Consumers are increasingly aware of sustainability and are choosing products that conform to these values. In fact, a global survey in 2020 shows that 50% of people want to make more environmentally conscious purchasing choices. This growing environmental issue means that sustainable beer is rapidly rising to the top of the consumer's agenda.

However, when moving to more sustainable brewing methods, brewers must consider many factors-from resource efficiency to production profitability. So the question is, how do brewers respond to the challenge to make their beer as sustainable as possible while ensuring that the flavor, composition, aroma, and even cost that consumers expect remain the same?

Climate change is affecting agriculture all over the world. Untimely heavy rains and droughts are affecting the production of wine crops such as corn, rice and barley. Due to the traditionally favorable climate, barley is a particularly popular crop among European winemakers. However, research shows that the harvest of all dominant (non-tropical) crops has fallen by more than 6% in recent years, and this situation is expected to continue to decline in the foreseeable future.

These extreme weather may also affect the quality of raw materials. Changes in climate have caused barley to contain higher levels of protein, causing beer to be more sensitive to the formation of haze, with less stability and a shorter shelf life. Decrease in the quality of raw materials will also reduce the extraction rate of barley. This may result in malted barley containing less starch, which can be converted into the required amount of fermentable sugars required to produce beer with the desired flavor and alcohol content.

It’s no secret that the wine industry is usually an extremely resource-intensive enterprise.

In the UK, energy demand in beer production alone translates to more than 49,600 terajoules (0.56% of total UK energy use), 2.16 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions (0.85% of total UK emissions) and 1.85 billion hectoliters Water consumption (5.3% of total UK demand).

For example, the traditional stabilization process requires a lot of energy because the brewer adds silica gel to remove protein, and polyvinylpolypyrrolidone (PVPP) to remove polyphenols, expensive deep cooling steps and additional capital expenditures to remove protein-more Phenolic compound.

Enter enzymes-biocatalysts, which can help produce beer faster, more economically, and more sustainably. Usually used in liquid form and in small amounts, enzymes can be added at different stages of the brewing process, depending on the application and expected effects. After performing their functions, they are no longer valid in the final product.

The liquid fungal proline-specific endoprotease paves the way to speed up the brewing process, saving energy and water.

This enzyme can prevent cold turbidity by breaking down specific turbidity-sensitive proteins in beer, so brewers can skip the deep cooling step in the beer stabilization and clarification process. These enzymes can also prevent beer wastage because they do not require powdered stabilizing additives, such as PVPP or silica gel, which must be further filtered out of the beer and may cause 0.5% beer loss. Eliminating the need for these stabilizing aids also reduces the risk of introducing oxygen and supports the correct results all at once.

By implementing liquid fungal proline-specific endoprotease, water consumption can also be reduced by as much as 1%. This achieved savings of up to 70,000 euros in energy costs per 1 million hectoliters of beer produced, and reduced the carbon footprint of brewing operations by 5% to 6%. When added in the fermentation stage of brewing, the liquid fungal proline-specific endoprotease can be easily implemented in any stable device without changing the existing brewing process or equipment, providing a very important money-saving advantage.

Brewing enzymes also allow 100% barley brewing or auxiliary brewing, which is a transition from using malt to unmalted brewing, enabling brewers to use precious raw materials more efficiently.

The enzymes provided by the auxiliary brewing solution are usually developed from malted barley and require supplementary enzymes-mainly ẞ-amylase and exopeptidase-naturally present in barley crops. Since malting is an extremely water and energy-consuming process, it accounts for 10-15% of beer's carbon footprint. When 100% barley is used for brewing, the carbon footprint saved is usually more than 60 kg of carbon dioxide per ton of barley. Auxiliary brewing can significantly increase brewing capacity by up to 25%, while also reducing the saccharification cycle time by up to 20%-making it a sustainable and economical solution.

Auxiliary brewing also allows brewers to use a variety of more locally sourced raw materials instead of relying on crops that may need to be imported. This flexibility in formulas allows beer manufacturers to take another step in reducing their carbon footprint.

This creates additional appeal for 39% of consumers who expressed interest in buying beer made with locally sourced raw materials-this preference is largely motivated by consumers' desire to reduce their carbon footprint. If all beer production in the United States were converted to auxiliary brewing processes, it could reduce 753 million kilograms of carbon dioxide, which is equivalent to traveling around the world 768,000 times or reducing 161 million cars on the road.

An additional benefit of assisted brewing is that it does not affect the taste or texture characteristics-this is critical to 22% of consumers worldwide, who believe that taste is above all else.

Implementing sustainable brewing practices is more important than ever, and enzymes can be a powerful asset for any brewer who wants to achieve this goal. Enzymes are versatile and easy to use, making them an ideal choice for brewers to easily implement a variety of modern and sustainable beer profiles. Enzymes produced through natural fermentation processes enable today's winemaking industry to attract powerful consumers and maintain its operational efficiency, profitability and viability now and in the coming years.

Choosing the most suitable brewing solution is crucial. Experienced partners can provide end-to-end, high-quality brewing solutions, and provide in-depth technical and application support at every step, which can help brewers choose suitable products and successfully implement them. Go here to learn more about the functions of brewing enzymes-including those from DSM's broad portfolio of brewing solutions.

Theo Wijsman is a product application expert for DSM Food Specialty Beverage.

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