Beer Analysis Applications Notebook - Solutions for the Complete Brewing Process

Importance of the Topic

Beer is one of the world’s most consumed beverages, and maintaining its sensory quality, consistency, safety, and regulatory compliance is critical for brewers. Variability in raw materials and process parameters can influence taste, color, foam stability, and shelf life, making rapid and reliable analytical methods essential throughout the brewing workflow.

Objectives and Study Overview

This compilation of application notes introduces a complete suite of analytical solutions tailored to all stages of beer production. It covers automated photometric assays, gas chromatography (GC), GC-MS, ion chromatography (IC), and liquid chromatography (LC) approaches, demonstrating how each technique supports raw ingredient evaluation, in-process monitoring, and final product quality control.

Methodology and Instrumentation

• Discrete photometry using the Gallery Plus Beermaster system for automated colorimetric and enzymatic tests, including bitterness, total SO₂, β-glucan, free amino nitrogen, polyphenols, beer color, sugars, pH, acetaldehyde, and organic acids; capacity up to 350 tests per hour.
• Gas chromatography: Headspace GC with TriPlus 300 HS autosampler and TRACE 1310 GC-ECD for vicinal diketones; GC-MS/MS with TSQ 8000 triple quadrupole for nitrosamines at trace levels.
• Ion chromatography: Dionex ICS-5000+ HPIC and ICS-4000 capillary RFIC systems with IonPac and CarboPac columns for separating carbohydrates, fermentable sugars, organic acids, inorganic ions, and biogenic amines with suppressed conductivity and amperometric detection.
• Liquid chromatography: UltiMate 3000 and Vanquish UHPLC platforms equipped with DAD, CoulArray electrochemical array, and on-line SPE modules for targeted polyphenol and bitter acid analysis, isohumulone quantitation, and untargeted metabolomic fingerprinting.

Main Results and Discussion

• Bitterness measured by solid-phase extraction and photometry at 275 nm in 7 min, showing strong correlation to reference octane extraction (R²>0.95).
• β-Glucan assay at 405 nm over 15–500 mg/L, repeatability <2%, matching Calcofluor FIA results (R²=0.961).
• Free Amino Nitrogen (FAN) via NOPA method in 45 min, reproducibility 2–3%, correlating with EBC FAN protocol (R²=0.993).
• Total SO₂ by DTNB photometric method, linear 2–50 mg/L, CV<1.5%, equivalent to para-rosaniline reference (R²≈0.9997).
• Total polyphenols reported as gallic acid equivalents, linear 79–199 mg/L, recoveries 94–106%, precision <2.5%.
• Beer color by automated 430 nm photometry, 5–200 EBC units, CV<0.15%, direct agreement with manual spectrophotometry (R²=0.9991).
• GC headspace ECD separated diacetyl and pentanedione at 35 °C without cryogenics; GC-MS/MS detected nitrosamines at 1 ppb in beer extracts.
• IC methods resolved malto-oligosaccharides, fermentable sugars, organic acids, anions, and cations in beer and wort with high resolution and sensitivity.
• LC-based electrochemical and UV profiling captured dozens of phenolic compounds; on-line SPE UHPLC delivered full isohumulone cis/trans resolution in under 10 min; PCA of EC and UV data differentiated beer styles.

Benefits and Practical Applications of the Method

• Automated workflows minimize sample handling and improve throughput.
• Rapid turnaround supports timely process control and troubleshooting.
• Reagent-free IC and low reagent volumes reduce consumable costs and errors.
• Selective detection ensures accurate quantitation in complex matrices.
• Comprehensive coverage of critical brew parameters from raw material screening to final quality assurance.

Future Trends and Applications

• Advanced metabolomic and fingerprinting approaches for product authentication and new recipe development.
• Online sample prep, IoT-enabled sensors, and digital monitoring for real-time quality control.
• High-pressure IC and UHPLC to achieve even faster separations and higher resolution.
• Machine learning and predictive analytics for proactive process optimization.
• Green, miniaturized, and automated platforms to reduce environmental footprint and laboratory space.

Conclusion

A fully integrated portfolio of discrete photometry, GC/GC-MS, IC, and LC techniques equips breweries with robust, high-throughput, and sensitive analytical capabilities. These solutions enable consistent product quality, regulatory compliance, and operational efficiency across the entire brewing process.

Used Instrumentation

• Thermo Scientific Gallery Plus Beermaster photometric analyzer
• TriPlus 300 Headspace Autosampler
• TRACE 1310 Gas Chromatograph
• TSQ 8000 Triple Quadrupole GC-MS/MS
• Dionex ICS-5000+ and ICS-4000 HPIC/RFIC systems
• Dionex IonPac and CarboPac chromatography columns
• UltiMate 3000 and Vanquish UHPLC systems
• Diode Array Detector (DAD) and CoulArray detector
• On-line SPE modules for rapid cleanup

References

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• Bernwieser I., Patzold R., Galensa R., Sontag G. HPLC mit coulometrischer elektroden-array-detektion: Bestimmung von 1-O-trans-p-cumaroylglycerol in … Z. Lebensm. Unters. Forsch., 198, 40–43 (1994).
• Floridi S., Montanari L., Marconi O., Fantozzi P. Determination of free phenolic acids in wort and beer by CoulArray detection. J. Agric. Food Chem., 51, 1548–1554 (2003).
• Jandera P. et al. RP-HPLC analysis of phenolic compounds and flavonoids in beverages and plant extracts using a CoulArray detector. J. Sep. Sci., 28, 1005–1022 (2005).
• Kac J., Vovk T. Sensitive electrochemical detection of α-acids, β-acids and xanthohumol in hops. J. Chromatogr. B Anal. Technol. Biomed. Life Sci., 850(1-2), 531–537 (2007).
• Madigan D., McMurrough I., Smyth M. Determination of proanthocyanidins and catechins in beer and barley by HPLC with dual-electrode electrochemical detection. Analyst, 119, 863–867 (1994).
• Nardini M., Natella F., Scaccini C., Ghiselli A. Phenolic acids from beer are absorbed and extensively metabolized in humans. J. Nutr. Biochem., 17(1), 14–22 (2006).
• Rehová L., Skeifíková V., Jandera P. Optimization of gradient HPLC analysis of phenolic compounds and flavonoids in beer using CoulArray detection. J. Sep. Sci., 27, 1345–1359 (2004).
• Heidorn M. Fast determination of iso-alpha-acids in untreated beer samples with specific cis/trans separation. J. Am. Soc. Brew. Chem., 2013.