Brewery Technology

3 ECTS credits
75 h study time

Offer 1 with catalog number 4007453ENR for all students in the 1st semester at a (E) Master - advanced level.

Semester

1st semester

Enrollment based on exam contract

Impossible

Grading method

Grading (scale from 0 to 20)

Can retake in second session

Yes

Taught in

Dutch

Faculty

Faculty of Science and Bio-engineering Sciences

Department

Bio-Engineering Sciences

Educational team

Ronnie Willaert (course titular)
Luc De Vuyst

Activities and contact hours

13 contact hours Lecture
13 contact hours Seminar, Exercises or Practicals

Course Content

Lectures:

The production of beer is discussed in detail: starting from the raw materials to the end product. The focus of the course is towards the technology, including the malting process.

Contents:

1 Introduction: history, definition, economic importance of the brewingindustry, legislation, short overview of the brewing process.
2 Malt technology: barley; intake, cleaning, sorting and transport of barley; drying and stowage of barley; malting of barley (steeping, germination, kilning); treatment of the malt after kilning.
3 Wort production: goal; malt grinding; mashing; wort filtration; hops; wort boiling; hot trub separation; wort cooling and aeration.
4 Fermentation: beer yeats; production of aroma compounds during fermentation; yeast propagation; primary fermentation; maturation; production of ales and specialty beers.
5 Post fermentation operations: cold filtration; filling; pasteurisation.

Practicals (attendace obligatory):
- Beer production on lab scale.

- Excursion to a brewery.

Course material

Practical course material (Required) : Brouwerij, Slides van de les, Ronnie Willaert, Wordt jaarlijks aangepast.
Course text (Required) : Brouwerij, Eigen cursus, Ronnie Willaert, Wordt jaarlijks aangepast., VUB, 2220170004655, 2017

Additional info

Practicals and excursions are mandatory.

Learning Outcomes

General competencies

Cognitive skills:

to reproduce

To define beer.
To designate parts of the barley flower and grain.
To define the malting process.
To indicate important features of hops and ingredients (which are important for the brewer).
To enumerate the objectives of the wort boiling process.
To recognize the different fermentation systems.

To obtain insight:

To distinguish barleys for brewing.
To argue the importance of the chemical composition of the kernel.
To argue the importance of the drying process.
To link the used technology to the biochemical / physicochemical processes that occur in the grain.
To explain the sequence of the various brewery operations (grinding, mashing, wort filtration, wort boiling, wort separation).
To relate the mashing technology used with the enzymatic degradation of the constituents of the barley grain.
To identify the importance of the various brewing yeasts.
To argue the importance of maturation on the flavour formation.
To explain the isobarometric filling of bottles.
To explain the pasteurisation of beer.

Psychomotor skills:

To reflect

To evaluate the economic importance of the beer industry in Belgium, as well as to the rest of the world.
To evaluate the operations of the barley cleaning.
To compare the different wort filtration methods.
To compare the different wort separation methods.
To evaluate the recent energy-saving wort boiling systems and to compare them to the classical systems.
To relate the yeast propagation technology associate with yeast physiology.
To relate the fermentation technology with the yeast physiology.
To judge the technology for cold beer filtration.
To evaluate the different methods to improve the colloidal stability.
To analyse the variation of a technological parameter in a specific sub-process of the total process.

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Oral Exam determines 100% of the final mark.

Within the Oral Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

Mondeling examen with a relative weight of 1 which comprises 100% of the final mark.

Note: Voorbeeldvragen brouwerijtechnologie
1. Bespreek gerst als basisgrondstof in het brouwen. Welke zijn de
belangrijkste basiskarakteristieken die verwacht worden voor gerst. Welke
soorten onderscheidt men. Welke voorzorgen zijn nodig bij de opslag.
2. Welke stappen onderscheidt men in het mouten. Beschrijf ze kort en de
apparatuur die wordt gebruikt voor het weken en kiemen.
3. Bespreek kort de samenstellende elementen van mout en biochemie; wat is de
rol van giberilinezuur.
4. Bespreek het eesten en de bijhorende apparatuur. Welke zijn de
belangrijkste reacties die optreden tijdens deze faze.
5. Bespreek het maischen en de verschillende processen die daar voor kunnen
worden gebruikt.
6. Bespreek de wortkoking en de optredende omzettingen.
7. Wat is de rol van de hop in het brouwproces. Welke biochemische conversie
gebeuren en wat is de rol van hop in het bepalen van de smaak.
8. Bespreek kort de varianten op het klassieke kookproces en hun mogelijke
energie besparing.
9. Welke zijn de belangrijkste karakteristieken van gisten in de fermentatie.
Welke soorten gebruikt men voor welke type fermentatie.
10. Beschrijf het verloop van een fermentatie en de mogelijke varianten,
evenals de apparatuur die hiervoor wordt gebruikt.
11. Hoe wordt het uitgefermenteerde bier afgewerkt en verpakt.

Additional info regarding evaluation

Examination is composed of a written part (75% of the points) and an oral part (25%).

Example questions brewery technology:
1. Discuss barley as a raw material used in brewing. What are the main basic characteristics expected for barley? What different kinds are distinguished? What precautions are necessary for storing?
2. What steps are distinguished during malting? Give a brief description of these, and of the equipment used for soaking and germinating? Discuss the controlable parameters.
3. Briefly discuss the component elements of malt and biochemistry. What is the role of gibberellin acid?
4. Discuss malting and the equipment involved. What are the main reactions which occur during this stage?
5. Discuss mashing and the different processes which can be used.
6. Discuss wort boiling and the occurring conversions.
7. What is the role of hop in the brewing process? What biochemical conversions occur and what role does hop play in determining flavour?
8. Briefly discuss the variants to the classical boiling process and their possible energy saving.
9. What are the main characteristics of yeasting during fermentation? What kinds are used for what kinds of fermentation?
10. Discuss the course of a fermentation and its possible variants, as well as the equipment used in the process.
11. How is the fermented beer finished and packaged.

12. Discuss the bottling of beer.

13. Discuss the colloidal stability of beer.

Allowed unsatisfactory mark

The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.

Academic context

This offer is part of the following study plans:
Master of Bioengineering Sciences: Cell and Gene Biotechnology: Medical Biotechnology (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Bioengineering Sciences: Cell and Gene Biotechnology: Molecular Biotechnology (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Bioengineering Sciences: Cell and Gene Biotechnology: Agrobiotechnology (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Bioengineering Sciences: Chemistry and Bioprocess Technology: Chemical Biotechnology (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Bioengineering Sciences: Chemistry and Bioprocess Technology: Biochemical Biotechnology (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Biology: Molecular and Cellular Life sciences
Master of Biology: Ecology and Biodiversity