Effect of wort boiling

 Effect of wort boiling

Wort boiling is a necessary part of beer brewing, and a series of changes will occur in the process, which has an important impact on the brewing process.

1. Contribute to the dissolution and transformation of hop components, as well as the formation and separation of protein-polyphenol complexes

Polyphenols from hops and malt are completely dissolved in the wort and bound to proteins. Proteins and polyphenols, as well as complexes of proteins and post-oxidized polyphenols, are insoluble when heated and precipitate in the form of coagulants (flocs) during boiling and should be separated from the wort as much as possible. If the boiling time is not enough, there will be residues in the wort, which will precipitate during the fermentation of beer, causing the beer to be cloudy. For nearly 20 years, we've spoken to thousands of breweries and brewmasters around the world. And helped many breweries set up their brewing system.

2. Kill microorganisms in wort

Wort is essentially a nutrient-rich sugar solution, which is an ideal environment for microorganisms to survive, and their growth will lead to spoilage of beer and affect the flavor.

3. Destroy enzymes in wort

Boiling will end the mashing process that converts starches into sugars. Perhaps it can be said that the most important function of wort cooking is to inhibit the activity of residual enzymes after the mashing process. Inhibition of enzyme activity maintains the desired sugar/mash ratio. If the enzyme-catalyzed process continues, it will produce a "thin" beer that tastes bad.

Evaporate water, make the sugar content reach the ideal range, and improve the color of wort. Wort evaporation of 10% to 15% has long been the hallmark of a good quality kettle. Today, evaporation intensity (i.e. total evaporation rate) is used instead. The formula is: = evaporated water / whole barrel of wort before boiling X 100%. The whole boiling process will last 1-2 hours. Steam heating equipment generally opens the side wall jacket and the bottom jacket at the same time from the beginning of heating to the boiling state to ensure that the boiling state is reached in the shortest time; in the continuous boiling stage, it is necessary to reduce or close the pressure of the side wall jacket. The bottom is continuously heated and boiled, which can achieve the effect of tumbling and speed up the mixing of auxiliary materials. At the same time, it prevents the material from drying out due to the high temperature of the side wall, which eventually leads to the problem that it is difficult to clean.

4. Promote the formation of partially reduced substances

During wort boiling, reducing substances such as melanoids are formed which can bind to the oxygen in the wort.

5. Reduce the content of some substances that are not conducive to beer flavor, such as dimethylsulfide (DMS)

DMS is a volatile sulfur compound with an unpleasant odor and taste that can affect the taste and flavor of beer. At the boiling temperature, the half-life of the DMS precursor SMM is about 40 minutes, and the dimethyl sulfide precursor can be decomposed into free dimethyl sulfide during the boiling process, which dissipates with the evaporation of water.

6. Other functions

Evaporate the excess water, make the mixed wort boil, evaporate, and concentrate to a specific concentration, destroy the activity of all enzymes, prevent the residual α-amylase from continuing to act, stabilize the composition of the wort, and eliminate the presence of α-amylase in the wort by boiling. All kinds of harmful microorganisms can ensure the quality of the final product, extract the active ingredients in the hops, endow the wort with a unique bitterness and aroma, and improve the biological and abiotic stability of the wort. Reduce the pH of the wort. When the wort is boiled, the calcium ions in the water react with the phosphate in the malt to reduce the pH of the wort, which is beneficial to the precipitation of globular proteins and the pH of the finished beer, which is beneficial to the biological and abiotic stability of beer. Sexual improvement is beneficial.

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