Exploring the influence of extruded rice adjunct on wort separation efficiency: A bio-macromolecule degradation...

Extruded rice adjunct (ERA) possesses promising potential in enhancing brewing efficiency, yet its impact on wort separation performance remains unclear, limiting its utilization in brewing. This study investigated the bio-macromolecule degradation mechanisms in rice adjuncts (RA) and ERA and their influence on wort separation performance, focusing on wort and adjunct residues (ARS) properties. Extrusion enhanced the bio-macromolecule degradation, increasing wort viscosity while reducing ARS complexity. Extrusion also reduced the particle size and modified ARS decomposition, impacting the structure of filter cake (FC). Smaller ERA residues tended to aggregate at the top of FC, leading to a shallower FC depth that facilitated the filtration efficiency and boosted the final wort production. Conversely, the larger compact RA residues settled at the bottom of FC, elevating FC depth and reducing filtration efficiency. Consequently, enhancing bio-macromolecule degradation of adjuncts through extrusion benefits wort filtration and provides valuable insights for ERA utilization in beer brewing.