Shimadzu’s Total Support for Beer Analysis

Importance of the Topic

Beer production depends on consistent quality, safety and sensory appeal. Comprehensive analysis of ingredients and final products ensures beers meet regulatory standards and consumer expectations. Advanced analytical methods deliver reliable measures of color, bitterness, alcohol level, contaminants and flavor compounds across the brewing process.

Study Objectives and Overview

Shimadzu’s beer analysis portfolio covers every stage of brewing, from raw materials to packaged beer. The goal is to demonstrate instrument techniques for key quality parameters such as color, IBU, alcohol, diacetyl, carbohydrates, hop acids, water ions, organic and inorganic contaminants, esters, aldehydes, amino acids, organic acids and packaging integrity. Support includes training, maintenance and application guidance.

Methodology and Instrumentation

Multiple instrumental platforms address specific tests:

• UV-Visible spectrophotometry for color (430 nm), IBU (275 nm) and related beer chemistry assays
• Gas chromatography with FID or MS/MS and headspace sampling for alcohol, diacetyl, esters, aldehydes, pesticides and nitrosamines
• HPLC/UHPLC with RID, PDA, RF or ECD for carbohydrates, organic acids, amino acids and hop alpha/beta acids
• Ion chromatography for anion profiling in water and wort
• ICP-OES, ICP-MS and AA for inorganic elements and heavy metals
• TOC analyzer for total organic and inorganic carbon, equivalent to CO₂ quantification
• Triple-quadrupole LC-MS/MS for multi-mycotoxin and metabolomics screening
• Tensile testing for pull-tab opening force in canned packaging

Used Instrumentation

• Shimadzu UV-1800 UV-Vis Spectrophotometer
• Shimadzu GC-2010 Plus / GC-2014 with HS-10 Headspace
• GCMS-TQ8040 Triple Quadrupole GC-MS
• Nexera / Nexera XR UHPLC
• Prominence Organic Acid Analysis System
• Prominence HPLC with RID-20A, PDA and RF detectors
• LCMS-8030 / LCMS-8050 Triple Quadrupole LC-MS/MS
• LC-20AT Ion Chromatograph
• AA-7000 Atomic Absorption
• ICPE-9800 ICP-OES; ICPMS-2030 ICP-MS
• TOC-L Total Organic Carbon Analyzer
• EZ-X Tensile Testing Machine

Key Results and Discussion

UV-Vis measurements achieved reliable quantification of color units (Lovibond, SRM, EBC) and bitterness (IBU) per ASBC/EBC methods. GC-FID and headspace GC-MS separated ethanol, vicinal diketones and volatile esters/aldehydes at ppb levels, enabling control of fermentation endpoints. UHPLC and HPLC-RID analyses of carbohydrates and organic acids provided sugar profiles from mono- to decasaccharides and key flavor acids. UHPLC-MS/MS methods quantified 14 mycotoxins and profiled 300+ metabolites in beer, supporting type classification by PCA/HCA. Ion chromatography detected anions including fluoride, chloride, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate and sulfate in water. ICP and AA measured heavy metals at µg/L levels, assuring safety. Tensile tests on pull-tabs revealed opening forces from 22 to 31 N across global products.

Benefits and Practical Applications

Shimadzu’s integrated solutions enable breweries to:

• Ensure label accuracy for alcohol, calories, carbohydrates
• Monitor off-flavor precursors and complete fermentation faster
• Troubleshoot raw material contaminants and water quality issues
• Validate hop alpha acid content and flavor consistency
• Perform rapid, multi-residue screening for pesticides and mycotoxins
• Optimize process parameters through metabolic profiling
• Maintain packaging integrity and shelf life

Future Trends and Applications

Emerging approaches include metabolomics to forecast flavor, rapid multi-analyte LC-MS methods for real-time quality control, integration of AI-driven data analysis, and automated sample preparation. Continued instrument miniaturization and higher throughput will further accelerate brewery R&D and QA/QC.

Conclusion

Shimadzu’s total support delivers robust analytical workflows for every brewing need. By combining spectrophotometry, chromatography, mass spectrometry, spectroscopy and testing systems under a unified service umbrella, breweries achieve consistent quality, regulatory compliance and process optimization from farm to stein.

Reference

• Shimadzu Corporation, Total Support for Beer Analysis. C10G-E049, 2017