TOPIC:

It certainly is better for the environment not having to malt, that's not merely a claim. Malting requires a large energy input over several days followed by more demanding storage requirements.

Malting is not really a natural process. The only part that is natural is the barley beginning to germinate, but stopping that germination to keep the modified endosperm and kilning it to develop a range of different malts is not something that would happen without the intervention of maltsters.

You can't infer that these lab made chemicals are inherently bad simply because they are lab made. Consider how intensilvely yeast has been researched, and its impact on alcohol production improved, due to lab work. The enzymes which are lab produced are no different to any other enzymes. The only part I would be worried about is the effect on the finished product, but then again if the barley beers aren't good I know I can always choose malt beers. Nonetheless, interesting science.

"Con Con":h5yjh5if wrote: if the barley beers aren't good I know I can always choose malt beers. [/quote:h5yjh5if]
I'm gonna try some out later this month - I'll let you know. The Technical University of Denmark have a microbrewery producing barley beer (1000 L/month), in cooperation with Nørrebro Bryghus and Novozymes. My local branch of Danske Ølentusiaster are having a tour of the brewery and a tasting session. If you can read Danish (or use google translate), there's more about the project here: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="www.bryghus.dtu.dk/Samarbejdspartnere.aspx">www.bryghus.dtu.dk/Samarbejdspartnere.aspx

On the issue of natural or not...

"The enzymes supplied by Novozymes for the brewing industry are all produced by fermenting microorganisms."
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="www.ondeabrewing.com/en/enzyme/Pages/theenzymestory.aspx">www.ondeabrewing.com/en/enzyme/P ... story.aspx

&amp;quot;Con Con&amp;quot;:2p9fiwpz wrote: It certainly is better for the environment not having to malt, that's not merely a claim. Malting requires a large energy input over several days followed by more demanding storage requirements.

Malting is not really a natural process. The only part that is natural is the barley beginning to germinate, but stopping that germination to keep the modified endosperm and kilning it to develop a range of different malts is not something that would happen without the intervention of maltsters.

You can't infer that these lab made chemicals are inherently bad simply because they are lab made. Consider how intensilvely yeast has been researched, and its impact on alcohol production improved, due to lab work. The enzymes which are lab produced are no different to any other enzymes. The only part I would be worried about is the effect on the finished product, but then again if the barley beers aren't good I know I can always choose malt beers. Nonetheless, interesting science.[/quote:2p9fiwpz]

+1, i find it amusing that people get hung up about 'chemicals' (not that these enzymes even constitute that) when it comes to beermaking, they seem to lose sight of the fact that they are getting a microbe to produce a toxic chemical (ethanol) along with a coctail of other toxic and carcinogenic compounds <!-- s:lol: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_lol.gif" alt="" title="Laughing" /><!-- s:lol: -->

I dunno lads

All I see here is someone developing a product designed to further cheapen the mass production of beer by removing the malting process and replacing it with an additive produced in a chemical plant . They've tacked on the green credentials in a manner that totally omits their own processes carbon footprint , and included the malting processes carbon footprint . That makes me sceptical from the get go .


End result I see for the mass adoption of this technique is cheaper manufacturing process for macro brewers and a consequent increase in costs for micro / organic / traditional brewing because of maltings closing down and focusing more on speciality malt and less on base malt. Also the possibility of a furthering of the bland yellow beers over coloured varied beers , as this process works most on beer styles without adjuncts.

The process is still new and its use is likely to broaden over time; I've already heard of it being tested at vlb-berlin on a pale ale and it was successful. There is no reason that this style can't be used with adjuncts. I didn't manage to get anymore details about that particular beer as it was a fleeting converstaion I had with somebody who was enrolled at vlb recently.

As long as there is demand for malt it will be made. It's a bit early to worry about maltsters closing down and not producing base malts. I don't see many german/english/any craft breweries/distillers rushing to change their ways.

The green credentials are legit, producing the enzyme wouldn't come close to the amount of energy used in malting.

Maybe it will turn out to make only be used for bad yellow but people who enjoy their beer have their own market. You've got to at least give any new method of brewing a chance. Have you considered that it could make a really nice beer?

In the document that Con Con originally referred to, it says that the comparison of malt versus non-malt brewing does take into account the production and transport of the enzymes used.

And if it can save money for macro breweries, then maybe the rest of us can save as well. You just replace the base malt in your recipe with (cheaper) raw barley and add a few drops of enzyme when mashing. I also read somewhere that the extraction efficiency for the new process is slightly higher.

The bottom line is - what's the beer like? My first reaction on hearing about this was yeah it's probably just more cheap tasteless lager. But there's only one way to find out...

And some more quotes from Novozymes (I have no interests to declare here - I don't work for them)
[quote:dwpr3ofm]Enzymes - nature’s own catalysts - are found in all living matter, where they catalyze all the biochemical reactions that constitute life. All enzymes are proteins.
They can be obtained from plant, animal, or microbial sources[/quote:dwpr3ofm]
[quote:dwpr3ofm]As they come from natural systems, both the usable products and the waste of most enzymatic reactions are nontoxic and readily broken down. Industrial enzymes can be produced in an ecologically sound way where the waste sludge is recycled as fertilizer.[/quote:dwpr3ofm]