Applications of natural ingredients in alcoholic drinks - Natural Food Additives, Ingredients and Flavourings - page 388

16.3 Process aids
16.3.1 Fining agents
Fining agents are of great importance in the alcoholic beverage industry. They are
used to remove hazes (haze stabilisation) and their employment is a great help to
fi ltration, where used, in the later stages of production. The majority of alcoholic
drinks are meant to be haze free, although there are some beverages that are
deliberately consumed hazy, including many indigenous cereal-based drinks of
Africa, Asia and South America (McKay et al. 2011b), Hefeweizen (a style of
German wheat beer) and emulsion liqueurs (see Section 16.2.4).
Finings clarify liquids by precipitating (fl occulating) colloidal suspensions
(usually of proteins, polymeric polyphenols (tannins) or polysaccharides) by
increasing the particle size. Given enough time, most alcoholic beverages will
clarify themselves; the value of fi nings lies in their ability to accelerate this
process, so that the beverage is clear at the point of sale. Some fi nings have the
added bonus of increasing the organoleptic value of the fi nished beverage, as
described below. Some prominent fi nings are listed in Table 16.18.

Table 16.18 Some natural fi ning (clarifying) agents

Uses 1

Agent Origin and nature Comments

Alginates Plant: Phyophaceae

algae (e.g. kelp), as
sodium salt from
alkaline digestion

Wine, at rate of
4-8 g/hl. Also used as
auxiliary fi nings in
brewing

Not as effi cient as, say,
isinglass, although in
brewing can be used prior to
addition of isinglass. GRAS

Irish
moss

Plant, dried fronds
of red alga Chondrus
crispus

Beer, as kettle fi nings
(at boiling stage).
Removes proteins

Sulfated polysaccharide
carrageenan is active agent.
Purifi ed carrageenans (e.g.
kappa) often used instead

Tannic
acid

Plant: extracted from
oakwood. Used as
slurry in beer or
wine

Beer: 1-2 g/hl
Wine: 3-10 g/hl
(in conjunction with
gelatin)

In brewing, used inline before
fi nal fi ltration. In winemaking
now not much used, its place
taken by silica gel.

￿ ￿ ￿ ￿ ￿

Bentonite Mineral:

Montmorillonite
clay. Used as slurry
in must or wine

White or rosé must or
wine, removes proteins.
Rate: 100-150 g/hl

Often used to clarify white
grape must before
fermentation, but can be used
on new wine. GRAS

Silica Mineral, used as

colloidal suspension
of SiO 2 as hydrogel
or xerogel

Beer, cider, white wine.
Removes some proteins
and polyphenols. Rate:
10-25 ml/hl (hydrogel)
(white wine); ∼50 g/hl
(beer)

In winemaking, often used
with proteinaceous fi ning
agent (e.g. gelatin), which it
helps fl occulate. GRAS

(Continued)