Alternative Methods for Shelf Life Extension of Unfi ltered Beers from Microbreweries

Abstract

At present, a broad range of unfi ltered beers is produced mainly by microbreweries. So far, however, no suitable method exists for ensuring extended shelf life at the industrial scale without damaging the taste. The most widespread method – pasteurization also kills brewery yeasts and, has a thermal impact on beer. This review describes the premises for ensuring effective microbial stabilization that depends particularly on proper sanitization practices. Alternative methods – the high hydrostatic in addition, processing and the pulsed electric fi elds processing have a minimal effect on the beer quality. These techniques were already tested under laboratory conditions and have potential for use at the industrial scale. This article describes these methods in detail.

Keywords

• unfiltered beer
• microbial stability
• high hydrostatic pressure
• pulsed electric fields