Process for producing a low carbohydrate, low calorie beer

A low calorie, low carbohydrate beer is produced by carrying out a separate mashing of malt at temperatures which substantially inactivate microorganisms without deactivating enzymes of the malt and adding this mash to wort in a primary and/or secondary fermentor to produce a final beer having a reduced carbohydrate and calorie content.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Numerous so-called low carbohydrate low calorie or light beers have 
recently been introduced to the market. It is believed that certain of 
these may be made by a process similar to the process described in 
Gablinger U.S. Pat. No. 3,379,534. The Gablinger process involves adding 
the enzyme, amyloglucosidase, to the materials being brewed during the 
mash and/or fermentation period, in order to split a portion of the 
dextrins which would otherwise remain in the final beer. The Gablinger 
patent states that the alpha and beta amylases, which are the enzymes 
provided by the barley malt used in brewing, cannot provide any of the 
features of his invention. 
Manufacture of diabetic or low sugar beer is also known. Distler U.S. Pat. 
No. 2,223,444 relates to the production of low sugar beer by boiling the 
mash and the hopped wort in vacuum at a low temperature so as to preserve 
the enzyme complex of the malt. Temperatures of 64.degree.-66.degree. C. 
are not exceeded. This process requires special equipment and procedures 
not normally used in a brewery. Also considerable time (up to three 
months) is required until the desired degree of fermentation is reached. 
Schimpf U.S. Pat. No. 3,852,495 concerns the manufacture of dietary or 
diabetic beer of low alcohol and low carbohydrate content and a low 
calorie value by boiling off alcohol after a first fermentation and then 
adding additional yeast and a solution of diastase extracted from malt to 
the partially fermented mixture. This process requires many additional 
steps not conventionally used in a brewery. 
Pauls U.S. Pat. No. 2,782,147 relates to a special beer of high alcoholic 
content and low extractive matter (carbohydrates) content. Pauls uses 
special materials and a two stage fermentation with diatase added at the 
start of the main fermentation and again at the completion of the main 
fermentation. Additional diastase extract and yeast can be added during 
storage. The Pauls process requires special malt, hops, yeast and water. 
The Pauls patent does not disclose the details of his method for preparing 
the diatase extract. 
Thomas U.S. Pat. No. 2,146,240 also shows a special diatetic and dietary 
beer made by a double fermentation. The main fermentation uses 
Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the secondary fermentation uses a yeast which 
ferments the dextrins such as, Schizosaccharomyces pombe or Saccharomyces 
thermantitonum. 
Gluek U.S. Pat. No. 3,373,040 shows the production of malt liquor products 
of low protein, sugar, and real extract contents. The process consists of 
preparing separately a cooker mash of malt cereal products and water and a 
main mash and heating the main mash at 42.degree.-45.degree. R. A small 
portion of the liquid from the main mash is removed and some of this is 
added to the boiled hopped wort during cooling and the remainder is added 
during fermentation. As a final step, the fermented liquid is diluted and 
treated with emulsifiers, hop extract, foam builder and liquid chillproof. 
None of the prior processes results in a naturally and conventionally 
brewed beer of the type contemplated by this invention. 
Accordingly, it is a principal object of this application to provide a 
process for producing a naturally and conventionally brewed beer which is 
low in carbohydrates and calories. It is a further object to provide such 
a process using only materials commonly used in a brewing process. Still a 
further object is to provide a process for brewing low calorie, low 
carbohydrate beer which uses regular equipment normally found in a brewing 
plant and results in a process substantially free of contaminating 
microorganisms. These and other objects and advantages will become 
apparent hereinafter. 
This invention comprises a process for brewing a light type beer comprising 
separate mashing of a portion of malt at temperatures which substantially 
inactivate the microorganisms of the malt without deactivating the 
enzymes, and adding this mash to the wort during or before fermentation. 
The invention further comprises the products and processes hereinafter 
described and claimed. 
DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
The present invention utilizes natural ingredients commonly used in the 
brewing process, and manipulates the process to produce a beer with 
reduced calories (about 95-100 per 12 fl. oz.), with reduced carbohydrate 
content (about 1.2-1.8% by weight), and an alcoholic content of 3.5-4.0% 
by volume. 
One method of accomplishing the foregoing is to prepare a wort whose 
original gravity results in the desired calorie range in the finished 
beer. This causes the finished beer to be lower in caloric content. To 
this wort, after hopping and boiling, is added a small portion of 
separately mashed malt immediately before or during fermentation to reduce 
the carbohydrate content of the beer. 
Conventional brewing materials and conventional brewhouse procedures are 
used in the preparation of the wort. Thus, the raw materials can be barley 
malt exclusively, or a combination of barley malt and unmalted adjuncts 
such as rice, corn grits or other carbohydrate sources. The mashing 
procedure follows conventional general brewing practices suitable to the 
raw material combination being used. Also the lautering, wort boiling and 
hopping procedures are conventional. 
As mentioned, the original gravity of the wort can be adjusted in the 
brewhouse so that the calorie content of the finished product is in the 
desired range, or the wort can be brewed-in more concentrated, and 
adjustment by addition of naturally carbonated purified blending water is 
then made later in the process, for example, after fermentation and 
storage. Cooling and yeasting of the wort is also conventional. 
The malt to be added to the fermentor can be regular ground barley malt, or 
flour made from regular or high diastatic malt. Diastatic malt is barley 
malt which has been treated under special conditions to increase the 
enzyme activity. The barley malt flour is regular barley malt which has 
been refined to remove the husks, etc. The amount is from about 0.5 to 
about 1.5% by weight of the total raw material blend (malt plus any 
adjuncts) used for the brew. It is slurried with about four times its 
amount of water on a weight basis, and the slurry is kept agitated at a 
temperature of about 45.degree. to 55.degree. C., preferably 50.degree. 
C., for a time of about 1/2 hour to 21/2 hours, preferably 1 hour. The 
heat treatment inactivates about 99.9% of the microorganisms present in 
the malt liquid. However, it does not injure the enzymes present in the 
malt and allows a practically microorganism-free, but enzymatically 
active, material to be added to the main fermentation. It is also possible 
to add the material to the secondary fermentor, or to both the main 
fermentor and the secondary fermentor. 
When added to the fermenting liquid, the malt enzymes continue to break 
down unfermentable carbohydrates, mainly dextrins, into fermentable sugar. 
The final product thus has proportionally less carbohydrates than is 
usually found in beer. The increased fermentable sugars also allows the 
alcoholic content of the beer to be higher than it would have been without 
the addition of the malt. 
When the caloric content of the beer is determined by adjusting the initial 
gravity of the wort, the gravity of the boiled, hopped, yeasted, cooled 
wort has a solids content or gravity of about 7.3.degree. to about 
7.7.degree. Plato. Preferably this is about 7.5.degree. Plato. 
When the caloric content of the beer is determined by diluting the 
fermented liquid with carbonated deaerated water, the gravity of the 
cooled wort is between about 10.degree. and 18.degree. Plato, preferably 
about 15.degree. Plato. This is not as critical as when a low gravity 
process is used because the final caloric content can be adjusted by 
adding more or less water. 
The carbonated water is made naturally by dissolving CO.sub.2 produced from 
beer fermentation in deaerated water and using this CO.sub.2 saturated 
water to add back to the beer to produce the final product of 95-100 
calories per 12 oz. serving.

EXAMPLE NO. 1 
10,000 lbs. of ground barley malt is mixed with 5,000 gal. of water at 
35.degree. C. After 30 minutes, the temperature is raised stepwise to 
45.degree. C., 65.degree. C., and 74.degree. C. Mashing is completed after 
a total time of 21/2 hours. This mash is then filtered in a lauter tub or 
equivalent equipment, sparged, and the total filtrate collected in the 
brew kettle. The mixture is boiled with 100 lbs. of hops under atmospheric 
pressure for about 85 minutes. At this time the liquid has a specific 
gravity of about 1.0286, equivalent to a solids content of 7.2 degree 
Plato. After straining off the hops and settling out the trub, the wort is 
cooled and yeasted with approximately 1 lb. of brewer's yeast per barrel 
(31 gal.) of wort. About 350 barrels of wort with a solid content of about 
7.5 degree Plato are obtained. 
At this time 175 lbs. of ground barley malt are mashed-in with 871/2 gal. 
of water at 50.degree. C. The mixture is kept for 60 minutes at this 
temperature and then added to the main fermentor. 
As soon as the apparent solids content reaches 1.5 degree Plato, the 
fermenting wort is transferred to a storage tank containing beechwood 
chips. The main fermentation and post fermentation (storage) run for a 
total of about 25 days. The beer is then removed from the beechwood chips, 
chill-proofed, filtered, and packaged. The beer has a caloric content of 
about 97 per 12 oz. serving, an alcoholic content of about 3.7% by volume, 
a carbohydrate content of about 1.5% by weight and a protein content of 
about 0.25% by weight. 
EXAMPLE NO. 2 
7,700 lbs. of ground barley malt is mixed with 3,850 gal. of water at 
35.degree. C. in the mash tub. Simultaneously, 2,000 lbs. of brewer's rice 
and 300 lbs. of ground barley malt are mixed with 1,150 gal. of water at 
35.degree. C. in a cooker. While the temperature in the mash tub remains 
at 35.degree. C., the cooker mash is brought to boil, boiled for 15 
minutes and then combined with the mash in the mash tub. The temperature 
of the combined mash is 65.degree. C. After resting at this temperature 
for about 20 minutes, the temperature is raised to 74.degree. C. The total 
mashing cycle is 21/2 hours. Further processing is the same as in Example 
No. 1. 
EXAMPLE NO. 3 
15,400 lbs. of ground barley malt is mixed with 5,500 gal. of water at 
35.degree. C. in the mash tub. Simultaneously, 4,000 lbs. of brewer's rice 
and 600 lbs. of ground barley malt are mixed with 1,650 gal. of water at 
35.degree. C. in a cooker. The temperature in the mash tub remains at 
35.degree. C., and the cooker mash is brought to boil. After 15 minutes 
boil, the two mashes are combined and the temperature of this mix is 
brought to 65.degree. C. After resting at this temperature for about 20 
minutes, the temperature is raised to 74.degree. C. Total mashing time is 
21/2 hours. The mash is filtered in a lauter tub or equivalent equipment, 
and the filtrates are collected in the brew kettle. The wort is boiled 
with 220 lbs. of hops under atmospheric pressure for about 85 minutes. At 
this time, the liquid has a specific gravity of about 1.0600, equivalent 
to a solids content of about 14.75 degree Plato. After straining off the 
hops and settling out the trub the wort is cooled and yeasted with 
approximately 1.5 lbs. of brewer's yeast per barrel of wort. About 340 
bbls. of wort with a solids content of about 15.0 degree Plato are 
obtained. 
At this time, 175 lbs. of ground barley malt are mashed-in with 871/2 gal. 
of water at 50.degree. C. The mixture is kept for 60 minutes at this 
temperature and is then added to the fermentor. When the apparent solids 
content is at 2.5.degree. Plato the fermenting wort is transferred to a 
storage tank containing beechwood chips. The main fermentation and post 
fermentation (storage) run for a total of about 30 days. The beer is then 
removed from the beechwood chips, chillproofed, blended with the same 
volume of deaerated, carbonated water, filtered, and packaged. 
EXAMPLE NO. 4 
20,500 lbs. of ground barley malt is mixed with 7,000 gal. of water at 
35.degree. C. This is mashed as in Example No. 1 for about 21/2 hours, 
filtered, sparged, and collected in the brew kettle. This mixture is 
boiled with 200 lbs. of hops for about 85 minutes, strained, and cooled. 
The wort has a solids content of about 15.0.degree. Plato. To this is 
added about 10% of hopped, boiled, and cooled wort made from barley malt 
and rice adjuncts also with a solids content of about 15.0.degree. Plato. 
To the combined wort is added about 1.5 lbs. of yeast per barrel. About 
375 barrels of wort are in the fermentor. 
At this time, 175 lbs. of ground barley malt are mashed-in with 871/2 gal. 
of water at 50.degree. C. The mixture is kept for 60 minutes at this 
temperature and is then added to the fermentor. When the apparent solids 
content is at 2.5.degree. Plato the fermenting wort is transferred to a 
storage tank containing beechwood chips. The main fermentation and post 
fermentation (storage) run for a total of about 30 days. The beer is then 
removed from the beechwood chips, chillproofed, blended with the same 
volume of deaerated, carbonated water, filtered, and packaged. 
EXAMPLE NO. 5 
Wort is prepared as in Examples No. 1, 2, 3 or 4 and fermented in the main 
fermentor, but without adding the separate malt mash at this stage of the 
process. Instead, after preparing the separate malt mash as in Example No. 
1, it is added to the fermenting liquid during transfer from the main 
fermentor to the storage tank. 
EXAMPLE NO. 6 
Wort is prepared and fermented as in Examples No. 1, 2, 3 or 4. A further 
separate malt mash addition is made during transfer from the main 
fermentor to the storage tank. The amount added is half of that added to 
the main fermentor. 
EXAMPLE NO. 7 
Wort is prepared and fermented as in Examples No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6, but 
the malt added to the main fermentor and/or the storage tank is flour from 
high diastatic malt instead of ground barley malt.