Abstract

EVALUATION OF SELECTED PHYSICAL, CHEMICAL AND MICROBIOLOGICAL INDICATORS OF DRINKING WATER QUALITY USED IN THE BREWERY

Veszelits Lakticová K., Vargová M., Sasáková N. and *Zigo F.

ABSTRACT

All food production sectors are characterized by specific risks that can endargen product quality. It is no different in brewing. In recent years, we have witnessed increased beer production and consumption. The popularity of this drink therefore places increasing demands on its quality. In brewing, water is one of the most important raw materials, because it directly affects the quality of beer and at the same time consumes the most of all raw materials. The water that comes into contact with the ingredients needed for beer production must be hygienically and bacteriologically safe. Many breweries underestimate water as a raw material and do not pay enough attention to its quality. Beer contains up to 95 % water, so it is very important that its properties meet the requirements for drinking water. Water in the operation of the brewery as one of the main raw materials is subject to strict controls from a chemical and hygienic point of view. In addition to the purity of beer, hardness, acidity and salt content in water also play an important role in beer production. All these attributes have a great influence on the final taste of the beer. Beer water should generally not contain alkali carbonates, chlorine, too much iron, manganese and nitrates. In our work, we evaluated the quality of water used in beer production based on physical, chemical and microbiological indicators in one of the monitored breweries. The obtained values from investigation of selected physical and chemical indicators of all examined drinking water samples correspond to all limits and maximum accepted limits in accordance with the Decree of the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic No. 247/2017 Coll. Microbiological examination of the tested all drinking water samples showed that the quality is of a high level, because no microorganisms were detected during the monitoring, which would prove the presence of fecal contamination. The obtained results showed that the investigated water in beer production does not pose any risk to the quality of beer and the safety of its consumers, as well as meets the requirements for drinking water in the monitored brewery.

Keywords: physical indicatiors, chemical indicators, microbiological indicators, drinking water, brewery.