Case Studies in the Beer Sector

Roberta Capitello, Natalia Maehle

• Publisher: Woodhead Publishing
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9780128177341
• eBook ISBN: 9780128177358
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Marketing
• Index: Marketing

Case Studies in the Beer Sector investigates managerial and marketing dynamics in the beer sector. It explores the relevance of consumer science and its use as a tool for marketing strategies, putting special focus on small craft breweries. The book provides a variety of case studies from several countries to outline the global context within which the beer industry is developing. Real-life examples on how innovation and differentiation strategies affect consumer perceptions of beer are included, along with the relationship among breweries throughout the supply chain. Sections cover business strategy, sustainability, and how breweries are meeting the increasing demand for sustainable production processes.While this book provides a thorough reference for scholars and practitioners who work in the beer sector, it is also ideal for those studying business, agriculture, food engineering, technology, applied marketing and business strategy.- Investigates contemporary managerial and marketing dynamics in the beer sector- Explores the relevance of consumer science and its use as a tool for marketing strategies for both multinational players and small craft breweries- Includes case studies that provide the reader with real-life examples on how to apply concepts discussed- Offers a global, cross-cultural perspective on the beer sector in different countries and continents

Part I

Beer market: factors and trends

Outline

• 1 Industrial beer versus craft beer: definitions and nuances
• 2 Understanding the behavior of beer consumers
• 3 Craft beers and breweries in the United Kingdom: where now, what next?
• 4 Craft breweries and tourism best practices across the life cycle

1

Industrial beer versus craft beer: definitions and nuances

Stefano Buiatti, Manfredi Guglielmotti and Paolo Passaghe, Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental and Animal Sciences, University of Udine, Udine, Italy

Abstract

This chapter defines the concepts of industrial and craft beers and provides the reader with information on industrial versus craft beer’s characteristics (e.g., raw materials, brewing processes, stabilization, attributes, and flavor of industrial beer and craft beer). It also illustrates the new potentialities of the beer market related to the growing popularity of craft beer. The evolution of the market is shown in terms of product differentiation driven by both demand and supply.

Keywords

Craft beer; industrial beer; beer market; brewing process; beer consumer

1.1 Introduction

Beer is one of the oldest drinks humans have produced, dating back to at least the 5th millennium BCE. It has been known at the time of the epic of Gilgamesh (2000 BCE), and the ancient Egyptians drank beer or something similar to beer, being made with cereals mixed with water and spontaneously fermented. Beer holds a special place in human history and hearts. With the advent of large-scale commercial brewing during the industrial revolution, the quantity of beer produced rose dramatically, but the quality did not have the same trend. The beer is generally made from four basic ingredients, namely, malted cereal grains, hops, water, and yeast, which are fermented over a period of time. In addition, flavoring ingredients such as herbs and fruits are used in beer. The beer is a widely consumed alcoholic beverage throughout the world, and global production figures have shown an increasing trend during the last decade. Across the past two decades, the beer industry has become globalized in the same sense, as other familiar branded products that originate in one country and later are manufactured and consumed throughout the world. The pace of globalization for beer has greatly accelerated over this period with the increased activity of multinational beer enterprises, acquiring existing breweries and constructing new facilities in emerging markets, as well as licensing production of their brands outside their home countries.

The trend of beer consumption is increasing due to changing lifestyles and the growing demand for craft beer. Players in the market are adopting product launches and collaborations as key development strategies to meet the changing demands in the market and expand their customer base. Moreover, health concerns associated with global increase in the number of female drinkers have resulted in a growing demand for “special-new” beers (e.g., gluten-free and nonalcoholic beers).

1.2 How beer is made

To make good beer, you have to choose excellent-quality ingredients, apply passion and knowledge in equal parts, and take painstaking care of the entire process, from watching over the grain fields to tapping the beer in a right way.

In the brewing process, the first step is the milling of the malt (Fig. 1.1). There are several methods of mashing to obtain satisfactory wort (an aqueous extract of the malt). In all cases, a mash should be held at a chosen temperature (or at successive different temperatures), for predetermined times (60–70 minutes), to allow enzymes to degrade substances. The single-temperature mashing system (65°C) is best for the highly modified malt that requires only a saccharification rest and no protein rest. Advantages are simplicity of operation and lower capital and energy cost compared with other mashing systems.

Figure 1.1 The brewing process. Source: Modified from Preedy, V., 2008. Beer in health and disease prevention. In: Buiatti, S., Pavsler, A., (Eds.), Lager Beer, first ed. Academic Press, Burlington, MA, pp. 32–36.

The wort is then separated from the grain in a process known as lautering. Additional hot water (75°C–77°C) may be sprinkled on the spent grains to extract additional sugars. The sweet wort is transferred to a vessel (boiling kettle), where it is boiled with hops or hop preparations, usually for 60–90 minutes in order to arrest further enzymes action, sterilize and concentrate the wort, and precipitate some of the proteinaceous material as a coarse coagulum (hot trub). The boiling process is often associated with the addition of sugars or syrups, and hops or bitter products derived from hops. These additions may be regulated by weight or by alpha-acids’ content, and several additions may be made at different stages of the boil. The bitter resins of the hops are extracted during the boil, and particular attention is paid to levels of humulones (alpha-acids). During wort boiling, the humulones are isomerized to isohumulones, which are bitterer and water-soluble. The hot trub and any insoluble material from hop are taken out of the wort by centrifugation or by a whirlpool tank.

When hopped wort is clarified, it must be brought down to fermentation temperatures before yeast is added through a plate heat exchanger. During the cooling, it is usual to oxygenate or aerate the wort to provide oxygen for the yeast in the initial stage before the fermentation (Hough et al., 1982; Goldammer, 1999). The yeasts used in breweries are conventionally divided into two main classes: top fermenting and bottom fermenting according to the temperature at which fermentation is run. The beer is also divided into two very broad categories according to which yeast is used, respectively: lager and ale. Lager yeast, known as Saccharomyces pastorianus or Saccharomyces carlsbergensis, runs the primary fermentation at cool temperatures (8°C–15°C). To produce ale beers, strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae are commonly used in the range of 16°C–24°C. The primary fermentation is followed by a secondary fermentation between −1°C and +4°C (lagering phase). Now, with modern improved fermentation control, most breweries use only short periods of cold storage, typically one-third of a week (Bamforth, 2003).

After fermentation, beer is extremely turbid, due to the presence of residual yeast and colloidal haze. The purpose of filtration is to obtain a beer stable for a long time. A few years ago, industrial and craft beers were discriminated by the filtration phase, and today many of the craft beers are filtered. However, by definition, there are styles of beers that require filtering and others that do not. The Pilsner beer is usually filtered, and Hefe (yeast in German) beer is always unfiltered. There are various processing techniques for clarification (centrifugation and filtration), but only filtration is able to give the brilliance required in the marketplace.

The term “microbiological stabilization” describes a process whereby spoilage mechanisms, such as bacteria and yeast, are destroyed or removed from the product. These spoilage mechanisms can cause off-flavor and hazing in the final beer and affect the expected shelf life. Thus it is important that such contaminants are removed. A traditional method used to destroy the number of microorganisms is pasteurization, while in industrial beer, this process is carried out, and it does (or it should) not take place in craft beer, leaving the organoleptic properties of the drink untouched. The basis of this process is the heating of the beer to a specific temperature for a predetermined time to attain the minimum degree of pasteurization necessary to inactivate beer-spoiling bacteria. Despite disagreement within the brewing community, main criticism against the use of pasteurization is the risk of damaging the flavor of the beer with the heat treatment (Preedy, 2008).

1.3 Craft beer versus industrial beer

Every country has its own legal definition of craft brewery, regulating what craft beer, and therefore commercial beer, is. Italian law, for example, defines craft beer as the beer produced from small independent breweries (annual production lower than 200,000 hL), not pasteurized and not microfiltered (Gazzetta, 2016).

Both pasteurization and microfiltration are technological processes used in the industry to stabilize the products, increase the shelf life, and assure product consistency over time (Kunze, 2014). However, these operations also reduce the overall sensorial and nutritional quality of the beer.

Pasteurization preserves the beer from biological degradation by thermal inactivation of microorganisms. However, this thermal treatment also promotes degradation of heat-sensitive positive aroma molecules and increases formation of oxidized flavors (Verhagen, 1994).

Filtration has several aims, depending on the method or cutoff applied. It can remove coarse particles, yeast, and haze-responsible compounds (0.4/0.6 µm), or even sterilize the beer, removing all microorganisms (0.02 µm; Kunze, 2014). Most industrial breweries microfiltrate (0.1/10 µm) their beer in order to remove yeast and reduce haze, and then force carbonate it with carbon dioxide and fill bottles, cans, kegs, etc.

The craft breweries, instead, generally do not microfiltrate (depending on country legislation), and most of the time carbonate their beer through refermentation. Prior to being packaged, beer is added sugars (dextrose or saccharose) and eventually yeast (if the one remaining from the main fermentation is not vital enough). After being filled, yeast consumes sugars, and produces alcohol and carbon dioxide, carbonating the beer. The referm...

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Copyright
• List of contributors
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction: Global trends in the beer market
• Part I: Beer market: factors and trends
• Part II: Case studies on consumer science and product innovation and differentiation
• Part III: Case studies on consumer science and business strategy
• Part IV: Sustainability in the beer sector: Concepts and practices
• Part V: Conclusion
• Author Index
• Subject Index