 Fermentation can be adapted to produce alcoholic beverages from fermentation of grains
fruits, berries, and such other ingredients as plant saps, tubers, honey, and milk, and
subsequent distillation (to reduce the original watery liquid to a liquid of much greater
alcoholic strength).
Fermentation is carried out by species of Saccharomyces, but in some cases yeast is
present naturally, as in grapes used in wine making.
Saccharomyces species are not capable of hydrolyzing polysaccharide materials; sugar
must be produced from starches (polysaccharide) in cereals by malting process.
The yeasts used in the manufacture of alcoholic beverages are strains of
Saccharomyces cerevisiae or Saccharomyces carlsbergenis.
Alcoholic beverage industries include distilled spirits, wine and brewing.
• Family of alcoholic beverages:
1. Beer:
-is the best-known member of the malt family of alcoholic beverages, which also includes ale, stout, porter, and malt
liquor. It is made from malt, corn, rice, and hops. Beers range in alcoholic content from about 2 percent to about 8
percent.
2. Wine:
- is made by fermenting the juices of grapes or other fruits such as apples (cider), cherries, berries, or plums.
– Winemaking begins with the harvest of the fruit,
– Fermatation of the juice in large vats under rigorous temperature control.
– When fermentation is complete, the mixture is filtered, aged, and bottled.
Natural, or unfortified, grape wines generally contain from 8 to 14 percent alcohol; Fortified wines, to which acohol or
brandy has been added, contain 18 to 21 percent alcohol;
3. Distilled spirits:
– making of distlled spirits begins with the mashes of grains, fruits, or other ingredients.
– The resultant fermented liquid is heated until the alcohol and flavourings vaporize and can be drawn off, cooled, and condensed
back into a liquid.
– Water remains behind and is discarded.
The concentrated liquid, called a distilled beverage, includes such liquors as whiskey, gin, vodka, rum, brandy, and
liqueurs, or cordials.
They range in alcoholic content usually from 40 to 50 percent, though higher or lower concentrations are found.
 Production process of Beer: Brewing
Chart:
Beer production involves three distinct but
interrelated malt steps:
1. Production of a soluble malt extract-(wort)
2. Fermentation
3. Finishing/packaging.
1. Wort production:
 Mashing -the mixing of warm water with ground malt (sugar-containing material),
with a suitable standing period 5-7days.
o Malt is prepared from barley grains by soaking or steeping the grain in water at 10-15.6oC and
allowing it to germinate at 15.6-21oC for 3-4days or more (7days); by this step, the enzyme
systems (amylases and proteases) are activated; the alpha-and beta-amylases break down the
barley’s endosperm to fermentable sugars; the proteases produce amino acids that will be
used by the yeast.
o The germination is then arrested by kilning (i.e. Using heat to dry the green malt from a
moisture content of about 45-4%); by this drying the enzymatic and chemical reactions are
stopped. The heating process produces some of the characteristics colors and flavours of beer.
o The dried malt can the be stored until needed.
o Drying is normally carried out on kilning floors made from perforated sheets (arranged in
layers to a height of 60-120cm by direct mixing of gases with the dried air).
 Extraction of wort –the aqueous extract (wort) is separated from the grain and
filtered; the spent grains can be sold as cattle feed.
 Boiling of wort with hops: The clarified wort is then boiled with hops ( ) in
a kettle for 1-1.5hours to give flavour to the beer; the boiling of the wort
with hops concentrates the liquid, sterilizes it, inactivates enzymes, extract
the hops solubles, precipitates protein, and caramelizes sugars.
 Liquid adjuncts, such as sugar solutions or corn syrup, may be added at
this time to increase the amount of fermentable sugar.
 Hops are dried blossoms of the female hop plant (humulus lupulus) and
contain a group compounds, called humulones or alpha-acids (show the
structure), which are very insoluble in water but undergo an isomerization
during the brewing processing to form isohumulones or iso-alpha-acids, which
accounts for most of the bitterness of beer. Hops extract also contain a small
amount of odorous oil compound, some of which survive into the finish beer,
resulting in the hoppy aroma of some beers.

Separation of aqueous wort: After boiling, the aqueous wort is separated from
the trub (precipitates and spent hops) by either filtration or whirlpool
separation. The wort is then cooled
2. Wine production:
3. Distilled spirits production:
 Fermentation of Alcohol
 During the fermentation process, carbohydrates are converted into
ethanol (with carbon dioxide as a by product).
 The carbohydrate is usually a sugar or a starch .The ethanol that is
produced during the fermentation process may have an alcohol
concentration of up to 14%.
 The fermentation process is carried out at quite low temperatures
using enzymes. It is the zymase enzymes that are present in the
yeast that actually catalyse the fermentation reactions.
 The reaction takes places at temperatures between 25◦C and 37◦C.
This is because zymase would begin to denature at temperatures
above 37◦C and it would therefore begin to lose its function and
efficiency, whereas at temperature bellow 25◦C the reaction would
be too slow. Zymase also stops functioning at an alcohol
concentration of above 14%.
fermentation: Any of many anaerobic
biochemical reactions in which an enzyme (or
several enzymes produced by a
microorganism) catalyses the conversion of
one substance into another; especially the
conversion (using yeast) of sugars to alcohol or
acetic acid with the evolution of carbon
dioxide.
• Process Overview
• Alcoholic beverages are divided into two groups,
depending on their mode of preparation:
– fermented beverages, such as wine and beer, and
– distilled beverages, such as whisky and brandy.
Liqueurs are basically prepared by blending juices or
extracts of fruits, nuts or other food products.
• The phases of activity in distilled spirits
production include receiving of grain, milling,
cooking, fermentation, distillation, storage,
blending and bottling (see figure 65.7).
Production flow chart for distilled spirits manufacturing
• The grain elevator receives and weighs incoming grains
and places them in the appropriate bins. Milling
consists of grinding the grains necessary for the mash
bill. The mash bill is the recipe for the fermentation
process.
• The cookers receive meal from the mill and slurries
with backslop, water and ammonia at a set pH (acidity)
and temperature. The starch is solubilized using steam-
jet cooking. Enzymes are added to break down starch
to smaller starch molecules, reducing mash viscosity.
The resulting mash is cooled to fermentation
temperature.
• The starch is solubilized using steam-jet cooking. Enzymes are added to break
down starch to smaller starch molecules, reducing mash viscosity. The resulting
mash is cooled to fermentation temperature.
• Fermentation is the process of converting sugars to alcohol and carbon dioxide by
the activities of yeast. Fermenters are cooled to optimum temperature conditions
for the yeast, since the reactions that take place are exothermic in nature.
Sanitation is important: the biological systems of fermentation are in constant
competition with unwanted bacteria that can produce undesirable flavour
components.
• Distillation type will depend on the spirit being produced. Pot stills are generally
used when a particular “character” is required for a product such as cognac and
scotches, whereas continuous multicolumn distillation is generally used to produce
more neutral spirits which can be used as blenders or neutral grain spirits.
• By-product recovery is a very important aspect of the operation of a modern
distillery. The residual (fermented and de-alcoholized) grain is rich in protein,
vitamins, fibre and fats, and it can be further processed into a valuable animal feed
supplement. These processes generally consist of centrifuging, evaporation, drying
and mixing.
• Whiskies, brandies and rums are aged (matured) in charred oak
barrels. Maturation takes place over a number of years to produce
the final characteristics that distinguish these products. Once these
products have been matured, they are blended and filtered and
then packaged as finished products for consumer use.
• The bottling room is separated from the rest of the facility,
protecting the product from any possible contaminants. The highly
automated filling operation requires monitoring for continuous
efficiency. Empty bottles are transported by conveyor to the filling
machines.
• Packaging is the final step prior to warehousing. This process has
become automated, although there is a fair amount of manual
packing, depending on size of bottle and type of packaging. The
packaged product then enters a palletizing machine, which
automatically stacks boxes on pallets, which are then removed by
fork-lift trucks to warehouses for storage.
 BREWING INDUSTRY

• Process Overview
• The grain used as the raw material is usually barley, but rye, maize, rice
and oatmeal are also employed. In the first stage the grain is malted,
either by causing it to germinate or by artificial means. This converts the
carbohydrates to dextrin and maltose, and these sugars are then extracted
from the grain by soaking in a mash tun (vat or cask) and then agitating in
a lauter tun. The resulting liquor, known as sweet wort, is then boiled in a
copper vessel with hops, which give a bitter flavour and helps to preserve
the beer. The hops are then separated from the wort and it is passed
through chillers into fermenting vessels where the yeast is added—a
process known as pitching—and the main process of converting sugar into
alcohol is carried out. (For discussion of fermentation see the chapter
Pharmaceutical industry.) The beer is then chilled to 0 °C, centrifuged and
filtered to clarify it; it is then ready for dispatch by keg, bottle, aluminium
can or bulk transport. Figure 65.8 is a flow chart of the brewing process.
Flow chart of the brewing process
• Carbon dioxide
• Carbon dioxide (CO2) is formed during fermentation and is present
in fermenting tuns, as well as vats and vessels that have contained
beer. Concentrations of 10%, even if breathed only for a short time,
produce unconsciousness, asphyxia and eventual death. Carbon
dioxide is heavier than air, and efficient ventilation with extraction
at a low height is essential in all fermentation chambers where
open vats are used. As the gas is imperceptible to the senses, there
should be an acoustic warning system which will operate
immediately if the ventilation system breaks down. Cleaning of
confined spaces presents serious hazards: the gas should be
dispelled by mobile ventilators before workers are permitted to
enter, safety belts and lifelines and respiratory protective
equipment of the self-contained or supplied-air type should be
available, and another worker should be posted outside for
supervision and rescue, if necessary.
• HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS
• Lance A. Ward
• Beverages, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, are normally produced
under strict sanitary guidelines set by governmental regulations. To
meet these guidelines, equipment within beverage plants is
constantly cleaned and disinfected with harsh cleaning agents. The
copious use of cleaning agents can, in itself, pose health problems
to the workers exposed to them in their job duties. Skin and eye
contact with the caustic cleansers can cause severe dermatitis.
Another concern is that inhalation of the fumes or spray produced
when using the cleansers may cause damage to the lungs, nose,
mouth or throat. Water or other liquids are commonly found in and
around production, making slips and falls a common injury and
causing many other injuries simply due to poor traction.