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# Institution of Chemical Engineers
Trans IChemE, Vol 81, Part C, March 2003

www.ingentaselect.com=titles=09603085.htm

ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFECTS OF AGITATION ON

MASHING FOR BEER PRODUCTION IN
A SMALL SCALE VESSEL
K. L. TSE, C. D. BOSWELL, A. W. NIENOW and P. J. FRYER
Centre for Formulation Engineering, Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK

ashing is the brewhouse operation concerned with producing the fermentable sugars
necessary for the successful fermentation of wort into beer. The process involves
adding grist to water and heating to promote the enzymic conversion of malt starch
into sugars. The conversion process depends on several factors including raw materials, the nal
product speci cations and on the equipment used downstream in the subsequent unit operations
to recover and stabilize the wort. Although the biochemistry of the process is well understood, the
interactions between operating parameters and mash quality are less so, despite the fact that this
information holds the key to process improvements in the brewing industry. A study of the effects
of agitation in mashing has been carried out, to examine the impact of this parameter on mash
quality and to investigate agitation as a possible process intensi cation route for brewing.
Experiments have been carried out in small-scale agitated vessels with well characterized
geometry. Results of the studies suggest that for the materials studied here the conversion of
starch into fermentable sugars is independent of the agitation conditions. Agitation does not
provide a viable route for process intensi cation. The primary effect of increasing agitation speed
is to increase the number of ne particles formed, which may compromise the ef ciency of
downstream recovery operations through reduced ltration rates. Under agitation conditions
encountered in industrial mash tuns, solubilization of b-glucan from the grist and the proposed
consequent increase in viscosity is unlikely to be the reason for the increased separation times
reported. Likewise, processing conditions are such that the viscosity of the mash itself cannot be
considered to present a challenge to the agitation requirements of the process.
Keywords: mashing; agitation; viscosity; particle size; process intensi cation.

sugar required by the yeast (Lewis and Young, 1995). The

process begins with the gelatinization of the starch, which is
achieved by heating the grist in the presence of water to
about 65 C and is followed by enzymic action to convert the
free starch polymers into sugars of varying chain lengths. At
the same time, proteins and other materials are solubilized
both by the physical process and enzyme action, such that
the nal wort produced is a complex mixture containing
sugars, dissolved proteins, polyphenolic species, vitamins
and minerals (Briggs et al., 1981).
Operating conditions for mashing vary depending on both
the initial conditions of the malt and also on the nal wort
desired. Conditions are designed to maximize the action of
the different enzymes, which have different optimum working temperatures (Briggs et al., 1982). The process typically
involves raising the mash temperature with a series of
holding times at temperatures conducive to the enzyme
action required. In the UK, a typical mashing pro le
involves combining the grist and hot water (liquor) at
65 C, holding the mash at this temperature until iodine
testing no longer shows the presence of free starch (approximately 45 min) and then heating to a nal temperature

INTRODUCTION
The brewing process can be neatly divided into two subsections (Figure 1), brewhouse and fermentation. Brewhouse operations are those concerned with producing a
fermentable extract from malt, and recovering and then
stabilizing it, and comprise ve processes: milling, mashing,
lautering (or mash ltration), boiling and trub separation
(Lewis and Young, 1995). Mashing is the extraction step,
where the milled grist (usually barley malt) is combined
with hot water and possibly other cereal ingredients
(adjuncts) and heated to produce a fermentable substrate,
which contains all the nutrients and precursors necessary for
the yeast fermentation downstream.
Mashing primarily utilizes the action of two enzymes
present in the grist, a- and b-amlyase, to carry out the
conversion of malt starch into sugars of differing molecular
weights. These two enzymes act in concert to degrade the
two different forms of starch present in malt; a-amylase is
primarily responsible for digesting starch into lower molecular weight fermentable sugars and dextrins, whereas the
action of b-amlyase produces maltose, which is the primary
3

TSE et al.

Figure 1. A schematic diagram of the brewing process, showing the split between the brewhouse and fermentation operations. The ve brewhouse operations
are: milling, mashing, wort ltration (either lauter tun or mash lter), wort boiling and trub separation (using the whirlpool).

of 78 C, to halt further enzyme activity and x the wort

composition. The design of operating equipment varies
widely, especially depending on geographical location, but
in the UK, grist and liquor are typically pre-mixed before
entering the mash tun and then intermittently mixed by a
so-called low-shear paddle-type agitator (example shown
in Figure 2, Wilkinson and Andrews, 1996). Alternative
mashing processes include decoction and infusion mashing.
Decoction mashing is typically used in Germany and uses a
temperature program to allow gradual enzyme action to
convert the malt. Grist and hot water are mixed in a malt
hydrator and transferred to a stirred vessel. The temperature
program is achieved by removing part of the mash, boiling it
and returning it to the main mash, which is stirred to try to
ensure temperature homogeneity. This process may be
repeated two or three times (Lewis and Young, 1995).
Infusion mashing is a traditional process and involves no
further stirring of the mash after the grist and hot water have
been mixed together in equipment resembling a static mixer.
Temperature control of the mash in this process is achieved
by ensuring the grist and water are at the correct temperature
at the point of mixing and minimizing heat losses from the
mash tun (Lewis and Young, 1995).
The brewing industry is such that the same product is
often manufactured at different sites using different equipment and it is obviously desirable to produce a product with
minimal site-to-site variation. In order to achieve this, an
improved knowledge of the in uence of operating conditions on the mash quality is required. This increased

Figure 2. A schematic diagram of the Briggs low-shear paddle agitator for

mashing, showing the off-centre positioning and low clearance of the
impeller from the bottom of the mash tun. This impeller is typical of
those used in the UK (Wilkinson and Andrews, 1996).

understanding should also provide insight into possibilities

for process intensi cation, allowing a reduction in the overall
cost per unit product. In the mashing process, the primary
parameter of interest which offers a route to achieving these
aims is the degree of agitation used in the mash tun. Mash is
known to be a poor conductor of heat (Hudson, 1969) and
therefore, in processes where heat input or removal is
required, ef cient stirring is also required. This stirring
will ensure even distribution of heat and maintain the
temperature pro les necessary for enzyme conversion
to occur, whilst also preventing local overheating in the
liquid or burn-on of material to the heat transfer surface
(Herrmann, 1999; Herrmann et al., 1997). However, there is
very little information available on whether improved
mixing in the process could accelerate the rate at which
conversion occurs. There are reports in the literature in
which ne grinding of the grist is recommended (Hudson,
1969) as this is thought to facilitate the penetration of water
and subsequent gelatinization of starch. If this is the case,
then improving the mixing of mash, beyond that required for
temperature control, may facilitate the mass transfer of water
across the grain boundaries.
It may be that the predominant effects of increasing agitation are entirely detrimental to the brewing process; almost all
studies reported in the literature have focussed on this aspect
(Andrews, 1996; van Wsberghe, 1986; Uhlig and Vasquez,
1991). For example, it has been shown that the mean particle
size of the mash decreases with increasing agitation (Buhler
et al., 1995), a nd which is supported by anecdotal reports
from brewers. The ne particles cause problems in the wort
separation step which follows mashing, particularly when this
is carried out using traditional lauter tuns. (In lautering, the
wort is ltered through the spent grain and the presence of
large numbers of ne particles causes high pressure drops and
subsequent slow operation.) In addition, increased agitator
speed has been linked to increased extraction of b-glucan from
the malt which also impacts on the lterability of the mash
(Uhlig and Vasquez, 1991).
Analysis of the process suggests that there are three aspects
to be considered with regards to agitation in the mashing: the
challenge of mixing a uid with complex rheology, the effect
of agitation on the biochemistry of the mash and the in uence
on the particle size of the grist. The aim of this work was
thus to study the impact of mixing on all three aspects, to
identify their effects and any interaction between them.
Trans IChemE, Vol 81, Part C, March 2003

EFFECTS OF AGITATION ON MASHING

MATERIALS AND METHODS
The grist used in all experiments was Optic (RM205) malt,
which was provided milled by BRi (using a Bobby mill,
1.6 mm gap setting). Following milling, the grist was sieved
into seven different particle sized fractions (1400, 1000,
710, 500, 250, 106 and less than 106 mm) and stored
in airtight containers at 20 C until used. For each experiment, the grist was brought to room temperature and known
amounts of each fraction combined to give a reconstituted
standard grist, as determined from initial milling and sieving
trials carried out at BRi (Table 1). This method ensured a
consistent initial grist composition for all experiments and
avoided sampling errors that may have arisen from segregation of the contents during transport.
In large-scale brewery plant, the mash tun is often
agitated by an offset, paddle impeller (Wilkinson and
Andrews, 1996) in a fairly poorly characterized process.
In the laboratory, bench-scale studies were carried out using
a much smaller but well characterized, standard agitated
vessel, with the geometry modi ed to approach that of plant
set-up. A glass, 2 l stirred vessel (diameter 12 cm,
height 24 cm was tted with four baf es (1=10 vessel
diameter, with a 1 cm clearance from the bottom of the
vessel) and a standard six-blade Rushton turbine. The vessel
was equipped with a water jacket for temperature control
of the contents. To approximate the industrial process setup, the impeller diameter (D 6 cm) was made relatively
large (half the vessel diameter) to enhance bulk mixing and
the impeller clearance set lower than usual (one-sixth vessel
height) to aid solid suspension. An aspect ratio of 1 gave a
working mash volume of 1.5 l. To allow for scale differences
between laboratory and plant-scale processes, the scaledown parameter chosen was impeller tip speed (Ts) as this
is the parameter most commonly used in the brewing
industry (Wilkinson and Andrews, 1996; Barnes, 2000). In
breweries, mash impellers are typically operated at tip
speeds of about 3 ms1. However, in the much smaller
laboratory scale vessels, such high tip speeds resulted in
very high agitation speeds with consequent increased air
entrainment into the mash. As this is not desirable (due to
increased oxidation of mash components; Herrmann, 1999),
tip speeds were signi cantly lower in the laboratory scale
vessels, typically half those used in plant. For all the tip
speeds utilized, the mash solids appeared visually to be fully
suspended and in motion.
Mashes were carried out at a standard grist to liquor ratio
of 1:3, although to investigate the effect of mash composition, ratios of 1:2.5 and 1:5 were also used. In each case, the
grist and liquor were manually combined before being
subject to controlled agitation conditions at tip speeds of
0.5, 0.95, 1.5 or 2.0 m s1. For a speci c series of experiments designed to investigate the effects of very high

agitation intensity, the contents of the mashing vessel were

transferred at intervals to a high shear homogenizer
(Moulinex Vitamix) and agitated at high speed (approximately 4600 rpm) for short intervals during the mashing
process. This procedure was necessary to allow the temperature pro le of the mash to be maintained whilst applying the
high agitation intensity desired.
Temperature control of the vessel was provided by a
waterbath (Grant LTD6G, Grant, UK) and followed one of
two pro les. For the standard mashing pro le (Standard),
grist and liquor were combined at 65 C, and then held at
that temperature for 45 min before the temperature was
increased (at about 1 C min1) to 78 C. The total mashing
time was 66 min. A small number of experiments were
carried out using an alternative mashing pro le (Temperature Ramp), where the grist and liquor were rst combined
at 40 C, the temperature raised to 50 C and held at that
temperature for 10 min and the temperature then increased
further to 65 C over a period of typically 7 min, followed by
a 45 min hold before increasing the temperature to 78 C
over about 12 min. Total mashing time was then typically
90 min. This procedure was followed in order to better
follow the viscosity changes associated with the gelatinization of malt starch and subsequent conversion through
enzyme action.
Analyses
The effect of agitation on the mashing process was
followed by analysis of changes in
(1)
(2)
(3)

viscosity measurements of both the whole mash (solids

present) and mash extract (no solid material present);
determination of sugar concentrations, both by HPLC
analysis and measurements of speci c gravity; and
particle size and particle size distribution.
Viscosity Measurements

The viscosity of the whole mash was investigated to

determine (1) how the complex rheological behaviour of
the uid affected the agitation process, (2) as an indication
of the progress of the starch conversion, and (3) to determine how the mash itself was affected by the different
operating regimes.
Two methods were used. Initially, a basic assessment of
the whole mash viscosity was made using a torque meter
attached to the impeller to monitor changes in torque drawn
over the lifetime of the process. Whole mash viscosity was
also measured by mashing in the cup and bob facility of a
Contraves Rheomat 30 (Contraves AG, Switzerland) using
the largest gap, which allowed the changes in whole mash

Table 1. Weights of grist and water used to prepare the initial mash composition for the three mash concentrations, 1:2.5, 1:3 and 1:5.
Weight of fraction (g)
Mash ratio
1:2.5
1:3
1:5

Water (g)

1400

1000

710

500

250

106

106

Total grist (g)

1070
1125
1250

124.11
108.48
72.32

77.43
67.69
45.13

61.35
53.62
35.75

42.56
37.20
24.80

50.15
43.85
29.23

39.85
34.86
23.24

33.50
29.30
19.53

430.00
375.00
250.00

Trans IChemE, Vol 81, Part C, March 2003

TSE et al.

viscosity to be monitored as a function of the time,

temperature and shear pro le. Finally, the viscosity of the
mash extract (with no solids material present) was measured
to determine the effect of different operating conditions on
the nal product. In this case, measurements were made
using the Contraves Rheomat 30 double gap facility
immersed in a waterbath for temperature control. Measurements were taken at 65 and 78 C, the latter being approximately the temperature at which the spent grain is separated
from the mash liquor.
Particle Size Analysis
Changes in particle size distributions were determined on
a percentage weight basis for the whole mash. At the end of
each mash, the vessel contents were passed though a sieve
stack (the same as that used to determine the initial
composition) and allowed to drain. Samples were taken of
the mash liquor to allow measurement of viscosity, speci c
gravity and dry weight of solids. In additions, samples of the
smallest solid fraction (less than 106 mm) were taken for
particle size analysis in a Mastersizer S (Malvern Instruments Ltd, UK). The fractions were rinsed to wash off
adhering nes, using 3 l of hot water (T 80 C) to prevent
solids precipitation, which was observed to occur when the
mash temperature was below about 30 C. Solids in the
smallest size fraction (less than 106 mm) were separated
from the liquor by centrifugation (Jouan C422, 3500 rpm,
20 min). All solid fractions were then dried overnight at
60 C. After the initial drying period, the fractions were
sieved further (2.5 mm amplitude, 30 min, Analysette 3Pro,
Fristch, Germany) to separate the different sizes and were
then dried for 3 h at 105 C to give the nal dry weight of
solid. The grist retained in each sieve was expressed as a
percentage of the total recovered, resulting in mass-based
particle size distributions. As the solids content of the mash
continues to evolve over the process, interval sampling of
the mash was not used and comparisons were made on
the basis of the change between initial and nal fraction
weights.
Sugars

this characterization was carried out using a torquemeter

attached to the shaft of the impeller to follow the mashing
process. Results of a typical experiment are shown in
Figure 3. No change in power draw was observed over the
entire mashing process, except where there was a decrease
in impeller tip speed after about 8 min. Some literature had
reported that a very viscous uid was formed during
mashing (Herrmann et al., 1997). Interestingly, there was
no signi cant increase in power consumption at the initial
point of mixing together the grist and water (the mashing-in
phase), as might be expected. The material had the consistency of a thin slurry, quite different to the similarity to
porridge reported by some brewers. This was surprising as
much of the literature concerning mash viscosity suggests
that mash can be very viscous.
One reason for the failure to observe a signi cant increase
in viscosity over the duration of the mash may be ascribed to
the operating regime used. Reynolds numbers for the bench
scale mashes were estimated to be of the order of 10100
and thus in the transition zone between laminar and turbulent ow. In this region of the power curve, the power
number is weak though complex function of the Reynolds
number, essentially remaining almost constant (Edwards
et al., 1997). This weak functionality is likely to explain
why the torquemeter failed to record an increase in power
draw as the mash progressed. In addition, at higher
Reynolds numbers the power number becomes essentially
constant, a fact which implies that simply monitoring the
power draw in industrial mash tuns is not likely to be
successful as a means of obtaining information about
mash viscosity, as the Reynolds number of these systems
is likely to be much higher.
However, it was also considered that as mashing-in of the
grist and liquor was carried out at 65 C, gelatinization of the
starch (and the expected principal cause of any increase
in mash viscosity) may have occurred too rapidly to be
detected (i.e. before mashing-in was completed and all grist
and liquor combined). The Temperature Ramp mashing
pro le was used to examine the changes in mash viscosity
which arise from gelatinization of the starch and different
viscosity pro les were obtained. Temperature and power
draw pro les are shown in Figure 4 for an impeller tip speed

The composition of sugars in the mash extract is a

measure of its suitability as a yeast substrate. An indication
of the total sugar content was determined from speci c
gravity measurements (DA-100M, Mettler-Toldeo Ltd, UK).
Information on the speci c sugar composition was acquired
by HPLC analysis [Gilson, Rezex RHM (300 7.8 mm)
column, Phenomenex, UK]. Three fermentable sugars were
chosen as markers (glucose, maltose and maltotriose) and
individual sugar release pro les were determined over the
mashing process. Mash samples (8 ml) were taken at times
0, 15, 30, 45 and 66 min during the mash and dosed with
2 ml of 1% mercuric chloride solution to quench enzyme
activity. Samples were then diluted 1:10 for analysis.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Changes in Viscosity on Agitation and its Effects
Measurements of the mash viscosity were carried out to
determine the rheological behaviour of the uid. Initially,

Figure 3. The change in power draw over the duration of the mash, as
measured for the Standard mash pro le, using a torquemeter attached to the
impeller shaft. No change in power draw is observed that is not related to a
change in impeller speed. Mash to liquor ratio 1:3; Rushton turbine.

Trans IChemE, Vol 81, Part C, March 2003

EFFECTS OF AGITATION ON MASHING

Figure 4. The change in power draw over the duration of the mash, as
measured for the Temperature Ramp mash pro le, using a torquemeter
attached to the impeller shaft. Note the change in power draw at 80 min;
from the temperature pro le, it can be deduced that this arises from a
change in the mash viscosity, associated with the gelatinization of starch
(and subsequent enzyme conversion). Mash to liquor ratio 1:3; Rushton
turbine, tip speed of impeller 0.95 m s1.

of 0.95 m s1. As the temperature of the mash approaches

65 C, there is a small but obvious increase in the power
drawn by the impeller. It is suggested that, in this case, the
increase in mash viscosity associated with starch gelatinization was suf cient to lower the Reynolds number enough to
cause an detectable increase in power number in the transition region of the power curve.
On the other hand, when mashing was carried out in the
Contraves Rheomat 30 (and therefore under laminar ow
conditions) using the same Temperature Ramp pro le, a
much more pronounced viscosity pro le, i.e. torque spike,
was obtained (Figure 5). There is a very rapid and large
increase in viscosity (by more than an order of magnitude) followed by a similarly rapid decrease to a value approaching
the initial viscosity. The breakdown of the starch granules
and gelatinization of the starch polymers causes the large
increasing mash viscosity; the subsequent decrease observed
results from enzymic action which breaks down the larger
molecular weight polymers into smaller species. Figure 6

Figure 5. Change in viscosity over the duration of the mashing process, for
a rheometer mash following the Temperature Ramp pro le. The very rapid
increase in viscosity arises from starch gelatinization as the 65 C stand is
approached. The subsequent decrease is due to enzyme conversion into
lower molecule polymers. Mash to liquor ratio 1:3; shear rate 23.3 s1.

Trans IChemE, Vol 81, Part C, March 2003

Figure 6. The effect of mash concentration on the viscositytimetemperature pro le, as determined for three rheometer mashes using the Temperature Ramp pro le. Changing the mash to liquor ratio has little in uence on
the maximum viscosity value recorded, although there is a small in uence
on the initial viscosity value. Shear rate 23.3 s1.

shows the results of changing the solids concentration on the

mash viscosity. As can be seen, although the solids content
has a small effect on the initial viscosity of the mash, it does
not in uence the value of the maximum viscosity peak
observed.
Experiments were carried out to identify the effect of
changing the heating rates and shear rates in the rheometer
during mashing on the magnitude of the viscosity peaks
seen. The Temperature Ramp mashing experiments were
repeated with different heating rates between the holding
times. Figure 7 shows that this has a signi cant effect on the
maximum viscosity obtained; as the heating rate is reduced
the value of the maximum viscosity recorded also decreases.
The temperature peak results from a balance between two
con icting factors: the rate of starch gelatinization and
subsequent enzymic breakdown into smaller carbohydrates.

Figure 7. The effect of heating rate on the viscositytimetemperature

pro le, as determined for three rheometer mashes using the Temperature
Ramp pro le. Altering the rate at which the temperature is increased from
the 50 C to 65 C stand affects the balance between the rate of starch
gelatinization and subsequent enzyme conversion. As the heating rate
increases, the gelatinization process occurs more rapidly than the enzyme
conversion, hence the very large increase in mash viscosity. For all, mash to
liquor rate 1:3, shear rate 23.3 s1.

TSE et al.

Figure 8. The effect of increasing shear rate on the mash viscosity, from
three consecutive shear sweeps carried out in the Contraves Rheomat 30
during a Standard mash. The legend refers to the time during the mash for
which the shear sweep was carried out. As expected for a starch solution,
the mash is clearly shear thinning. Mash to liquor ratio 1:3; temperature
65 C.

Figure 9. The effect of shear rate on the viscositytimetemperature pro le,

as determined for three rheometer mashes using the Temperature Ramp
pro le. Although the general trend is unchanged, the maximum viscosity
values vary greatly. Offset peaks re ect slightly different temperaturetime
pro les. For all, mash to liquor ratio 1:3.

Slowing the heating rate allows the enzyme processes to

predominate; as starch gelatinization is strongly temperature
dependent (Lagarrigue and Alvarez, 2001) at the highest
heating rate, it occurs more rapidly than the subsequent
enzymic breakdown into sugars and dextrins. Consequently,
there is a large degree of non-degraded starch present in the
mash which results in a large viscosity increase. When the
heating rate is reduced, the rate of enzyme conversion
predominates, such that the enzymes have suf cient time
to degrade the starch present in the mash and the maximum
viscosity recorded reduces (Muller, 1991). Decreasing the
heating rate will, however, increase the process time.
The second parameter investigated in the rheometer was
the impact of shear rate on viscosity. The interaction
between mash viscosity and agitation is demonstrated in
Figure 8, which shows the results of three shear sweeps
carried out during the course of a Standard mash (mash:
liquor 1:3, Standard temperature pro le) in the Contraves
Rheomat 30. As may be expected for a starch solution
(Lagarrigue and Alvarez, 2001), the mash is very clearly
shear thinning with viscosity values decreasing exponentially with increasing shear rate. Values measured at a given
shear rate continue to decrease between the initial and nal
shear sweeps. The effect of shear on the maximum viscosity
value was also investigated by conducting Temperature
Ramp mashes at a range of different shear rates (Figure 9).
Both the initial mash viscosity and the maximum value
recorded decreased signi cantly as the shear rate increased.
Finally, to assess whether ef cient mixing in industrial mash
tuns is hindered by the complex rheological behaviour of the
mash itself, conditionsin large-scale plant must be considered.
Shear rates in industrial mash tuns are considered, almost
universally, to be low (Andrews, 1996), although they are
generally dif cult to quantify especially in the poorly characterized, non-standard geometries and at the Reynolds
numbers found in industrial breweries. Although agitation
speeds are low (1520 rpm in a UK brewery; Barnes, 2000),
thereby potentially increasing the viscosity of the mash,
Reynolds numbers are higher than in small-scale tests. In
addition, heating rates are also low (typically of the order of
1 C min1; Barnes, 2000, personal communication). This low

heating rate will aid the enzymic breakdown of starch as

gelatinization occurs, reducing the value of the maximum
viscosity peak. Unless extensive temperature programming is
used (which is not generally the case in the UK), the bulk of the
starch gelatinization and initial enzyme conversion will occur
as the mash and liquorare fed into the mash tun at temperatures
between 64 and 65 C and will not occur during agitation. This
work has shown that, although there is some in uence of shear
rate in the rheometer on mash viscosity, this is very much
secondary to the effects of mashing pro le. Correct manipulation of temperatures and times during mashing will lead to low
mash viscosities and thus to a free- owing material. Poor
control of temperature and initial mixing conditions, on the
other hand, may give high-viscosity mashes.

Effect of Agitation on Conversion

Process intensi cation in mashing implies accelerating
the rate of enzymatic conversion of malt starch to fermentable sugars. Consequently, the rst step to identifying
agitation as a viable route for intensi cation is to determine
whether the either the total amount of fermentable sugar or
the sugar concentration pro les are in uenced by the rate of
agitation. Release pro les for the three fermentable sugars
maltose, maltotriose and glucose are shown in Figure 10, for
a mash carried out at Ts 0.5 m s1. As expected (Lewis and
Young, 1991; Briggs et al., 1981; Koljonen et al., 1995;
Moll, et al., 1981), by far the greatest amount of carbohydrate is present as maltose, although there are signi cant,
but much smaller amounts of maltotriose and glucose
present. Figure 11 shows the release pro les for maltose
for mashes produced at tip speeds of 0.5, 1.5 and 2.0 m s1;
as can be seen there is virtually no in uence of agitation
speed on the rate of maltose formation or on the total
amount produced. Similar pro les are observed for maltotriose and glucose. Comparison of the speci c gravities of
the mashes obtained under the different agitation conditions
does not show any signi cant variation (Table 2). It can be
seen that, in the uids studied here, agitation is not a viable
means of increasing the enzymic conversion of starch.
Trans IChemE, Vol 81, Part C, March 2003

EFFECTS OF AGITATION ON MASHING

Figure 10. Typical release pro les for the three fermentable sugars maltose,
maltotriose and glucose over the duration of the mash, as determined in the
agitated vessel, using the Standard mash pro le. Mash to liquor ratio 1:3;
impeller tip speed 0.5 m s1.

Figure 12. The effect of mash concentration on the release pro les for
maltose over the duration of the mash, as determined for three mashes in the
agitated vessel using the Standard mash pro le. The greatest amount of
maltose is present in the most concentrated mash (1:2.5). Similar pro les
have been obtained for maltotriose and glucose. For all, impeller tip speed
0.5 m s1.

the enzymes are saturated with substrate and that there are
no mass transfer limitations to be overcome in this system.
The limiting factor in mashing, irrespective of the degree of
mixing in the system, appears to be enzyme saturation. In
Figure 12, the maltose release pro les are shown for
experiments where the mash concentration was varied
from 1:5, 1:3 to 1:2.5. In all cases, the tip speed used was
1.5 m s1. Signi cantly larger amounts of maltose are
present in the more concentrated mashes, re ecting both
the increase in available starch and enzymes for conversion.
The reduced amounts of water in the more concentrated
mashes has not reduced the amount of fermentable sugar
produced, suggesting that the reaction is not in fact limited
by diffusion of water to or sugar solution from the grist.
Figure 11. The effect of impeller tip speed on the release pro les for
maltose over the duration of the mash, as determined for three mashes in the
agitated vessel, using the Standard mash pro le. As can be seen, there is
very little in uence of impeller speed on the release pro les. Mash to liquor
ratio 1:3; impeller tip speed 0.5, 1.5 and 2.0 m s1.

The rate at which a- and b-amylase convert malt starch to

fermentable sugars is considered to follow the Michaelis
Menten model (Lewis and Young, 1995; Koljonen et al.,
1995; Marc et al., 1983) whereby the reaction proceeds via
the formation of an enzymesubstrate intermediate. Limitations to the rate of reaction thus arise from either a lack of
substrate or a lack of enzyme. As the sugar release pro les
are seen to be independent of the degree of mixing in the
mash, it can be concluded that, at all times during the mash,

Table 2. Effect of impeller tip speed on the nal

speci c gravities, as measured for three mashes in
the agitated vessel, following the Standard mashing
pro le. For all, mash to liquor ratio 1:3.
Tip speed (m s1)
0.5
1.5
2.0

Speci c gravity (g cm3)

1.0872
1.0878
1.0883

Trans IChemE, Vol 81, Part C, March 2003

In uence of Agitation on Particle Size

Agitation has been identi ed in the literature as a potential cause for downstream ltration dif culties (Andrews,
1996; Uhlig and Vasquez, 1991; Buhler et al., 1995), both
through the formation of a smaller mean particle size and an
increased extraction of b-glucans from the malt. Experiments carried out at the three different tip speeds (grist:
liquor ratio 1:3) showed clearly that the proportion of ne
particles (de ned as those below 710 mm, a nominal cut-off,
below which the grist did not contain husk material or large
pieces of endosperm material from the grain) in the total
spent grains increased with increasing agitation speed
(Figure 13). As can be seen, almost twice as many ne
particles are formed at an impeller tip speed of 2.0 m s1, as
compared to those present following agitation at a tip speed
of 0.5 m s1. However, particle size analysis of the smallest
fraction (<106 mm), sampled at the end of the mashing
process, showed that similar distributions were obtained at
all impeller speeds (Figure 14). Thus it appears that increasing the agitation does not decrease the size of the smallest
particles present, but rather increases the amount formed.
The link between agitation and the formation of these
ne particles has yet to be identi ed, but is essential if the
effect of agitation is to be elucidated. Three possible mecha-

10

TSE et al.

Figure 13. The effect of impeller tip speed on nal grist particle size
distribution, as determined for three mashes in the agitated vessel following
the Standard mashing pro le. There is a clear increase in the amount of
material present in smallest sized fraction (less than 106 mm) as agitation
intensity increases. Grist weights are presented as a percentage of the nal
total weight. For all mashes, the initial particle size distribution is the
same.

Figure 15. The effect of impeller tip speed on the nal particle size
distribution, as determined for thee mashes in the agitated vessel, following
the Standard mashing pro le but using only husk material (>710 mm) in the
initial grist. There is a clear increase in the amount of material present in
smallest sieve fraction (less than 106 mm) with increasing agitation intensity.
(Grist weights are presented as a percentage of the nal total weight. For all
mashes, the initial particle size distribution is the same.)

nisms of nes formation were considered with either

mechanical or chemical origins. Increased uid dynamic
generated forces may affect grist particle size through attrition (break-up and abrasion), but in uences on dissolution or
possible precipitation of dissolved species through occulation may also be viable. In an attempt to determine the origin
of the ne particles, mashes were carried out under the three
different agitation conditions using only coarse (>710 mm) or
only ne material (<710 mm). Comparisons of the nal
particle size distributions are shown in Figure 15 (coarse
mash) and Figure 16 ( nes mash). Quite clearly, it is seen that
the most signi cant impact of agitation is on the generation of
ne particle fractions (>106 mm) from the coarse mash. The
coarse material consists of the grain husks and larger fractions of endosperm, which in turn contain the majority of the
cell wall material, a rich source of b-glucans. These are large
molecular weight polymers of glucose which are an important structural component in the cell walls of barley (Vis and

Lorenz, 1997). It is reported in the literature (Uhlig and

Vasquez, 1991) that there is an increased extraction of
b-glucans with increasing agitation which may suggest that
the ne material formed upon agitation is in fact aggregated
b-glucan molecules.

Figure 14. The effect of impeller tip speed on the particle size distributions
for the material sampled from the smallest sized sieve fraction (less than
106 mm), obtained from the Malvern Mastersizer. An initial particle size
distribution (taken at the start of the mash) is shown for comparison. The
shape of the distribution shows little in uence of impeller tip speed.

In uence of Agitation on Viscosity

An increased extraction of b-glucans from the cell walls
of the grist into the mash can impact on the viscosity of the
nal mash liquor, increasing the viscosity and thereby
causing problems downstream in the process (Vis and
Lorenz, 1997). Measurements of the mash liquor viscosity
for the three mashes carried out with grist:liquor ratios of
1:3, but under different agitation conditions are shown in
Table 3. Viscosities were measured at 65 C and 78 C as

Figure 16. The effect of impeller tip speed on the nal particle size
distribution, as determined for three mashes in the agitated vessel, following
the Standard mashing pro le but using only nes material (less than
710 mm) in the initial grist. Within experimental error (5%) there is
little difference between the three distributions. (Grist weights are presented
as a percentage of the nal total weight. For all mashes, the same initial
particle size distribution was used.)

Trans IChemE, Vol 81, Part C, March 2003

EFFECTS OF AGITATION ON MASHING

Table 3. Effect of impeller tip speed on the viscosities of the
nal mash liquor (no solid material present), as measured
for three mashes in the agitated vessel, following the
Standard mashing pro le. For all, mash to liquor ratio 1:3.
Ts (m s1)
0.5
1.5
2.0

m65 (mPa s)

m78 (mPa s)

1.06
1.09
1.16

0.88
0.98
0.96

CONCLUSIONS

these are the temperatures most of interest for brewers (the

latter being the temperature at which separation of spent
grains and liquid is carried out). As can be seen there is a
small increase in viscosities measured at 78 C between the
mash agitated at the lowest tip speed and the reaming two.
The situation is reversed, however, for viscosities measured
at 65 C, where the viscosities measured at the two lowest tip
speeds are similar and slightly lower than that measured for
tip speed 2.0 m s1. Notwithstanding the small differences
in viscosity and in spite of the sensitivity of ltration rate to
this parameter, it is dif cult to see that such small increases
in viscosity (at such low levels overall) would signi cantly
affect any downstream separation.
To examine further the link between increased agitation
intensity and solubilizationof b-glucans into the mash, experiments were carried out where the mash was exposed to very
high values (in a blender) for short periods of time over the
time course of the process. Additionally, the experiments were
repeated using a malt known to be high in b-glucan content
(866P), as the liquor obtained from this mash should show an
increase viscosity, even at the lowest agitation conditions. The
results of these experiments are shown in Table 4. As expected,
under both processing conditions and temperatures, there is a
signi cant difference between the viscosities of the mash
liquors obtained with the two different malts, with that
obtained from the mash with 866P being consistently more
viscous. For the mash with Optic malt, increasing the agitation
intensity during the mash has resulted in a small increase in the
viscosity measured at 78 C. Surprisingly, this value is
comparative to those obtained at the much lower intensities
shown in Table 3. However, the most signi cant increases in
viscosity at both temperatures are seen for the mashes with the
high b-glucan malt. The results con rm reports (Uhlig and
Vasquez, 1991; Vis and Lorenz, 1997) of increased mash
viscosity with increasing agitation intensity, although
obviously the experimental conditions in the blender are
much more extreme than in the processing conditions in a
brewery. These results suggest that the viscosity of mash liquor
is much more in uenced by the type of malt used in the
mashing and to a much smaller extent by the processing
conditions under which the mash occurs.
Table 4. The in uence of very high agitation intensity in the blender on the
value of the nal mash viscosity (mash liquor only, no solid material
present) as determined for mashes with Optic and for 866P (high b-glucan)
malt, following the Standard mash pro le. All mash to liquor ratios 1:3.
Grist
Optic
866P (high b-glucan)
Optic
866P (high b-glucan)

Agitation
condition

m65
(mPa s)

m78
(mPa s)

150 rpm
150 rpm
Homogenizer
Homogenizer

1.06
1.40
1.08
1.79

0.88
1.13
0.95
1.47

Trans IChemE, Vol 81, Part C, March 2003

11

Experiments have been carried out to investigate the

effects of process parameters on the mashing process and
to examine whether process intensi cation is possible using
agitation. The results suggest that signi cant increases in
viscosity occur on gelatinization, but that the enzyme
induced decrease in viscosity is aided by good mixing and
slow heating rates. In contrast to previous literature reports,
the mash itself does not appear to provide a challenge to the
agitation processes used in the mash tun. The scale of the
system used here is of course signi cantly smaller than
industrial scale, but the rates of the gelatinization and
structure breakdown processes will be similar; the results
here suggest that high viscosities can be avoided in mashing
by correct manipulation of temperature and time pro les
during the process. No acceleration in enzyme action, as
measured from the sugar release pro les, was found,
suggesting that the in-process mass transfer is not limiting.
Some impacts of agitation on the process are negative from
a brewers viewpoint as the increased formation of ne
particles and potential extraction of b-glucans into the
mash liquor both impact negatively on processes downstream.
The ndings of this study follow quite closely those
obtained with other solidliquid processing operations in
agitated vessels (Nienow, 1997). For example, in crystallization or when using ion exchange resins or catalysts,
increased agitation intensity has little or no impact on the
rate of crystal growth or reaction respectively. This weak
interaction is similar to that found here for gelatinization,
enzymic conversion and b-glucans extraction. On the other
hand, particle attrition or secondary nucleation for crystals
is very sensitive to agitation due to particleimpeller or
particleparticle impacts, especially at large particle sizes
(Nienow, 1997). It is this latter mechanism which is seen to
be important here, leading to nes production and the
potential for a concomitant reduction of ltration rate.
Overall, the results suggest that agitation does not provide
a viable route for process intensi cation of mashing: it does
not increase throughput and may reduce the quality of the
wort produced. Rather, minimal agitation (to maintain
temperature homogeneity) and optimization of temperature
pro les, both low-investment options, can be used to
improve the quality of the mash liquor and ensure ef cient
downstream operations
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors gratefully acknowledge the nancial support of the
EPSRC. This work was carried out as part of the IMI project number
GR=M15446-16146-16139 entitled Process Engineering Modelling for
Brewing and Fermentation managed by Brewing Research International.

ADDRESS
Correspondence concerning this paper should be addressed to Professor
P.J. Fryer, Centre for Formulation Engineering, Chemical Engineering,
University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham BIS 2TT, UK.
E-mail: p.j.fryer@bham.ac.uk
The manuscript was received 16 October 2002 and accepted for
publication after revision 6 March 2003.

Trans IChemE, Vol 81, Part C, March 2003