Use of Friulan saffron in the production of craft beer

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.