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23. The use of tannic acid in the brewing process as a stabilizing agent

J. FORMANEK (1); (1) Ajinomoto North America, Itasca, IL, U.S.A.

Enzymes, Finishing and Stability
Friday, October 9
8:00–9:45 a.m.
River Terrace 2

The use of clarifying and stabilizing agents during beer production is a common practice throughout the brewing industry in order to deliver a finished product with desirable stability. Many materials, both natural as well as synthetic, have been discovered to deliver a positive effect on beer clarity; however, other aspects of stability related more to the chemistry of the brew are not well addressed by these fining agents. The oxidation effects developed through the presence of iron ions, for example, allows a cascade reaction to occur with free-radical formation negatively impacting beer flavor stability. The use of certain forms of tannic acids can help with all areas of colloidal and flavor stability. Tannic acids have the ability to be easily added at multiple areas of the brewing process to deliver desirable finished product stabilization, allowing for enhanced shelf life and other key attributes.

Joe Formanek (director – new product development for Ajinomoto North America in Itasca, IL) has been a home brewer for nearly 30 years, with a few commercial brewing stints during that time. He has won numerous awards at local, regional, and national competitions, having twice been awarded the American Homebrewers’ Association Ninkasi Award (2000 and 2006) for winningest brewer in the final round of judging, as well as having been honored as one of two home brewer winners of the 2011 Sam Adams Longshot American Homebrewing Competition with his Russian imperial stout, which was distributed nationally in the 2012 Longshot multipack.

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