Varying quality of raw materials? No problem

Optimize your raw materials

With enzymes, breweries are better able to cope with a year of bad harvests or rising prices. It’s possible to brew a great beer despite wide fluctuations in the quality of raw materials. Brewers can take advantage of non-traditional local raw materials, avoiding transport costs and protecting the environment.

How beer and enzymes are changing the future for farmers in Africa

This is the story of how innovative ways of brewing beer with enzymes and local crops are creating a new kind of future for farmers in Africa.

Meet Janet Karee Matura, a Kenyan farmer who sells her sorghum to breweries, which has let her to build a new home.

Use what you've got

Only about 40% of the crops raised in Africa are traditionally used for brewing. These include barley, corn and rice. In comparison, about 60% of African crops have not been used traditionally for brewing, but they certainly can be when supported with enzymes. These include millet, sorghum and cassava.

The challenges of brewing with adjuncts

Why raw material optimization is critical to success – and how to achieve it.

Meet the expert

Local beers from local grains

Many developing countries are keen to use locally-grown grains for brewing.

In Sub Saharan Africa and in Latin America, affordably-priced beers made from local grains are particularly popular, says Claudio Visigalli, a key account manager at Novozymes and a frequent traveler to Africa.

Brewing with local grains also supports nearby farmers and the local economy, Claudio adds. But it’s can be a challenge for brewers. That’s where Novozymes products like Ceremix^® Flex ,Termamyl^®, Attenuzyme^®, and Ondea^® Pro come in.
Our enzymes help brewers make more consistent products with local raw materials. This cuts down on transport and helps local farmers. Cutting down on transport means less use of CO₂, which helps both big and small brewing companies meet their sustainability goals. “Using local grains is good for the environment, and consumers really enjoy relaxing with a beer that reflects their local roots,” Claudio says.

Increase production capacity

Novozymes enzymes optimize the brewing process by decreasing energy and water consumption. You can even skip the cereal cooker step, and increase production capacity.

50 shades of barley

How to make excellent beer with consistent taste and quality, lower operational costs, with better yield and efficiency? With Novozymes enzymes, your grist can include barley of various grades, levelling out differences in barley quality to increase raw material flexibility. It’s also possible to make a beer directly from barley – no malt. Read more about enzymes and barley.

A family of solutions

Using local raw materials for beer-making is just one of the many solutions that Novozymes offers.

Breweries can use enzymes to further optimize the use of adjuncts , to improve wort separation and beer filtration, to maximize attenuation of high strength and light beers and to control FAN and diacetyl.

Your solutions for raw materials optimization

Cut operational costs and increase yield, quality and process efficiency, compared to standard barley solutions. Novozymes Ondea^® Pro lets you use barley of various grades, levelling out differences in barley quality to increase raw material flexibility. You can also reduce your carbon footprint by using local raw materials.

Benefits:

Raw material cost savings
Consistent beer taste and quality
High extract yield and process efficiency

The Ceremix^® product range ensures efficient liquefaction of adjunct starch below gelatinization termperature. Ceremix^® makes it possible to avoid the cereal-cooking step, using only classical infusion mashing for high-gelatinizing adjuncts. It produces similar maltose levels, more glucose and less dextrin in comparison with decoction mashing.

Benefits:

More simple process
Flexible raw materials
Energy savings

Questions about raw materials?

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