anchorandoak
Active Member
So while reading "Beer - Tap Into the Art and Science of Brewing" and came across the following section:
"An enormous range of colors is found in beers: there are exceedingly pale
strawlike lagers, copper-colored ales, rich brown milds, and the blackest of
stouts. This wonderful range is seldom achieved by the addition of coloring
materials, although caramels have and continue to be used in some quarters
for this purpose. Generally the malt and other solid grist materials that are
used in the brewhouse determine the color of beer. Recently, however, a new method of coloring beers has been introduced in which the color of dark
malts is extracted and separated from the flavor-active molecules in those
malts for addition as a liquid late in the brewing process. This extraction
process involves making an extract of the dark malt in water and fractionating
it according to the size of the substances it contains. This can be achieved
using special membranes that allow small molecules to pass through but
big molecules to be retained. The components responsible for flavor are small, but the coloring materials are large. Using this technique, then, preparations
have become available that enable a beer to be made darker without
introducing the smoky/burnt characteristics typical of a roast malt, as well
as, conversely, to introduce such flavors into pale beers without making
them dark. This presents splendid new product development opportunities
to Brewers, as well as an opportunity for introducing color without the use
of caramel." (70-71)
I find the underlined part interesting...does anybody have any information on this?
"An enormous range of colors is found in beers: there are exceedingly pale
strawlike lagers, copper-colored ales, rich brown milds, and the blackest of
stouts. This wonderful range is seldom achieved by the addition of coloring
materials, although caramels have and continue to be used in some quarters
for this purpose. Generally the malt and other solid grist materials that are
used in the brewhouse determine the color of beer. Recently, however, a new method of coloring beers has been introduced in which the color of dark
malts is extracted and separated from the flavor-active molecules in those
malts for addition as a liquid late in the brewing process. This extraction
process involves making an extract of the dark malt in water and fractionating
it according to the size of the substances it contains. This can be achieved
using special membranes that allow small molecules to pass through but
big molecules to be retained. The components responsible for flavor are small, but the coloring materials are large. Using this technique, then, preparations
have become available that enable a beer to be made darker without
introducing the smoky/burnt characteristics typical of a roast malt, as well
as, conversely, to introduce such flavors into pale beers without making
them dark. This presents splendid new product development opportunities
to Brewers, as well as an opportunity for introducing color without the use
of caramel." (70-71)
I find the underlined part interesting...does anybody have any information on this?
