CO2 is important for beer quality

CO2 is important for beer quality

As with any other beer ingredient, carbon dioxide (CO2) quality is essential to finished beer quality, contributing to sensory outcomes, beer foam, mouthfeel, and shelf stability. The quality of CO2 is generally managed by the supplier. Brewers have a role in ensuring their CO2 supply is free from contaminants, and appropriately handled in the brewery.

Gases like nitrogen, oxygen, and argon are typically sourced from “air,” but commercial CO2 is generally collected as a by-product from various chemical industries, such as ethanol production, fuel combustion, natural gas production, and chemical synthesis. Over time, a supply shortage in one industry may result in new feed gas sources for carbon dioxide; contaminants and quality can vary based on those sources. Because freight costs can be high, CO2 supplies are customarily relatively local to their customers, and diverse sources are constantly being evaluated for sustainable supply reasons. CO2 manufacturers should routinely test feed gas sources for compositional changes, as well as monitor the quality throughout the production process. Storage and trans-fill depots should also have purity monitoring systems to screen incoming lots for quality.

Standards of purity are controlled by various regulatory bodies such as the Compressed Gas Association (CGA), International Society of Beverage Technologists (ISBT), European Industrial Gases Association (EIGA), and the FDA in the U.S. For instance, the EIGA states that Food Grade CO2 should be at least 99.9% pure and that “each facility producing carbon dioxide for the food and beverage industry should have a documented system for quality management” and “a formal assessment of food safety risk, including the raw gas process and feedstock, using the HACCP methodology is a legal requirement and shall be implemented at all plants producing carbon dioxide for use in foods.”

Brewers may first become aware of a CO2 supply or quality shift through sensory panel results, or in extreme cases, based on customer feedback. In the U.S., beverage grade CO2 will be at least 99.90% pure; many other molecules can comprise the other 0.10%, including water, oxyge,n and hydrocarbons such as benzene, acetaldehyde, and other sensory active molecules. To put that into perspective, 0.10% equates to 1,000 parts per million, which is 1-4 orders of magnitude higher concentration than many flavor-active hop components. So understanding your CO2 supply, source, and purity is important for ensuring the quality of your beer brands.

Edited by Hubert
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http://www.brewerybeerequipment.com

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