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BRITESORB® beer stabilizers are highly porous silica gel particles that selectively adsorb proteins that occur naturally in beer. They adsorb the proteins that cause chill haze, but they do not adsorb the proteins necessary for an attractive and stable head of foam. The silica gel is completely filtered out of the beer before it is packaged. The result is a brilliant beverage that retains its clarity during extended shelf storage.
Beer contains various proteins (polypeptides) and tannins (polyphenols) that can slowly react during shelf storage to form a colloidal complex. This complex becomes insoluble at the cold temperatures at which beer is stored and consumed. The result is formation of an undesirable cloudiness known as chill haze.
Haze formation is accelerated by oxidation of beer during processing, by the introduction of headspace air during packaging, by elevated storage temperatures, and by the presence of heavy metals such as copper and iron.
Because the chill haze precursors cannot be filtered out of beers, breweries use stabilizers to prevent the formation of haze in the first place. Commonly used stabilizers have included enzymes, tannic acid, polyvinylpolypyrrolidone (PVPP), and silica gels. Silica gels have become the method of choice over the last two decades.
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