JP2011239739A - Sourness-reduced or -relieved unfermented beer-flavored malt beverage, and method for producing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an unfermented malt beverage which is reduced or relieved in sourness by a pH adjuster and has a beer flavor, and to provide a method for producing the same.SOLUTION: The unfermented beer-flavored malt drink includes: sweet wort; the pH adjuster; and a protein hydrolysate, and has a pH of <4.0. The beer-flavored malt beverage is reduced or relieved in sourness of the pH adjuster by causing the protein hydrolysate to exist in the sweet wort. The unfermented malt beverage and the method of producing the same are provided wherein the sourness is reduced or relieved by the pH adjuster, and tastes are harmonized as a beer-flavored beverage. The malt beverage is the unfermented malt beverage which satisfies a sterilization standard required by Food Sanitation Law as well as meets needs from consumers, that is alcohol-free and beer-flavored beverage that has not been achieved since the tastes are harmonized well enough to be a beer-flavored beverage.

Description

  The present invention relates to an unfermented beer-flavored malt beverage with reduced or moderate acidity and a method for producing the same.

  With the recent increase in health orientation, the number of consumers who self-control alcohol intake is increasing. In addition, due to the revision of the Road Traffic Law, such as stricter penalties for drunk driving, people engaged in driving automobiles are increasingly interested in alcohol consumption. Under such circumstances, the demand for low-alcohol or alcohol-free beer-flavored malt beverages is increasing.

  Conventional low-alcohol beer-flavored malt beverages, like ordinary beer beverages, ferment with yeast to impart beer flavors to beverages and to reduce alcohol. This is because it has been considered difficult to produce a low-alcohol malt beverage by completely eliminating alcoholic fermentation because consumers expect the same taste and aroma as beer. Therefore, on the premise that conventional low-alcohol beer-flavored malt beverages are fermented by yeast, improvement of metabolic processes by yeast and methods for effectively removing alcohol from fermentation products have been studied.

  However, all of the conventional techniques are premised on fermentation by yeast, and it was practically impossible to completely remove alcohol from the product. Therefore, the conventional low-alcohol beer-flavored malt beverage is not suitable for drinking by those who do not want to consume alcohol or who drive automobiles.

  On the other hand, if the fermentation by yeast is simply eliminated and the wort produced by the malt is used as the final product, it will be handled as a beverage. Therefore, based on the Food Sanitation Law (Ministry of Health and Welfare Notification No. 213), pH less than 4.0 Wort needs to be sterilized at 65 ° C for 10 minutes or more, and if it is pH 4.0 to 4.6, it needs to be sterilized at 85 ° C for 30 minutes or more. From the viewpoint of equipment restrictions or the energy cost for sterilization, when a design with a product pH of less than 4.0 is selected, intense acidity becomes a problem.

  A method of lowering pH by adding food additives and the like is common, but when compared with fermented beverages such as beer that have been lowered in pH by fermentation by microorganisms such as yeast, the pH is less than 4.0 by additives. The sour taste of the malted beverage is sharp and very uncomfortable due to lack of balance with other tastes. Soft drinks using fruit juice and general carbonated drinks intended for stimulation allow some acidity for the purpose of refreshing, while beer-flavored malt drinks have a noticeable acidity. The quality and strength of a sour taste that is lethal and harmonized with other tastes such as sweetness, bitterness, and umami is required.

  By the way, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-101845 (Patent Document 1) discloses a method of improving sourness and irritating odor derived from sour components in foods and drinks by using a plant-derived protein hydrolyzate. However, Patent Document 1 discloses the suppression of the acidity of foods and beverages such as processed foods using egg products, livestock meat and marine products, and the suppression of acidity in wort-based beer-flavored malt beverages. Not disclosed.

JP 2002-101845 A

  It is an object of the present invention to provide an unfermented beer-flavored malt beverage and a method for producing the same, in which the acidity due to the pH adjuster is reduced or alleviated, and the harmony of the inferior taste is achieved as a beer-flavored beverage. .

  The present inventors can reduce or alleviate the acidity of the pH adjuster by making the protein hydrolyzate present in the wort whose pH is adjusted to less than 4.0 with the pH adjuster, and also have an amber color as a beer flavored beverage. Found no harmony of taste. For the present inventors, the presence of protein hydrolyzate in wort can reduce and alleviate the strong acidity of the pH adjuster, and can achieve harmony of taste as a beer-flavored beverage with unfermented wort. It was amazing. The present invention is based on these findings.

That is, according to the present invention, the following inventions are provided.
(1) An unfermented beer-flavored malt beverage having a pH of less than 4.0, comprising wort, a pH adjuster, and a protein hydrolyzate, wherein the pH adjuster is adjusted by the protein hydrolyzate. A beer-flavored malt beverage with reduced and moderate acidity.
(2) The beverage according to (1), wherein the pH adjuster is an organic acid and / or an inorganic acid having 1 or 2 or more pKa of 2 to 4.
(3) The beverage according to (1), wherein the wort is obtained by saccharifying a mixture comprising a malt pulverized product and water.
(4) The beverage according to (1), wherein the total nitrogen concentration in the beverage is 250 to 275 mg / L.
(5) The beverage according to (1), wherein the chloride ion concentration in the beverage is 65 to 200 mg / L.
(6) The beverage according to (1), wherein the product of the total nitrogen concentration (mg / L) in the beverage and the chloride ion concentration (mg / L) in the beverage is 16000-60000.
(7) A pH adjuster and a protein hydrolyzate are added to wort, and the acidity of the pH adjuster is reduced or alleviated by the protein hydrolyzate, and the pH is less than 4.0 A method for producing a certain unfermented beer-flavored malt beverage.

  According to the present invention, there are provided an unfermented malt beverage and a method for producing the same, in which the sourness due to the pH adjusting agent is reduced and alleviated and the taste of the beer-flavored beverage is harmonized. The malt beverage according to the present invention is an unfermented malt beverage that meets the sterilization standards required by the Food Sanitation Law, while the strong acidity of the pH adjuster is reduced and alleviated, and the taste is inferior as a beer-flavored beverage. This is advantageous in that it can meet the needs of consumers who have never been able to achieve both alcohol-free and beer-flavored drinks.

Detailed description of the invention

Definitions In the present invention, “malt beverage” means a beverage mainly composed of wort and includes a malt soft drink to which a refreshing feeling is imparted by carbon dioxide gas or the like.

  In the present invention, “beer flavor” refers to a taste and aroma peculiar to beer obtained when beer is normally produced, that is, when beer is produced based on fermentation by yeast or the like.

  In the present invention, “fully alcohol-free” means that no alcohol is contained, that is, the alcohol content is 0% by weight.

  In the present invention, “acidity” is one of basic tastes composed of five kinds of tastes (sweet, salty, sour, bitter, umami), and refers to a sour taste exhibited by acid. In addition, “reduction / relaxation” of acidity means that the degree (intensity) of acidity felt by the ingested person is weakened.

  In the present invention, “harmonizing taste as a beer-flavored beverage” means that, when evaluated as a beer-flavored beverage, the acidity and other tastes (such as umami, sweetness, and bitterness) are balanced.

Malt beverage The malt beverage according to the present invention is characterized in that the acidity of the pH adjuster is reduced or alleviated by the protein hydrolyzate in the wort to which the pH adjuster is added. Since the malt beverage according to the present invention uses unfermented wort, it does not contain any alcohol component derived from fermentation. Hereinafter, wort, a pH adjuster, and a protein hydrolyzate will be described.

[Wort]
As the wort constituting the malt beverage according to the present invention, one obtained by saccharifying a mixture of a malt pulverized product and water can be used.

  An auxiliary material may be added to the mixture of the malt and water. Examples of the auxiliary material include rice, corn starch, corn grits, saccharides (for example, liquid sugar such as fructose glucose liquid sugar), dietary fiber, and the like. When the auxiliary material is a saccharide, the wort may be added after saccharification or filtration. Further, the total amount of water may be mixed with the malt pulverized product, or a part thereof may be mixed with the malt pulverized product, and the remainder may be added to the saccharified wort in whole or in part. Moreover, the hop flavor and aroma can be provided to wort by adding a hop to what was obtained by saccharifying the mixture of a malt ground material and water so that it may mention later.

  Although the ratio of the malt pulverized product, the auxiliary material and the water constituting the wort can be determined as appropriate, the malt is crushed so that the final sugar content of the wort is 3 to 20%, preferably 7 to 14%. The proportion of product, auxiliary material and water may be determined. The ratio of the malt pulverized product, the auxiliary material and water is, for example, 0 to 100 parts by weight of the auxiliary material, 400 to 2000 parts by weight of water, preferably 0 to 30 parts by weight of the auxiliary material, with respect to 100 parts by weight of the pulverized malt. It can be 600 to 1300 parts by weight of water. When the auxiliary material is fructose glucose liquid sugar and dietary fiber, the ratio of the malt pulverized product, the auxiliary material and water is, for example, 10 to 40 parts by weight of the auxiliary material and 800 to 800 parts of water with respect to 100 parts by weight of the malt pulverized product. The amount can be 1500 parts by weight, preferably 20 to 30 parts by weight of auxiliary materials and 1000 to 1200 parts by weight of water. In this case, the weight ratio (solid content) of fructose-glucose liquid sugar and dietary fiber can be 1: 0.1-10.

[PH adjuster]
The pH adjuster constituting the malt beverage according to the present invention means a component that adjusts the pH to the acidic side, that is, the low pH side, and such a pH adjuster has a pKa (acid dissociation constant) of 2 to 2. 1 or 2 or more types of acids selected from the group consisting of organic acids (for example, lactic acid, gluconic acid, citric acid, and malic acid) and inorganic acids (for example, phosphoric acid) that are acceptable in 4 foods. It is done. The content, type, and combination of the pH adjusting agent in the malt beverage are not particularly limited as long as the pH of the malt beverage according to the present invention can be adjusted to less than 4.0 and the beer flavor is not impaired.

  In the present invention, the acidity of the pH adjuster is reduced or alleviated by adding a protein hydrolyzate described below, but the beer-flavored malt beverage according to the present invention still has an acceptable acidity as a beer-flavored beverage, From the viewpoint, it goes without saying that the pH adjuster has an aspect as a sour agent.

[Protein hydrolyzate]
The protein hydrolyzate constituting the malt beverage according to the present invention means a product produced by hydrolyzing various protein raw materials, and includes at least a peptide composed of two or more amino acids. The protein hydrolyzate is, for example, a mixture comprising a (poly) peptide consisting of 2 to 150 amino acids, preferably a (poly) peptide consisting of 2 to 100 amino acids.

  The protein hydrolyzate used in the present invention can reduce and alleviate the sourness of unfermented wort whose pH is adjusted to the acidic side, and can achieve harmony of the taste as a beer flavored beverage, Moreover, the predetermined total nitrogen concentration and chlorine ion concentration which are mentioned later can be given to a beer flavor drink.

  The protein hydrolyzate used in the present invention can be obtained commercially.

  The protein hydrolyzate used in the present invention can also be produced by hydrolyzing an arbitrary protein. Proteins include animal proteins (eg, protein derived from gelatinous materials such as livestock meat (beef, pork, etc.), poultry meat (chicken, etc.), vegetable proteins (eg, beans (soybeans, etc.), cereals (wheat, corn). Etc.) derived protein). Examples of the hydrolysis include an enzymatic decomposition method and a hydrochloric acid decomposition method, and a hydrochloric acid decomposition method is preferable. The protein hydrolyzate may be used as a single component or in combination of two or more.

  The protein hydrolyzate may be added in the form of a salt, as long as it can reduce and alleviate the acidity of unfermented wort whose pH is adjusted to the acidic side, and at the same time, it can achieve harmony as a beer flavored beverage The kind of salt is not particularly limited. Examples of the salt of protein hydrolyzate that can be used in the present invention include well-known salts that are acceptable in foods. For example, alkali metal salts such as sodium salts and potassium salts, and alkaline earth salts such as calcium salts and magnesium salts. Metal salts can be used. Preferably, a sodium salt can be used.

  As the protein hydrolyzate, for example, a protein hydrolyzate containing 2 to 25 w / w%, preferably 3 to 15 w / w% of the total nitrogen can be used.

  As the protein hydrolyzate, for example, a protein hydrolyzate containing a chloride ion amount of 14 to 40 w / w%, preferably 15 to 30 w / w% can be used.

  The protein hydrolyzate reduces and relaxes the acidity of unfermented wort whose pH is adjusted to the acidic side, and from the viewpoint of better achieving harmony of taste as a beer-flavored beverage, the total nitrogen concentration in the beverage , 250 to 275 mg / L.

  In the present invention, the total nitrogen concentration can be measured using an analytical method registered as a combustion method by the European Brewery Organization (EBC). Here, the “combustion method” specifically means that a sample is burned at a high temperature, the generated nitrogen oxides are reduced to nitrogen, and the generated nitrogen gas is separated by a column and detected by a heat conduction detector (Analytica-EBC, 9.9.2 Dumas Combustion Method (1997)).

  The protein hydrolyzate also reduces and alleviates the acidity of unfermented wort whose pH is adjusted to the acidic side, and from the viewpoint of better achieving harmony of the taste as a beer flavored beverage, chloride ions in the beverage It can be added so that the concentration is 65 to 200 mg / L, preferably 70 to 150 mg / L.

  In the present invention, the chloride ion concentration can be measured using capillary electrophoresis. Here, “capillary electrophoresis” can be specifically measured by injecting a sample into a capillary, performing electrophoresis, and calculating the concentration of separated ions from a calibration curve measured in advance (BCOJ Beer analysis, 8.24 organic acid, 8.24.2 capillary electrophoresis).

  According to the examples, for a beer flavored beverage to which a protein hydrolyzate is added, when the product of the total nitrogen concentration and the chloride ion concentration is in a specific range, the unfermented wheat whose pH is adjusted to the acidic side It was observed that the sourness of the juice was reduced and relaxed, and the harmony of the taste as a beer-flavored drink was better achieved. Therefore, in the protein hydrolyzate, the product of the total nitrogen concentration (mg / L) and the chloride ion concentration (mg / L) in the beverage is 16000 to 60000, preferably 16000 to 55000, more preferably 16000. It can be added so as to be 50000, more preferably 16000-45000, particularly preferably 16000-40000.

According to the production method the present invention malt beverage, adding the pH adjusting agent wort, a protein hydrolyzate, characterized in that the acidity of pH adjusting agent is reduced or alleviated by protein hydrolysates, A method for producing an unfermented beer-flavored malt beverage having a pH of less than 4.0 is provided.

  The wort used in the malt beverage according to the present invention can be prepared according to a conventional method. For example, (a) saccharifying a mixture of malt and water and filtering to obtain wort, (b) adding hops to the obtained wort and then boiling, (c) boiling The wort can be prepared by performing the process of cooling the wort.

  In the step (a), the pulverized malt may be any barley, such as Nijo barley, germinated by a conventional method, dried, and then pulverized to a predetermined particle size. Saccharification and filtration of the mixture of the malt pulverized product and water and optionally the auxiliary materials can be carried out according to a conventional method.

  In step (b), after adding hops to the wort obtained in (a), the flavor and aroma of hops can be boiled by boiling. After boiling, soot such as protein produced by precipitation may be removed.

  In step (c), the boiled wort is cooled. This cooling is desirably performed at a temperature as low as possible so that the wort is not frozen, usually 1 to 5 ° C.

  The obtained wort can be filtered to remove unwanted proteins. Although filtration can be performed according to a conventional method, it can be preferably performed using a diatomaceous earth filter. In filtration, degassed water may be added to wort and filtered after dilution to adjust the sugar content of the final product to 3 to 8%.

  After filtration, the processes performed in the production of normal beer or sparkling liquor, for example, adjustment of final concentration with degassed water, carbon dioxide sealing, pasteurization, containers (eg barrels, bottles, cans) ) Filling (packaging), container labeling, and the like can be appropriately performed.

  The pH adjuster and the protein hydrolyzate may be added before saccharification of wort or after saccharification or filtration of wort. The pH adjuster and the protein hydrolyzate may be added together or separately, and when added separately, either may be added first. When adding multiple protein hydrolysates, when adding multiple pH adjusters, each component may be added together or separately, and when added separately May be added first.

  The protein hydrolyzate reduces or alleviates the acidity of unfermented wort whose pH is adjusted to the acidic side, and also achieves better harmony of taste as a beer-flavored beverage. It can be added so that the total nitrogen concentration is 250 to 275 mg / L.

  The protein hydrolyzate reduces or alleviates the acidity of unfermented wort whose pH is adjusted to the acidic side, and also achieves better harmony of taste as a beer-flavored beverage. It can be added so that the chlorine ion concentration in it is 65 to 200 mg / L, preferably 70 to 150 mg / L.

  The protein hydrolyzate reduces or alleviates the acidity of unfermented wort whose pH is adjusted to the acidic side, and also achieves better harmony of taste as a beer-flavored beverage. The product of the total nitrogen concentration (mg / L) and the chloride ion concentration (mg / L) is 1600-60000, preferably 16000-55000, more preferably 16000-50000, and even more preferably 160000 It can be added to 45000, particularly preferably 16000 to 40000.

  You may add additives, such as a fragrance | flavor, a pigment | dye, and a foam / foam retention improver, to wort. These additives may be added before saccharification of wort or after saccharification or filtration of wort.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is an unfermented beer-flavored malt beverage having a pH of less than 4.0, comprising wort having a sugar content of 3 to 20%, a pH adjuster, and a protein hydrolyzate. And the total nitrogen concentration in a drink is 250-275 mg / L, and the beer flavor malt drink and its manufacturing method by which the acidity of the pH adjuster was reduced and eased by the protein hydrolyzate are provided.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is an unfermented beer-flavored malt beverage having a pH of less than 4.0, comprising wort having a sugar content of 3 to 20%, a pH adjuster, and a protein hydrolyzate. A beer-flavored malt beverage in which the chloride ion concentration in the beverage is 65 to 200 mg / L (more preferably 70 to 150 mg / L), and the acidity of the pH adjuster is reduced or relaxed by the protein hydrolyzate A manufacturing method thereof is provided.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is an unfermented beer-flavored malt beverage having a pH of less than 4.0, comprising wort having a sugar content of 3 to 20%, a pH adjuster, and a protein hydrolyzate. The product of the total nitrogen concentration (mg / L) and the chloride ion concentration (mg / L) in the beverage is 16000-60000 (preferably 16000-55000, more preferably 16000-50000, even more preferably 16000-45000, particularly preferably 16000-40000), and a beer-flavored malt beverage and a method for producing the same, wherein the acidity of the pH adjuster is reduced or alleviated by the protein hydrolyzate.

  The present invention will be specifically described based on the following examples, but the present invention is not limited to these examples.

Example 1: Production of alcohol-free beer-flavored beverage and its evaluation (1) Preparation of wort 200 kg of malt pulverized product and 700 L of warm water were added and mixed in a charging tank, and saccharification was performed at 50 to 76 ° C. After completion of the saccharification step, this was filtered in a wort filtration tank to obtain transparent wort as the filtrate.

  The obtained wort was transferred to a boiling kettle, and 80 kg (converted to solid content) of an auxiliary material mainly composed of liquid sugar was added thereto, and 1 kg of hop was further added, followed by boiling at 100 ° C. The boiled wort was placed in a whirlpool tank and lactic acid was added to a pH of 4.0. Subsequently, wrinkles such as proteins generated by precipitation were removed. At this time, warm water was added to the wort after boiling to adjust the sugar content to 7%. The obtained wort (1,800 L) is cooled to 4 ° C. with a plate cooler, degassed water is added and filtered through a diatomaceous earth filter and used for the sensory evaluation test and component analysis described later (sugar content 4%). Got. In addition, the density in 20 degreeC measured with the vibration-type density meter was made into sugar content (%).

(2) Evaluation of acidity In the wort prepared in (1), animal protein hydrolyzate (trade name: CH Kyowa (manufactured by Kirin Kyowa Foods)) in an amount as shown in Table 1 per liter of wort; pig Gelatin hydrolyzate) was added to each of the plant protein hydrolysates (trade names: HPP Kyowa 4BE (manufactured by Kirin Kyowa Foods); wheat and corn hydrolysates) in amounts as shown in Table 2. It used for the sensory evaluation test. Specifically, sensory evaluation was performed on sourness strength and sourness quality by the following criteria by eight panelists who were well trained and skilled in evaluating beer-based beverages.

[Strength of acidity]
0: The acidity is remarkably reduced / relieved, and the strength is such that the acidity is not a concern.
1: Although there is sourness, the sourness is clearly reduced or alleviated from the control group without addition.
2: Compared to the non-added control group, or enhance sourness (opposite effect)
(In the evaluation, each panel gave an independent score, and the averaged result was taken as the evaluation result. An average score of 1.25 or less is judged to have a sourness reducing / relaxing effect.)

[Evaluation of sour quality]
X: As a beer-flavored beverage, the acidity and other tastes (umami, sweetness, bitterness, etc.) are not harmonized. Although the sourness is reduced / relieved, it also includes the case where other tastes are prominent.
Δ: Neither between x and ○.
○: As a beer-flavored beverage, there is a harmony between sourness and other tastes (such as umami, sweetness, and bitterness), and the sourness required as a beer-flavored beverage is obtained.
(Each panel decided through discussions.)

The results of the sensory evaluation test were as follows.

It was confirmed that the protein hydrolyzate has a sour taste reducing / relaxing effect. On the other hand, the addition of a low concentration such as about 50 mg / L felt that the acidity was reduced, but the acidity still remained. In addition, at a high concentration of addition of 1000 mg / L or more, the sourness reduction effect is great, but the outstanding umami taste disrupts the sense of harmony of the taste as a beer-flavored beverage, and the unique aroma of dashi-like is in the way There was a trend.
From the above, it has been found that the protein hydrolyzate can reduce or alleviate the acidity caused by the pH adjuster while maintaining the harmony of the taste as a beer-flavored drink within a certain range.

(3) Evaluation by chemical analysis About each sample used by (2) of Example 1, the total nitrogen concentration and the chlorine ion concentration were measured. As a control, the total nitrogen concentration and chloride ion concentration were similarly measured for commercially available beer beverages (commercial products 1 to 3). In addition, protein hydrolyzate is not contained in any of commercial products 1-3.
The total nitrogen concentration was measured using a Sumigraph NC-900 (Sumitomo Chemical Analysis Center) according to the combustion method registered by EBC.
Chlorine ion concentration was measured using a capillary electrophoresis system (Agilent) according to capillary electrophoresis based on BCOJ organic acid analysis.
The results are shown in Table 3.

Claims (7)

  An unfermented beer-flavored malt beverage having a pH of less than 4.0, comprising wort, a pH adjuster, and a protein hydrolyzate, wherein the acidity of the pH adjuster is reduced by the protein hydrolyzate -Relaxed beer-flavored malt beverage.   The beverage according to claim 1, wherein the pH adjuster is an organic acid and / or an inorganic acid having one or more pKa of 2 to 4.   The beverage according to claim 1, wherein the wort is obtained by saccharifying a mixture comprising a malt pulverized product and water.   The beverage according to claim 1, wherein the total nitrogen concentration in the beverage is 250 to 275 mg / L.   The beverage according to claim 1, wherein the chloride ion concentration in the beverage is 65 to 200 mg / L.   The drink of Claim 1 whose product of the total nitrogen concentration (mg / L) in a drink and the chloride ion concentration (mg / L) in a drink is 16000-60000.   An unfermented product having a pH of less than 4.0, wherein a pH adjuster and a protein hydrolyzate are added to wort, and the acidity of the pH adjuster is reduced or alleviated by the protein hydrolyzate Method for producing beer-flavored malt beverages.