Sensory Analysis

One of the new classes that started back at the beginning of the second module was sensory analysis. Basically analyzing beer with... your senses. Simple. You are probably thinking something like, "Ha! I knew they were just there to drink beer in class!" However, we didn't dive into beer tasting right away. So far we have been doing alot of training of the four basic tastes - sweet, sour, bitter and salty - to get everybody on the same page. So what's the training?

On a typical day we would have a selection of 4 to 8 numbered cups of water with unknown concentrations of sucrose (sweet), citric acid (sour), caffeine (bitter) and salt... (salty). In the beginning it was just a matter of identifying which cup held which basic flavor but things got steadily more complex. By the third or fourth class we had two sets of 4 cups, each set with a basic taste, and had to them in order of concentration. This meant identifying the taste and then figuring out the order. But the HIGH concentration cup was at the LOWER threshold of what people normally can taste, so that's where it turns into training.

Unsuprisingly it was we Americans that had the most difficulty with bitterness. Everyone blames this on the IPAs we drink in the States with bitterness so high we can't tell the difference between mild bitterness levels anymore. Whatever the reason, it all tasted like water to me!

Today we had our first class where we actually had some beer. That doesn't mean we were tasting different beers though. We had two sets of three cups of beer. Each set had had an additional basic taste added. Two cups were at a low concentration and one cup had a higher concentration and we had to figure out which one was not like the others. One set had 1.5 g/L and 3 g/l sucrose while the other had 0.063 g/L and 0.125 g/L caffeine. Luckily we were told ahead of time for this one which set contained which basic flavor added to it. Still, it is ridiculously more difficult to taste basic flavor differences of tenths of a gram per liter in beer than it is in water.

Try it sometime. Grab a beer from the fridge and add a little bit of sugar to one and a little more to another and then try and figure out which is which (Or lemon juice or salt, etc.) I was getting better at tasting the bitterness difference in water but now that we have graduated to beer... not so good.

Of course the only way to improve is to do some sensory analysis... homework. On that note, why not crack open a beer and analyze away. Cheers!

IPA Update

Recipes were submitted today for the IPA brew coming up this weekend. For hops we have our choice of Columbus, Centennial, Cascade, Chinook, Mt. Hood and Willamette all in type 90 pellet form. For grains we have pilsner as a base malt and then roasted barley, carahell, caraamber, carared, munich I and munich II. The total grain bill will be 25kg and the total hops is up to us.

Our group is going to be using a mixture of cascade and chinook hops during the boil followed by some heavy dry hopping with centennial. As far as grain we opted for a mixture of pilsner, carared and munich I. This is going to be the first IPA brew for everyone in our group with the exception of Mike. I do remember a time that I brewed an IPA back home but that batch had some pretty nasty smelling contaminant in it after the primary fermentation and had to be put down.

In any case we are starting our brew saturday afternoon and probably won't finish until sometime after 10 at night so check back Sunday for an update. Cheers!

Back in Berlin

Okay finally back in Berlin after a week of traveling. We came back from Nürnberg last Wednesday which was probably the longest day of the whole trip or at least it seemed like it. But after only one day back in Berlin I left with some classmates for a weekend in Dublin seeing as how St. Patrick's day is this week.

In any case I am back now but swamped with a paper to write for chemical and technical analysis, classmates clamoring for copies of photos from the trip which I have to sort through, a recipe to formulate for the IPA we are brewing this weekend and of course some blogging. Unfortunately most of this has to come before I post some thoughts here for your reading. But fear not fair readers for I shall not abandon all... three of you... Hopefully by the end of the week I will have something for you detailing the congress in Nürnberg, reasons why you should get your passport stamped when you enter the EU so you don't get taken into the backroom of the airport in Berlin when you try to leave for Dublin and then maybe a bit about the upcoming brew this weekend in the pilot plant. I know it's an optimistic list of posts but we'll see how it goes. In the meantime, drink some water. It's been a long week. Cheers!

Off to Nürnberg

Today the class heads to Nuremberg for the 96th International Brewing and Engineering Congress. Along the way we are going to stop to see several breweries as well as Weyermann Malzfabrik, a stop I am looking forward to the most. Once in Nuremberg we will have two days of seminars on a variety of brewing subjects as well as visits to a few more breweries. In any case when I get back hopefully I will have a few stories and pictures to share. Cheers!

Brewing days 2-7

After the initial day of brewing each group sent a few people over to the fermentation room to take some measurements. First we took a sample from the fermenter as sterile as possible: we had to rinse the... ladle with water, spray it all over with ethanol and then burn off the ethanol with a torch. Then we took a small amount from our sample for a yeast count. Luckily instead of using a hemocytometer we used a handy machine that does it all for you. We also measured the pH and the filtered the sample so we could take an extract reading using a handheld reader. Other than those measurements we maintained the fermentation temperature at 9.6° C and that was that. Cheers!

Brewing Practical - Day 1

Well this last weekend we started our first practical work in the pilot brewery here at VLB. Unfortunately I don't have the hard numbers on things like the mash times/temps but I thought it would be better to get a post up about actually brewing sooner rather than later. This is, after all, supposed to be a blog about brewing school in Germany.

As with the malting practical work the class was split up into four groups. Each group was going to brew a batch of 150 liters (~39 gallons) using varying combinations of barley and pilsner malt. At the end of the project all of the different beers will be analyzed in the central lab here at VLB and we will each write a report covering the influences and consequences of the use of barley as an adjunct. Originally the plan was to have one group brew 100% malt, the two middle groups to brew with 50% barley and 20% barley and the last group to brew with 100% barley. To make up for the use of barley, the groups with the higher barley content were going to add enzymes during the mash (Glucanase, peptidase and α-amylase). But as can happen, plans changed. The percentage of barley in the three grist loads was reduced to under 20% so that we would not be needing enzymes but could still examine the influence of using barley as an adjunct.

We were the second group of the day with the brewing expected to last from 2pm until 10pm (Reminds me of Midnight Brewing...). When we got there the group before us was still there and just starting their boil. It didn't bode well for our leaving by 10. The seven of us trekked down to the malt storage area for our grains and the mill. In a classic scenario the malt had been almost totally emptied out of the first few cans but not completely. There was just enough in the bottom that it couldn't be written off as empty but rather could be a great pain to get at with a hand scoop. I did actually try to get one scoop but... couldn't reach. In any case, we used something like 15% barley out of our total grist load of 25kg (55 lbs). The barley had to be milled several times to give us a finer grist that the enzymes from the malt could get at. On a side note the mill was a two roller type which we set at a distance of 1.7mm for the malt.

This is the point where I would probably put a picture of the whole pilot plant up. Maybe I would point out all the different parts. You would ooh, you would aah, it would be great. But I forgot. Yep took something like 100 photos. Not a one of the whole plant. Oops.

So we loaded up our mash tun which was already stirring and heated to our mash in temp. The pilot plant is largely automated from a computer station controlling temperatures, stir speed, valves, etc. Since the computer seemed to be up to the task of keeping things going we decided it was time for pizza and a beer. After all brewing is hard work and you need a supply of fluids if you don't want to get dehydrated. Near the end of the mash we took a sample and a reading of the pH to be sure all the brews were standardized.

After the mash was finished (sorry don't have the times or temps in front of me) the computer kindly pumped the malt over to the lautertun. We had a bit more to do at this point. Every 10 minutes we took a sample of the runoff that was being pumped from under the false bottom to measure the extract. Sensors in the line were also taking readings of turbidity. It was simple enough. Take a sample from the port, slowly so as not to disturb the sensor that was hooked to the pump sending the runoff to the kettle. Then you had to pour the sample into a double walled cylinder. This thing was made completely of metal and not the light kind either. The wort sat in the inner cylinder and cold water from the sink was run through the outer cylinder to cool it as we vigorously mixed the wort with what I think is a recent advance in brewing technology: a screen on a stick. Okay it was more like a metal screen on a metal stick which wasn't really so much a stick as a thick wire that was designed for mixing wort in the cylinder. Really. Anyway my lack of imagination aside, you mixed until the wort temp hit 20 then transferred it to a glass cylinder to take a hydrometer reading. Same as homebrewing except a bigger hydrometer. But you know what they say.

As sparging was finishing up we measured out our hop extract into a cup. It was like using a knife to get honey out of a can and get it all into a small metal cup. Anyway after measuring out enough exctract we dropped it in the hop... infuser... box... thing. Hot wort is pumped through it during the boil to get the hop extract into the kettle. In the picture the cup is sitting upside down on top of a nozzle that sprays the hot wort out of the sides.

Speaking of hops, have you ever tried eating hop pellets (if you haven't you should)? I mean they are bitter right but not so bitter that you have to spit them out (or do you?). Hop extract is waaaay more bitter. I don't say this from experience but we did hear a story about a student in one of the past Russian courses that made some boast or another about hops not being so bitter or some such. Apparently Russian beers are not big on bitterness by the way. Anyway someone gave him hop pellets, okay no problem. Then someone gave him extract. He put just a little bit on the tip of his tongue... aaaaand vomited all over the sink. Sounds bitter. I am curious. It's like when someone leaves a sign that says wet paint. Is that paint really wet? Maybe the sign is lying to you. Maybe you should touch it just to see. I mean I know extract is really bitter. That story clearly shows it really is bitter. But... is it? There is only one way to really find out. Mike found out.

Anyway back to the story. We boiled for 60 minutes with the only hop addition at the beginning of the boil. The kettle system used here utilized an external boiler. The wort is pumped out of the kettle to the boiler before circulating back to the kettle. Like I said previously the hot wort is also circulated through the hop extract. Just before the end of the boil we took a reading of the original gravity to be sure we were in our target range for fermentation, I think it was around 11.5%. After the boil we ran the wort in the whirlpool for 20 minutes to let everything collect in the middle and then took samples from the wort as it was pumped to the wort chiller. The sampling was a two person job with one person on the valve at one end of the hose and the other person holding the oversized nozzle (I think it was for keg filling) over an undersized bottle. It kind of seemed like a recipe for Qi to get burned. But, I didn't hear any screaming or even loud swearing so I guess it went okay. So the wort was pumped through a plate chiller where it was cooled to 11° C before making its way to our open fermentation tanks. We pitched the yeast and the day was done by 10:30pm. Not quite to Midnight Brewing standards of lateness but we came close.

It was a long day but alot of fun to finally brew, especially on a scale I have never had before as a homebrewer. Trust me I was trying to decide if I could fit a setup like this in my garage.. or living room... or maybe it's own section of the house. It got me thinking again about which direction to expand my homebrewing equipment in. Pumps? Automation? An actual metal stand with separate kettle, mash tun, burners, fittings, piping, thermometers, etc? There is something to be said for systems like brew-magic but then again what is homebrewing without getting your hands dirty?

In any case, that was day 1. Since day 1 was actually 3 days ago I will post something quick about the daily stuff tomorrow. On that note, why not pop open a beer for yourself and dream of installing a nice big pilot plant in your garage. Cheers!

Post-Studyathon

Well readers, exams are over. In fact they were over last week but once again I put off posting to the blog. In any case the whole class did well on the Barley, Hops and Energy and Utilities exam. Some people (maybe a certain blogger) not so well on the Malting Technology. I have to say though Malting Technology was a lot of information. There were pH optimums and temperature optimums of enzymes; consequences of various alterations to steeping degree, withering time, withering temperature, kilning time and temperature; molecular composition of the various components of barley (cell wall, starch, etc.); processes for production of various kinds of malt; the list goes on. It sounds daunting and believe me it was. Okay sometimes studying the temperature optima of enzymes is a little boring BUT in the end to understand the reasoning behind all of the adjustments to time and temperature in malt production not to mention what a maltster can do with varying quality in barley to still make a consistent malt. More on malt analysis in the practical work later.

I think the majority of the class doing well really speaks to the quality of the teachers here. I came from a science background so I am used to all of the chemistry and biology jargon of enzymes and molecules and such, but I can't say that everyone in the class was used to it. Yet we all did well which shows how well the teachers can bring everyone up to speed. All brown nosing aside if there is anyone out there reading this that is considering the course but is worrying about how technical it can sound, I wouldn't worry.

On another note some of us decided to go to Köln this last weekend to check out carnival. One word: Awesome. Even though we didn't go at the high points of the festival (Thursday and Monday I think) it was still a lot of fun especially after taking exams. Eight of us rented a van and drove the six hours to Köln friday. We were treated to a private brewery tour at Erzquell Brauerei Bielstein, makers of Zunft Kölsch, courtesy of my classmate Dieter. It is only the second brewery I have seen in Germany and the first was a brewpub so I really don't have a basis of comparison but it was bigger than most craft breweries I have seen in the US but not to the scale of one of the major plants. In any case we had some beer, looked at a lot of the "behind the scenes" stuff you don't normally see in a brewery tour like walking down onto the bottling plant floor (Though it was at something like 9pm so no one was there...) and generally had a good time. When Saturday rolled around it was time for a hearty breakfast (You need a good base in your stomach for a festival like this) and then off to Köln.

One thing I should mention here is that the van we had rented, which I liked to call Supervan (R.I.P.), suffered some minor.. damage. When we picked up the spacious Fiat, that was most definitely a converted cargo van, we noticed a big big dent in the top. But hey the van ran fine and it got us to where we needed to go, well almost. Apparently when the rental company ran the van into the low ceiling of their garage not only did it leave a dent but threw off the alignment of all the paneling all the way to the back of the van juuuust enough to stress that back side window a bit. Only a bit. But it was enough that when we stopped for gas as we were nearing Dieter's flat outside Köln and someone closed the door the window... gave up... and shattered... into a billion pieces. On the upside it was safety glass so the window stayed in (for awhile) but was covered in a spiderweb of cracks. Oh and did I mention the door wouldn't close now either? So from this point on we had to drive with someone holding the door closed (More on this in a bit). The window lasted for a bit until it started to spontaneously shatter further, blowing glass all over the inside of the van and the people sitting in the back. This wasn't all at once either. We would be driving and every few minutes you would hear another CRACK and CRASH as more glass exploded inwards. Fun times. Seriously.

Jump forward to the drive from Dieter's flat to Köln on Saturday. It's about a 40km drive and remember the door doesn't close. So someone had to hold the door almost closed the whole 40km as we hit speeds of 140kph+. I say almost closed because the door couldn't close all the way and we were left with a gap of about 5 inches. Poor Marcello holding the door closed at 140kph while the near zero air outside whipped through that gap right over his hand on the handle. He was a trooper though and made it the whole way. Once in Köln we swapped the van for a new smaller and less cool one and one of Dieter's friends drove it back.

To sum up the Carnival: there were a lot of people, a lot of costumes, a lot of Kölsch, and a lot of wandering Köln. Google Carnival and Köln and take a look. Though we started in this one square where there was music and a parade of sorts, we wandered to the Hohe Domkirche St. Peter and Maria in the afternoon and then to a big tent party. There must have been around 5000 people in there with beer served in tall tubes each their own tap and a stage for Carnival music. All in all a fun day/night and everyone survived to head back to VLB for class on Monday. I cut it short here because I can't think how to describe all of Carnival and not take up pages that you will surely get tired of reading. If you are in Germany during Carnival I highly recommend you travel to Köln.

Well that's the update for now readers. Check back later as we are doing a practical brewing this weekend in the pilot plant and I will try to put up a few short posts as the project moves from Day 0 on Saturday to Day End on... some other day later than saturday... In any case why not kick back and crack open a Zunft Kölsch. Cheers!