Beechwood Chips, mentioned prominently on Budweiser packaging. About 1400 tons per annum of beechwood chips are used by Anheuser-Busch InBev as a lagering aid in their beers. The “chips” are actually strips or shavings, 3 mm thick and 450 mm long, and have a spiral shape. The three-dimensional form of the chip prevents packing in the bottom of the maturation vessel and allows beer to circulate through the chips. Though the consumer might imagine otherwise, the chips are not meant to flavor the beer. The chips are subjected to an extended period of boiling in sodium bicarbonate prior to use, apparently to remove any vestiges of flavor that they might otherwise impart to the product. Their sole role would therefore appear to be to add a substrate for the carriage of yeast, allowing a greater surface area of yeast to be exposed to the circulating beer than would be the case if the yeast were lying as a packed sediment on the bottom of the vessel. This can aid the lagering process, as beer contact with yeast is critical for the reduction of diacetyl and other off-flavors that remain at the end of active fermentation. The chips are added to the horizontal maturation tank before filling; the beer is then kräusened in the tank and aged for approximately 3 weeks. See kräusening. The chips are re-used several times in “chip tanks” until they are too degraded for further service.

These chips were, for a long period, produced by Millington’s in Tennessee, from US-grown beech. The advent of a more aggressive tendering procedure has since resulted in the company losing the contract and going out of business, although the chips are still produced in the United States.

Prior to 2002 the majority of the chips were sent to landfill but about one third (approximately 400 tons) was composted in that year. According to the Anheuser-Busch InBev website, the chips are composted after use.