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Use of Friulan saffron in the production of craft beer

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Abstract

Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) is the most expensive spice in the world. Saffron is costly due to the meagre yield per acre and exorbitant manpower costs. The three key compounds in saffron are crocin, picrocrocin and safranal, which are responsible for its colour, bitterness and flavour, respectively. The aim of this study was to exploit the bittering, aromatic and colouring properties of saffron to formulate a craft beer with refined taste and colour. As a result of the elevated price of the raw material, the saffron extraction process was optimised to achieve the best results using as little spice as possible. Thus, the extraction yields of two different methods were ascertained. To assess the ideal concentration of saffron to obtain a beverage with a balanced taste, three beers containing increasing concentrations of the spice were brewed. Then, once a sensory test was performed, another three samples were produced with the minimum dose of the spice (50 mg/L), added at various times during the production process (at 5 and 20 min before the end of the boiling stage, during the whirlpool stage and during refermentation). The purpose was to evaluate the consequences of heat treatment on crocin, picrocrocin and safranal compounds provided to the beer. All of the beer samples underwent routine analyses (alcoholic strength, Plato, IBU, colour and pH) and were analysed by spectrophotometry.

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SITOGRAPHY

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Funding

No funding was received to conduct this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental and Animal Sciences, University of Udine, via Sondrio 2/a, Udine, Italy

    S. Buiatti, F. Bertin & P. Passaghe

  2. P.A.B. S.r.l. a Socio Unico-Mr. Malt®, Via V.Menazzi Moretti 4, Pasian di Prato, UD, Italy

    M. Guglielmotti

  3. Theresianer Brewery, Nervesa della Battaglia, TV, Italy

    S. Bertoli

Authors
  1. S. Buiatti
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  2. M. Guglielmotti
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  3. F. Bertin
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  4. S. Bertoli
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  5. P. Passaghe
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Contributions

SB designed the experimental plan, interpreted the results and proofread the manuscript; MG performed the mashing, collaborated in tests, chemical analyses and interpreted the results; FB performed the mashing, collaborated in tests, chemical analyses and sensorial tests. SB proofread the manuscript; PP proofread the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to P. Passaghe.

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The authors have no financial or proprietary interests in any material discussed in this article.                                                                                                                    

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Buiatti, S., Guglielmotti, M., Bertin, F. et al. Use of Friulan saffron in the production of craft beer. Eur Food Res Technol 250, 325–335 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00217-023-04389-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00217-023-04389-5

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