Source: Vyno Dienos

Another exhibition of “Vyno dienos 2016” has ended. This two-day exhibition was started in 2005 and celebrated its 12th year this May. Over the years, the exhibition has attracted more and more wine enthusiasts and therefore need more space—so, this was the second year the exhibition was held in the Lithuanian Exhibition and Congress Centre LITEXPO.

Upon entering the fair, the assistants gave you an empty wine glass, a catalogue of all the participants, and an exhibition map. And then the journey begins.

Participants from abroad presented wines from all over the world. This year, visitors were able to try Italian, Georgian, Hungarian, and Romanian wines as well as French, Italian, Spanish, Chilean, Armenian and German. Manufacturers came not only to look for distributors, but also to introduce their products to wine lovers and to expand Lithuanian knowledge about wines, varietals, and taste. Many different varietals were presented, including Pinot Grio, Syrah, Chardonay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and others. Japanese sake was also presented.

During the fair, visitors were able to meet wine club, sommelier association, and school members, and had the opportunity to taste different type of cheese as well as Italian and Spanish food. There were several Lithuanian wine and mead producers in attendance, including Rinkuškiai, Obela, Dundulis, Šušvės midus, Bosca, and others. Visitors had a chance to book trips to wine regions, as several wine tour and wine course organizers were in attendance.

Visitors had a chance to listen to the speakers corner and the professional lectures where lecturers came from all over the world to talk about their experiences. In the speakers corner, visitors were learned about serving wine and heard success stories from individuals in the wine industry. The lecure and tasting hall covered a wide range of topics, starting with exclusive tastings of Georgian, Chilean, and grand cru wines. Attendees were able to deepen their knowledge through discussions at various booths with wine makers, importers, and others.

Source: Vyno Dienos

All in all, Vyno dienos 2016 had 51 booths and was a well-organized event. Wine lovers were able to discover new and different wines, and also had the opportunity  to talk with foreign wine makers and Lithuanians professionals. The variety of wines is fascinating, so it is important to taste the nuances that come from grape varietals, production traditions, and the people who created the wine. The exhibition is a place where you can talk with the wine makers, listen to their stories, and truly feel the spirit of the vineyards.

For more information visit Vyno Dienos website.

One interesting fact is that after tasting bitters, flavor receptors send a message to the central nervous system to prepare the body for food and to improve digestion. This is why many countries with this type of traditional beverage drink it after lunch and dinner.

The specific taste and bitter second notes make this type of alcohol part of a number of classic cocktails, such as: Cuba Libre Preparado, Manhattan, Old Fashioned, and many others. It is crucial to know the right dosage of bitters, which should be added to cocktails, because even slightly bigger amounts might ruin the drink. Depending on the bitters, they can provide bitter, sour, or bittersweet flavors. Gentian, hops, orange peel, barks, and the roots of many fruits are used in bitters, not only to create a specific taste but also for their medical properties.

Moreover, a small amount of bitters can be used to flavor non-alcoholic beverages such as soda or soft drinks! This was discovered after orange bitters were accidentally added to simple soda water. Blending bitters and soda is amazing! Just a few drops turns simple soda water into something much more interesting. As another example, ginger ale suits well with cranberry, rhubarb, and orange flavors, so a drop of these bitters can surprise you in a way you do not expect. Warm spice notes hidden in soda normally never come out, but that is what bitters do – brings them out!

As the healthy lifestyle trend grows, many consumers choose soft drinks over alcohol. Lately, we have noticed a growing number of new non-alcoholic beverages with bitter notes coming from the use of bitters. Tonic water, for example, can be created using natural flavorings or herbal extracts instead of alcohol. Simple cloves, ginger, cinnamon, or orange peel can become a great solution for a new type of adult soft drink. Herbs and spices not only create a refreshing taste, but have toning effects on the body or even mask unwanted aftertastes. Herbal drinks are more and more common on shelves, starting with ice teas and ending with natural energy drinks; all of these can be improved by adding a bit of spice or bitterness.

Creating something unique does not require reinventing the wheel. Such universal usage of the mentioned botanical extracts in beverages comes from the past but can still mingle with current trends, adjusting to new tastes and even attracting new customers who have forgotten the taste of bitters and can discover it once again.

Original article was published in Beverage Industry Blog.

Many alcoholic beverages are based on material containing starch. Enzymes break down starch into glucose molecules through fermentation, which is then converted into ethanol. Fermentation can be divided into two stages:

First stage—a small concentration of ethanol is produced, since enzymes are sensitive to the pH level, temperature and alcohol concentration.

Second stage—this is usually needed to increase the ethanol concentration; it is called distillation.

Fermented alcoholic beverage production from raw materials containing starch has been practiced for centuries. Raw materials used in the manufacture of alcoholic beverages are usually chosen according to local supply as this is more cost-effective. For example, in the UK, barley is used for the production of malt whiskey and other cereals are used for grain alcohol manufacturing, while in North America corn (maize) and rye are used for the production of whiskey. Rye is used for whiskey production generally for its flavour characteristics, although it is less effective in fermentation than corn.

Another starchy material is potatoes. Potatoes and grain are widely produced in Germany and Scandinavia, so they are the main regional raw material in spirits production. Rice is a widely grown cereal and is also used in distilled spirits manufacturing, but as a raw material rice is more common in the Far East, where sake is made. However, today it is easier to import more uncommon raw materials to a specific area because of improved transportation, which has removed this geographical restriction on alcohol production.

There are some main starchy alcoholic drinks and spirits which contain starchy raw materials and may be used for cocktails:

Beer

When beer is made, the yeast has to be added to start the fermentation process. Malt is used for beer production. It  is artificially sprouted grain, usually barley and wheat. Malt along with water, yeast and hops are essential ingredients for the production of beer. It and other fermentable material contain starch, which is used in the alcoholic fermentation process. Its products are carbon dioxide and ethyl alcohol.

There are three main types of beer—ale, lager and lambic. Ales are sweeter than lagers and their colours vary from pale gold to shady, while lagers have a smoother flavour. Ales can be assigned several types: amber ale, pale ale, stouts, porter, wheat beer and others. They are a good match with the taste of citrus fruits, such as lemon and orange or summer berries, so the best ale cocktails are made by mixing ale with these flavours.

The main types of lagers are bock, dunkel, marzen, pale lager, and dopple bock. They have a malty taste which is complemented by coffee or chocolate flavours. For both ales and lagers, spices and fruit flavours are added to produce beverages with lower alcohol content and a greater taste.

Liquors and vodka

Pure grain alcohol is about 190 proof, but vodka in the stores is diluted to around 80 proof. Vodka and other spirits usually have an alcoholic content of 40% while liquors may vary from 15-55%. Vodka is fermented from beets, barley, wheat, corn, and sometimes molasses or fruits. In some countries potato vodka is also a popular alternative as it is gluten-free. Overall, vodka is classified into neutral, flavoured, non-flavoured and regional vodka.

It may have a strong alcohol aroma or may not contain additional flavourings, but the ingredients which were used while making it are clearly felt. If we want to enhance the taste, odorless and tasteless vodka can be flavoured with chili peppers, lemons, oranges and other fruit hints and combinations which give it a pleasant aroma. Another option is to make vodka cocktails, which are very popular in America and Western Europe. There are various types of cocktails made with vodka such as the well-known Cosmopolitan, Vodka Collins and many others.

Whiskey

For whiskey production, mostly barley, corn and rye are used. This type of alcohol is made with two or three rounds of distillation and is aged in oak barrels for at least three years.

There are several types of whiskey:

* American or American corn;

* American Rye which contains not less than 51 percent of rye, and usually has corn and malted barley added to the mash;

* Canadian Rye—there is no requirement that says how much rye should be used to make this kind of whiskey;

* Canadian whiskeys are mixed from different grains and contain a large percentage of corn spirit, which is lighter than other whiskey styles;

* English; Finnish; German; Indian; Irish; Japanese; Scotch; South African; Malt; Wheat; Blended; Australian; Welsh, etc.

Many cocktail recipes use whiskey and they are quite common in bars and pubs, but there is always a possibility to move them to market shelves. The different types of whiskey are used for cocktails and create different sensations. For example, the well-known cocktail The Haig Clubman is made by using Scotch whiskey, while the whiskey in The Witty Comeback contains rye as the main material. Many delicious whiskey cocktails can be made and their variations depend not only on the other ingredients but from the type of whiskey used as well.

There are various types of grain spirits which can be made and used in cocktails or liquor production. They can be combined with other spirits, juices, sparkling water, ginger ale and flavourings and these mixtures can provide a completely new palette of flavours.

Original article was published in Beverage Industry Blog.

Carbonating and bottling cocktails – more sparkle

Spirits in bars are usually mixed with syrups and served with juices or soft drinks, so they can be carbonated or still. With the increase of demand in alcoholic cocktails, we can see how carbonized cocktails have made their way beyond the bars and onto supermarket shelves. CO2 saturated drinks are more aromatic, more intense, and lighter. These types of beverages are quickly spreading and dominating bar sales but also in grocery stores as well.

Beer mixes

The cocktail market is growing not only in spirit-based beverages, but in beer, wine, and cider-based drinks, too. The alcohol content in this drink section generally varies between 2.5 to 4.5% and includes many different tastes, including citrus fruit flavorings, and herbal or berry tones. This beverage type is lighter than simple beer and is common among young people and women, because of the quite refreshing taste and the sensation of lemonade. The New Year launched a start for breweries, which works with new flavored beer concepts and gets a head start on new summer hits. In a graph below you can see how the popularity of shandies has grown in the last 10 years; the curve is expected to continue upwards.

Source: Google Trends

Entering spices

Over the past few years spice trends in the drinks industry have started to grow and they are clearly not going away anytime soon. Spices create a specific and unique taste, so they are commonly used in alcoholic beverages as well as in teas or coffees. The mainly used spices in alcoholic drinks are cardamom, hot pepper, cinnamon, and ginger. These four ingredients could be used in extracts or, in the case of ginger, even in juice form. Ginger and hot pepper are popular for their bitter character while cinnamon and cardamom are mostly infused in drinks for the delicate sweetness and spice effect they provide. Spices give not only an extraordinary taste, but also a warming effect so there is nothing better than a spiced drink on a cold winter day. We need not be scared to infuse whiskey, vodka, rum, or wine with spices, because surely this infusion would sound and taste a lot more attractive than the original version of the drink.

Herbs on top: Basil

Herbs are basically used for their distinctive properties, and topical and aroma effects. In 2016, basil will rock the beverage industry with its slight anise flavour. Basil is a nice addition to spirits such as vodka, rum, and gin, and it fits well in cocktails with lime juice, pomelo, and strawberry flavourings. You either love the herbs or you hate it, but 2016 will give you a chance to decide which side you belong to.

Gin: new sensations

This is the year when gin goes back on the road. With a really strong taste and bitterness coming from behind, which is hard to mask, it will provide a new sensation to cocktails. There is a saying that gin will make you sin and it is absolutely true, especially if you try to mix it with sprite or 7up, or if you blend it with orange or grapefruit juice. Moreover, the tried-and-true gin and tonic combination is never going to die.

Diet friendly spirit cocktails

Due to the facts that alcohol is both high in calories and sugar, and that people are prone to drinking in excess (as they usually don’t stop after the first bottle or drink), alcohol has become one of the leading causes in obesity. Reducing calories in spirit cocktails could open new ways to help people control their weight.

In 2016 new low-calorie cocktails will be introduced that use artificial sweeteners or sugar-free syrups and dilute your drink with carbonated water or fruit and vegetable low-calorie juices, instead of soda, so it would be easier to save calories and make healthier mixers than in the past. If you manage to get your hands on these new cocktails, it will be a lot easier to fulfill your New Years’ resolution for weight loss!

The world of cocktails has been changing, but many great things are going to appear this year. Just wait and see what the future holds for you. Maybe 2016 will be the best time to become a drinkpreneur!

Original article was published in Beverage Industry Blog

Alcohol beverages with citrus fruits/juicy fruits flavours

There are many different ways you could upgrade a pure alcoholic beverage using fruit flavours. For the start – if you do not have any idea what kind of fruit flavour you could add, we will give you some hints.

Citrus oils are widely used for beverages flavoring. These fruit belongs to Rutaceae family and consists of about 140 tribes and 1300 species, such as: green lemon, grapefruit, oranges, yellow lemon, mandarins, pomelo, bergamot and citron. Citrus oils are stored in leaves, peels and juice. These valuable essential oils are composed of many compounds, including: terpenes, sesquiterpenes, aldehydes, alcohols, esters and sterols. They can also be described as mixtures of hydrocarbons, oxygen-containing compounds and compounds of non-volatile residues.

Citrus flavourings are commonly used in beer cocktails and especially with the wheat beer. As one of the wheat beer fermentation products are esters which give the fruit taste and aroma to the beer itself so it perfectly fits with citrus flavours and almost hides flavor and aroma provided by hops. The most popular beer cocktails are mixed with citrus fruits such as lemon or orange juice or flavourings.

Another option is to make alcoholic drink with a sweet, juicy fruits such as peaches and nectarines. The peach flavour consist aldehydes, lactones, many esters and alcohols which are the chemical compounds responsible for aroma and flavour sensation. Peaches and nectarines have tropical smells and are very aromatic fruits so they have very great popularity in beverage industry particularly in vodka and liqueurs or in cocktails using this alcohol as a base.

Alcoholic beverages with herb tones

Nowadays herb tones are becoming very popular in beverage industry, so more and more herbal flavours are being added to the drinks. One of the most used herb in drinks, beer cocktails or spirit drinks such as vodka, whiskey and brandy is ginseng. Ginseng has a positive effect on health. This herb reduces stress, increases energy level, improves memory, concentration and stamina and even treat sexual dysfunction in men. As for the taste – ginseng has a slight bitterness which goes well with pale ales and stronger beverages.

The other popular ingredient, which can be used in alcoholic drinks – ginger. Ginger has well expressed subtle flavour and provides bitterness to the drink. The light spiciness and slight sweetness comes when you sip the beverage with ginger flavouring or an extract. Moreover, ginger has antioxidant properties and is a popular herb used in drinks of its ability to warm up on a cold day. This may be dominant flavour or it can be combined with other flavours. The most popular combination is ginger flavour mixed with lemon juices and sugar to highlight its best features.

If you want a lighter taste with a fresh and a bit spicy condiments – the mint or basil flavours would be a great option to diversify the taste of ordinary alcoholic drinks. Some people say that mint and basil are queen and the king of herbs. The mint has a chemical compound menthol which gives a cooling sensation, slightly sweet and piquant aroma. This chemical compound sends signals to the brain that you are drinking something cold, so using mint in the drinks makes your drink more refreshing. Mint taste would suit for vodka, liquors and alcoholic cocktails.

But if you would like to taste your alcoholic beverage or cocktail as typical anise, you should add basil which has strongly, peppery aroma and sweet after smell. These two herbaceous plants are well suited with honey, melon or strawberries flavours or vanilla extract. Herbs give that special something to the drinks. All in all, the taste of your beverage only depends on how creative you are, because you can try as many different mixtures as you can think of and even more with a help of a professional developer.

Spirit drinks using flavours of berries

One more alternative for improving the boring taste of spirits, could be alcoholic drinks which have smell and taste of berries. Berries always associates with the summer, so this kind of drink could take your minds back to the beach and remind you the summer waft. The most common berries which are added to the alcoholic drinks – cranberries. Cranberry flavors are added to food and beverages that remind the freshness and provide the acidity sensation. Due to the antioxidant properties and nutrient content, raw cranberries have been marked as a “super fruit” so this is one of the marketing tricks when cranberries flavour is added to the drinks.

Another super fruit berry which flavour is commonly used in the drinks is raspberry. Raspberries give a mouth-watering taste feeling, its flavour is delicate, sweet and well known by everybody. Furthermore, most of the people relate this flavour with the summer.

From the darker berries the hugest popularity has Ribes nigrum – it is the Latin name of blackcurrant. Volatile blackcurrant juice flavor compounds consist of aldehydes, ketones, terpenes, terpenoids, alcohols and esters. Mono- and sesquiterpene alcohols, acetates and oxides present the characteristic of blackcurrant flavour. Another dark berry is blueberry which is not very widespread in drinks and that makes it more fun to use. Blueberries give a wonderful color, but they also taste very well.

There are much more berries flavours which could be used in alcoholic beverage development such as cherries, acai berries, elderberries and so on. In general berry flavours are commonly used in such alcoholic drinks as vodka and liqueurs, but more than for the spirit drinks these flavours are used in alcoholic cocktails which gives a summer blow.

On the whole, various mixtures of spirit drinks and flavours can be made. The herbs and fruits or berries can be mixed in one cocktail and new delightful tastes could be found. So far alcoholic cocktails were more common at the bars than in the manufacturing industry, but it is a rapidly growing area, where developers are trying to find as many different variations of flavours as possible and it is just a question of time when you will be going to a supermarket for the best cocktail rather than local bar.

Original article was published in Beverage Industry Blog

What is it?

Summer has ended but beer cocktails are still on the road. So what is the beer cocktail? Beer cocktail – is a drink which is produced from the beer by mixing it with juices, fruit syrups, soft drinks or with bitters and adding flavorings. This kind of mixture is also called shandy. To improve shandies colouring agents could be added and to upgrade the taste the sweeteners could be used. Nowadays beer cocktails are very trendy. Beer and other beverages and flavorings have been mixing more frequently over the past decade, although such cocktails was already known in the 19th century. These cocktails are usually obtained with local beer, usually a light beer, and their strength mostly does not exceed more than 4.5% by volume.

Most popular shandies

There are some recipes where ginger ale or Sprite is used, but with lemonade beer cocktails taste different. Lemon, grapefruit or other citrus fruits with beer is a more natural than the other mixtures. The light beer such as a lager or wheat beer is more popular in beer cocktail industry. The reason is because it is lighter and easier to vary in flavours. Shandies are one of the best choice when you want lighter drink instead of simple beer.

How does the process work?

When making shandies, firstly we come to the idea, after that comes a blind tasting of all the shandies we could find in the market and only then we start with custom recipe creation. The most important thing – is not to be afraid of mixing new flavours with various types of beers, so combining and collecting different raw materials from several suppliers is inevitable while making a new product development.

What are the ingredients?

Beer cocktails usually consist of few main ingredients and additional materials which depends on the taste. The raw materials which are used for the beer and beer cocktails must be managed in accordance with the European Parliament and Council Regulation on the hygiene of foodstuffs. So the main materials that are used:

I. Beer

Beer cocktails are produced in accordance with the technologies, approved instructions, recipes and food management legal requirements. The beer usually consists more than 50% of the beverage.

II. Acidity regulator – citric acid

Citric acid is the most commonly used acidity regulator, because it is inexpensive and readily available in large commercial quantities. This acid is one of the main components of carbonated soft drinks and alcoholic beverages that enhances the taste and flavor. Citric acid is added to the products in order to give them the acidity or act as a preservative. This acid is chemically and micro-biologically stable and has no odor.

III. Sweetener – sugar syrup

Sugar is used as raw material in the manufacturing of sugar syrup, and this syrup is widely used for preparing beverage mixes as a natural sweetener. Syrups concentration depends on the dry matter content and is measured in Brix. If we take a look to the portfolio of natural sweeteners, we could find such as stevia, agave syrup or deionised grape juice concentrate. When talking about stevia – it is 200-300 times sweeter than sugar, but has no calories in it, however, this sweetener has bitter aftertaste which is not preferable for the most of people. Another natural sweetener which has a honey aftertaste is agave syrup. This syrup has lower glycemic index and glycemic load than sugar so it is comparable to fructose. After all, the agave syrup has the potential to cause insulin resistance. Deionised grape juice concentrate (called as grape sugar) is a common sweetener used in beverages. This liquid and transparent sugar has no colour and odour. Overall, sugar is commonly used because it is cheaper than natural sweeteners.

IV. Dyes and flavourings

Colour and aroma have the important sensory characteristics when it comes to choosing the beverages.  There are two types of colours: natural – which are naturally produced and artificial – an imitation of the natural. When it comes to flavourings, there can be three types – natural, nature identical and artificial. Flavouring is a mixture of coordinated individual components and it is obtained by the distillation, solvent extraction, fermentation or isolated by chemical synthesis. Odor compounds fall into the olfactory tissue with a stream of air, so they should be volatile. Therefore colour and aroma influences taste thresholds, pleasantness and acceptability so it is important to choose it right.

V. Other materials

While making a beer cocktail auxiliary materials are also used in the process. Such materials include adsorbents, stabilisers, fining agents, filtration components and some other materials. Beer cocktails carbon dioxide may be lost during the transport phase through the pipelines, so if there is a need, the carbon dioxide could be added to the final product during the filling process.

To sum up, it is a perfect time for beer revolution. Consumers do not want standard drinks so mixes of beer and juices or lemonade represent a fun way to experience new flavors.

Original article was published in Beverage Industry Blog