Production of beer

DETAILED DESCRIPTION What I claim is: 1.
A process for improving the filterability of wort or beer comprising treating said wort or beer with xylanase produced by Disporotrichum dimorphosporum in an amount effective to improve the filterability.
2.
The process of claim 1 wherein the said xylanase is derived from Disporotrichum dimorphosporum ATCC 24562.
3.
The process of claim wherein papain is also added to the wort or beer in an amount sufficient to improve filterability of the beer.
4.
The process of claim 1, wherein unmalted wheat or barley is used to make the wort or beer.




Description:
The invention relates to improvements in and relating to the production of beer, especially, but not exclusively, bottom-fermented beer.
More specifically, it relates to a process for increasing the filterability and thus the yield of the wort or beer and for improving the colloidal stability of beer during the maturation process.
Beers are manufactured from grains which are naturally low in fermentable sugars.
The starch of the grains must therefore be saccharified (i.
e.
hydrolysed to the fermentable sugars, maltose and glucose) before fermentation by yeasts.
Barley contains little or no amylase, but upon germination large amounts of amylase are formed.
Hence, barley is dampened, allowed to germinate, and then dried and stored for subsequent use.
Such dried, germinated barley, is called malt.
In Europe, barley malt is traditionally used for the production of beer.
To saccharify the starch in barley, the starch-hydrolysing enzymes (amylases) of the barley malt itself are used.
Hence, the first step in beer making is malting.
The malt is then ground and suspended in water to allow further hydrolysis of the starch and extraction of fermentable sugars.
Several starch degrading enzymes, for example alpha-amylase, beta-amylase, amyloglucosidase and debranching enzymes like pullulanase, can be added to the suspension to improve the fermentability of the extract.
After saccharification has reached the desired stage, the mixture is boiled to stop further enzymatic changes and then filtered