Development of New Mash Filters for Craft Beer Brewing

Introduction. New innovative technologies make food industry more effective. The present paper introduces a new method of hopped wort production based on novel mash filters. Study objects and methods. The research featured two new designs of mash filters. The study of the mashing process involved malt, hops, drinking water, and beer wort. The research included generally accepted methods of physicochemical and sensory research. Results and discussion. Both models differed from the traditional design. Mash filter I had a cylindrical filtration vat at its bottom with filters in the lower and upper parts of the vat. A pump was installed on the outer side of the steam jacket to produce forced circulation of the liquid medium flow through the vat. The steam jacket was covered with Corundum Classic superfine liquid thermal insulation. Mash filter II had a filtration bottom made of perforated sheet and provided intensive liquid circulation. It also had a regulated mixer that moved the mash, which significantly improved the mashing process. After the mashing, the mash passed through the filtration bottom, separating the liquid phase from the solid phase. The crushed material was discharged through a hatch in bottom. The physicochemical and sensory profiles of the obtained beer wort and beer samples complied with State Standard 30060-93 “Beer. Methods for determination of organoleptic indices and product’s volume”. Mash filter II produced beer wort of higher quality and improved the sensory properties of the finished product. This model proved more effective in extracting proteins and digestible sugars during amylolysis due to a better mixing and circulation of liquid medium flow during the wort preparation. Conclusion. The new modified mash filter made it possible to reduce the brewing time by 28.6%. Not only was it more user friendly, but it also was less heat and electricity consuming. In addition, it reduced the production area as it combined the stages of mashing and filtering.