Development and assessment of a small-scale Wort filtration test for the prediction of beer filtration efficiency

A Small-scale Wort rapId Filtration Test (SWIFT) that predicts beer filtrat ion efficiency has been developed. The test is simple, cost effective and c orrelates with existing beer filtration tests such as beer V-max membrane ( Esser test) and diatomaceous earth (Walton filter) tests. SWIFT has an adva ntage over existing beer filtration tests as it can be easily incorporated into barley quality laboratories utilising excess wort from extract analyse s, thus negating the need for additional sample preparation or to ferment a nd age beer Furthermore, the test does not rely on expensive equipment or s pecially trained laboratory technicians. SWIFT which may also be used to ev aluate degassed beer, is a syringe test that utilises a 13 mm diameter 0.45 mum membrane and is negatively influenced by wort viscosity (P<0.05). It i s envisaged that SWIFT may be applied by barley breeding programs for the e valuation of progeny lines to provide a better prediction of beer filtratio n performance than total wort <beta>-glucan measurements. In addition, malt sters and brewers could use SWIFT to assess malt samples, and provide early warning of potential beer filtration problems during the brewing process.