Stefaans Brmmer
STRICT vegetarians beware – fish ingredients, although filtered out, may well be used in the brewing of your favourite beer.
The “war” between South African Breweries (SAB), the largest player in the South African beer market, and the Windhoek-based Namibia Breweries, probably SAB’s most serious contender, escalated this week with SAB conceding that “finings”, derived from fish, are used in its brewing process.
SAB Beer Division public affairs manager Adrian Botha said finings were used to “floculate the yeast and clarify the beer”, but that it was “only a process aid and, as it is filtered out, no trace remains in the final product”.
He said finings were used by “all brewers world-wide (including those that brew according to the Reinheitsgebot)”. Namibia Breweries, which sells products like Windhoek Lager and Holsten, has built its reputation on its claimed adherence to the 1516 Reinheitsgebot, or German Purity Law, which decrees that only barley malt, hops and water can be used as ingredients.
Namibia Breweries public relations officer Claudia Henrichsen this week denied her company used finings, saying the only departure from the original purity law was that it used yeast to spur fermentation. She said in the 16th century the fermentation catalyst entered the brew from the atmosphere, but that was “obviously not possible” in modern brewing processes.
Information on SAB’s use of finings was given to the Mail & Guardian by an SAB employee who said he believed the company’s “Project Natural” campaign distorted the facts about the brewing process. He said it was added to the brew to co-agulate with natural impurities, after which both were filtered out.
Other details he gave, confirmed by Botha, include:
* “Natural sugar” is added to Lion Lager.
* SAB augments the naturally occurring sulphur content of beers to act as an anti- oxidant (often referred to as preservatives).
Botha said potassium meta bi-sulphate was added to SAB products, which broke down to “sulphites” to protect beer from “the negative effects of oxygen” and extend freshness. He said Carlsberg Brewery recently announced it had made a yeast which releases six times as much sulphite as normal, “which might no longer necessitate the addition of further sulphites, and this development will obviously be watched with interest”.
Henrichsen denied Namibia Breweries added any anti-oxidants, saying the long brewing term and a cooling process “stabilised” its product.
* Enzymes are added to ensure consistency. The SAB employee said alpha- and beta- amylase were added where these did not occur in sufficient amounts in the brewing process. Botha said SAB brewers “supplement … enzymes to ensure the right amount for the particular brew”.
* The employee said a substance named “NEB” was added to boost the staying power of the foamy head. Botha said: “To prolong the life of the beer foam and provide that all- important white `head’ in all conditions, SAB’s brewers, once again when necessary, add a natural extract of kelp.”
* The employee said caramel was added to correct colour. Said Botha: “Standard food- grade caramel was previously added to some of the company’s brands. SAB now, however, chooses to blend different varieties of malt to deliver the unique colour and taste of the particular brand.”
Botha said: “The brewing, fermentation and maturation of beer is the art and science of controlling a natural process. However, as with all natural processes it is sometimes necessary to redress the vagaries of nature by supplementing the natural by-products … and the minuscule amounts added are well within the standards of the most stringent food regulations.”