The influence of water composition on the gushing behaviour of malt in Modified Carlsberg Test

Gushing was described for the first time in 1909 [24]. Since then, the overfoaming of carbonated beverages has been over the time intensively investigated. Different substances that cause or suppress gushing have already been analysed. However, the influence of water composition i.e. ions and their concentration on gushing behaviour still requires studying. In this research, different self-prepared waters and a gushing positive malt were used for the gushing prediction test Modified Carlsberg Test (MCT). During the tests the self-prepared waters were used instead of the MCT water. The research hypothesis is that ions, which are naturally present in drinking water, and in respective brewing water, react with substances that stabilize gas bubbles and result in a gushing inhibiting effect. The lowest overfoam amount (OF) was achieved when magnesium was present in concentrations of 30 to 60 mg/L. The overfoam amount in MCT was significantly reduced when water enriched with magnesium ions and several anions (chloride, sulphate and hydrogen carbonate) was used, compared with the used reference, Bonaqa^® water. The findings obtained in the present research provide another piece of the puzzle enlighten the problem of gushing.