P-01 - Are You a FAN of Flavor Stability? the Amount of Free Amino Nitrogen in Your Finished Beer May Surprise You

Our lab is currently tracking Free Amino Nitrogen (FAN) throughout the brewing process from raw materials to finished beer.  We believe that we are in a unique position to evaluate a vast range of conditions that can contribute to FAN.  Hendler Family Brewing Co. currently owns 3 different brands (Jack’s Abby produces only lagers, Wormtown Brewing Company makes a wide range of ales and lagers, but the flagship is a double dry-hopped West Coast Style IPA, and Night Shift Brewing focuses primarily on hazy New England IPAs).  We also produce beer for multiple contract brewing partners.  We operate 2 different brewhouses within the same facility.  One brewhouse has a steam jacketed mash tun that allows us to perform step mashes as well as decoction.  The other brewhouse is single infusion.  According to studies, this is important because the brewhouse that allows us to perform a “mash out” step which denatures proteolytic enzymes should, in theory, minimize FAN that occurs as a result of enzymatic activity.  We are unable to denature enzymes through a mash out step in our single infusion brewhouse, thus implying that we may see more release of FAN throughout the mash and lautering process.  We are currently tracking FAN in malt (through malt COAs), wort (both pre and post dry hop), and brite beer using ASBC Wort 12, the Ninhydrin test.  We are using these results to trial methods in the brewhouse which may be able to decrease FAN in finished beer, thus improving flavor stability.  This study began in October of 2024.  Anecdotally, we have found that a very small number of craft brewers are embarking on comprehensive FAN studies.  We believe that the data we will have accumulated by Brewing Summit will be extremely beneficial to brewers who are concerned about FAN and its effect upon flavor stability in packaged product.