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posted by martyb on Wednesday August 18 2021, @11:22AM   Printer-friendly
from the just-ask-Fat-Phill! dept.

German chemists identified over 7,700 different chemical formulas in beers:

People have been brewing beer for millennia, and the basic chemistry of fermentation is well understood. But thanks to advanced analytical techniques, scientists continue to learn more about the many different chemical compounds that contribute to the flavor and aroma of different kinds of beer. The latest such analysis comes courtesy of a team of German scientists who analyzed over 400 commercial beers from 40 countries. The scientists identified at least 7,700 different chemical formulas and tens of thousands of unique molecules, according to a recent paper published in the journal Frontiers in Chemistry. And they did it with a new approach that can analyze a sample in just 10 minutes.

[...] As I've written previously, all beer contains hops, a key flavoring agent that also imparts useful antimicrobial properties. To make beer, brewers mash and steep grain in hot water, which converts all that starch into sugars. This is traditionally the stage when hops are added to the liquid extract (wort) and boiled. That turns some of the resins (alpha acids) in the hops into iso-alpha acids, producing beer's hint of bitterness. Yeast is then added to trigger fermentation, turning the sugars into alcohol. Some craft brewers prefer dry-hopping—hops are added during or after the fermentation stage, after the wort has cooled. They do this as a way to enhance the hoppy flavors without getting excessive bitterness, since there is no isomerization of the alpha acids.

[...] For their analysis, [Philippe] Schmitt-Kopplin et al. subjected 400 samples of beer—purchased from local grocery stores—brewed from all over the world (the US, Latin America, Europe, Africa, and East Asia) to two complementary mass spectrometry techniques. They used the first method to determine the beers' chemical diversity and to predict chemical formulas for the metabolite ions in those beers. They used the second technique to figure out the exact molecular structure in a subsample of 100 beers. They were also able to reconstruct a full metabolic network of the complex reactions taking place during the brewing process.

Journal Reference:
1.) Johanna Dennenlöhr, Sarah Thörner, Nils Rettberg. Analysis of Hop-Derived Thiols in Beer Using On-Fiber Derivatization in Combination with HS-SPME and GC-MS/MS, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.0c06305)
2.) Pieczonka, Stefan A., Paravicini, Sophia, Rychlik, Michael, et al. On the Trail of the German Purity Law: Distinguishing the Metabolic Signatures of Wheat, Corn and Rice in Beer, Frontiers in Chemistry (DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2021.715372)


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  • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Wednesday August 18 2021, @01:32PM (1 child)

    by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Wednesday August 18 2021, @01:32PM (#1168169) Homepage
    > As I've written previously, all beer contains hops

    https://www.craftbeer.com/craft-beer-muses/gruit-ales-beer-before-hops
    --
    Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
    • (Score: 2) by Anti-aristarchus on Wednesday August 18 2021, @06:52PM

      by Anti-aristarchus (14390) on Wednesday August 18 2021, @06:52PM (#1168247) Journal

      I knew FatPhil would have some things to say! And the FS completely skips over the Sparge and the boil and floccation. This is enough to make the entire research project suspect. When they did the subsample, were the 100 bottles of beer on a wall?

  • (Score: 4, Funny) by stretch611 on Wednesday August 18 2021, @02:44PM (6 children)

    by stretch611 (6199) on Wednesday August 18 2021, @02:44PM (#1168180)

    Personally, I prefer a much less scientific approach to my beer research

    --
    Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P
    • (Score: 5, Insightful) by WeekendMonkey on Wednesday August 18 2021, @04:06PM (1 child)

      by WeekendMonkey (5209) on Wednesday August 18 2021, @04:06PM (#1168196)

      But just think about receiving funding to analyse 400 bottles of beer. The test can only require a few ml - do you pour the remainder down the drain?

      • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 18 2021, @08:19PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 18 2021, @08:19PM (#1168283)

        Is that some kind of perverse torture? You get to sample 400 beers BUT you're double-blinded. You'll never know the one you like.

    • (Score: 2) by Joe Desertrat on Wednesday August 18 2021, @07:18PM (3 children)

      by Joe Desertrat (2454) on Wednesday August 18 2021, @07:18PM (#1168257)

      I think I'm going to research some beer right now.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 18 2021, @08:22PM (2 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 18 2021, @08:22PM (#1168285)

        No need buddy, I already researched it. It's all good (for now anyway).

        • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Wednesday August 18 2021, @08:35PM (1 child)

          by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Wednesday August 18 2021, @08:35PM (#1168296) Homepage
          But science is all about replication...
          --
          Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 18 2021, @08:43PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 18 2021, @08:43PM (#1168300)

            As long as you don't replicate with MY materials, have at it hoss.

  • (Score: 3, Funny) by inertnet on Wednesday August 18 2021, @07:57PM

    by inertnet (4071) on Wednesday August 18 2021, @07:57PM (#1168269) Journal

    -1

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