Optimising beer stabilisation by the selective removal of tannoids and sensitive proteins

Colloidal stabilisation of all malt and adjunct lager beers through selective removal of haze sensitive glycoproteins using silica gel and tannoid polyphenols using polyvinylpolypyrrolidone (PVPP) or a polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-modified silica gel has been demonstrated during full brewery production. At this scale PVPP and the PVP-modified silica gel exhibited equivalent binding capability for tannoid polyphenols although PVPP removed additional polyphenolic species. Characterisation of proanthocyanidins following treatment at 4°C with PVPP and the PVP-modified silica gel silica co-product confirmed that PVPP removes a wider range of polyphenolics. Both products exhibited poorer polyphenolic binding capability at 4°C as would be expected for a physical adsorption process. © 2005 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling.