Patent Application
20080044530
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a method of making a haze-free non-alcoholic malt beverage is provided. As used herein, the term “haze-free” means having a clear, sediment-free appearance to the naked eye. In particular, a “haze-free beverage” is a beverage that has a pH value less than the isoelectric point of the chill haze producing proteins in the malt solution, or a pH value of less than 4.2.
Generally, a malt solution can be made in a suitable container or vessel, which may be a sedimentation tank. The solution is created by mixing water, coagulant and malt extract. The water is preferably preheated to a desired temperature which may be from about 70° F. to about 170° F., preferably about 80° F. to about 135° F., more preferably about 90° F. to about 100° F., for example. After the water is added, a coagulant is added, which may be mixed into the malt solution under high shear mixing conditions. Any suitable coagulant that can bind with protein in an acidic solution may be used. A preferred coagulant is carrageenan. A preferred carrageenan includes kappa carrageenan. K100 Carrageenan from CP Kelco is a suitable coagulant for use in accordance with the invention.
Optionally, a preservative can be added to achieve the full benefit of the invention. The preservative includes a sorbate salt, a benzoate salt, sorbic acid, benzoic acid of mixtures thereof. The preservative is added in an amount so that the amount of preservative in the finished beverage is less than or equal to about 1,000 mg/l. Preferably, the preservative, if present, is added before the malt extract. Next malt extract is added to the tank. The malt extract added is preferably added in an amount to form a malt solution containing from about 10% to about 40% of malt sugars from malt extract on a weight by volume of solution basis. More preferably, the concentration of malt sugars is from about 12% to about 21%, for example, 15%, on a weight by volume of solution basis.
An acidulant is preferably added to adjust the pH of the malt solution to about 4.0 or less. The acidulant is preferably added after the preservative is added. In particular, any preservative used that is not soluble in an acidic medium, such as benzoate, must be completely dissolved before any acidulant is added. Substantially all the acidulant desired for making the final malt beverage can be added at this time. Any suitable food grade acidulant may be used including citric acid, malic acid, phosphoric acid, lactic acid and mixtures thereof. A pH between about 2.3 and about 2.8 in the malt solution is particularly suitable.
Alternatively, and depending on the coagulant, the pH can be adjusted subsequently or as desired or needed to promote protein coagulation.
In accordance with the invention, the making of the malt solution described above results in sufficient removal of protein from the malt to produce a haze-free or a substantially haze-free beverage. Also, the malt extract may be one that is purchased commercially as a concentrate or it may be freshly extracted from malt and be relatively dilute compared to the commercial concentrate, for example.
The protein is coagulated with the malt extract in the malt solution by the coagulant. Coagulation can be achieved and enhanced by various treatments and conditions. Generally, the malt solution is held within the previously described temperature ranges for about 30 minutes to about 12 hours. It is not necessary or generally desirable to boil the malt solution or to chill it below about 41° F. to coagulate and remove the protein. To enhance coagulation, the solution may be mixed under low shear for a desired period of time, which may be for about 1 hour. The coagulated protein may be removed from the malt solution by any suitable procedure, including, for example, by settling out the coagulated proteins and decanting the solution. Alternatively, the coagulated protein may be removed by a physical process, which may be by filtration or centrifugation, for example. The clarified solution can be further processed to produce a haze-free malt beverage.
In particular, the malt solution may be concentrated to a brix of about 70-85% to form a concentrate which can be dried to form a dry beverage mix for later reconstitution. The malt solution can be diluted and other ingredients added as desired, including flavors, preservatives and colorants, for example. In addition, the resulting malt beverage may be pasteurized or distributed under refrigeration.
However, to fully achieve the benefits of the invention, typically the malt beverage is rendered shelf stable as will be described below. Additional acidulants of a desired type may be added, preferably to achieve a pH of from about 2.5 to about 4.0 in the final beverage. The beverage is typically carbonated with more than about 1.5 volumes of carbon dioxide per volume of finished beverage and more than about 1.8 volumes of carbon dioxide per volume of finished beverage when the finished beverage has a hardness as CaCO3 in excess of about 25 mg/l. The beverage may be carbonated by the addition of carbonated dilution water during bottling or by direct carbonation of the malt beverage. Other additional ingredients may be added as will be described later.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a shelf-stable, substantially haze-free beverage is provided. The beverage has a pH in the range of from about 2.5 to about 4.0, a chemical preservative, carbon dioxide and malt extract. The chemical preservative may be a chemical preservative selected from a sorbate salt, a benzoate salt, sorbic acid, benzoic acid or mixtures thereof in an amount less than about 1,000 mg/l. Preferably, the finished beverage contains about 100 to about 600 mg/l of a benzoate salt or benzoic acid and about 50 to about 400 mg/l of sorbate salt or sorbic acid. A sodium or potassium benzoate salt and a sodium sorbate salt are the preferred added preservatives.
Preferably, the carbon dioxide is present in the beverage in excess of about 1.5 volumes per volume of beverage and in excess of about 1.8 volumes when the hardness of the beverage as calcium carbonate exceeds about 25 mg/l.
Any suitable malt extract may be used. The malt extract may be extracted from any kind of malt or combinations of malt; the selection of malts is dependent on the desired taste. Caramel malts are generally desirable because they provide a caramel flavor. The malt extract may have enzymatic activity or not, as desired.
No other preservatives, are necessary. However, known preservatives such as tannic acid, cinnamic acid, dialkyl dicarbonates, natamycin, nisin, polyphosphate, parabens, proprionic acid, proprionate salts and EDTA may be included in the beverage composition for other purposes.
In an added-calorie or in a full-calorie embodiment of the beverage, the finished malt beverage may contain added nutritive sweeteners, as desired, such as fructose, glucose, sucrose and mixtures thereof, for example, including high fructose corn syrup (HFCS-42 or HFCS-55) and medium invert sugar. The full-calorie embodiment preferably has a brix of 8-14%, of which the malt extract contributes a brix of 0.5-5.0%. Reduced-calorie or low calorie embodiments can contain non-nutritive and nutritive sweeteners, as desired.
Typically, the water used to prepare the beverage has been treated to eliminate or reduce undesirable materials, including contaminants and compounds that might contribute an off-flavor to the beverage. Preferably, at least a substantial portion or all of the water used has a total dissolved solids content less than about 500 mg/l and an alkalinity of less than about 50 mg/l of the added water in the finished beverage.
Examples of optional additional ingredients include, but are not limited to, flavors, foaming agents, anti-foaming agents, hydrocolloids, polysaccharides, juices, antioxidants, caffeine, coffee solids, tea solids, herbs, nutraceutical compounds, electrolytes, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, colorants, emulsifiers, and oils as known in the art. Ascorbic acid may be used as an antioxidant. Non-emulsion fruit flavors are generally the preferred type of flavors for use in the beverages of the invention. Flavors are typically used at levels from 0.02% to 0.35% by volume of the finished beverage. Generally, the beverage is non-alcoholic and does not contain hops or hop extract.
A method of the present invention which has been used to produce a haze-free malt beverage includes the following steps.
A formulation of a preferred malt beverage formed in accordance with the present invention is described as follows:
While the invention has been described with respect to certain preferred embodiments, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, it is to be understood that the invention is capable of numerous changes, modifications and rearrangements and such changes, modifications and rearrangements are intended to be covered by the following claims.
