Release and evaporation of volatiles during boiling of unhopped wort.

The release and evaporation of volatile compounds was studied during boiling of wort. The observed parameters were boiling time, boiling intensity, wort pH, and wort density. The effect of every parameter was discussed and approached chemically, with an eye on beer-aging processes. The results indicated that pH highly influenced the release of flavor compounds and that the formation of Strecker aldehydes was linear with boiling time. However, because of evaporation of volatiles, information about the applied thermal load on wort is lost when using a volatile heat load indicator. The thiobarbituric acid (TBA) method, which includes the nonvolatile precursors of volatile aging compounds, proved to be a more reliable method to determine all kinds of heat load on wort. Finally, it was discussed how the obtained insights could help to understand the mechanism of beer aging.

Optimisation of wort volatile analysis by headspace solid-phase microextraction in combination with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry.

The aim of this study was to create a simple, solventless technique without derivatisation in order to analyze a broad range of volatiles in beer wort. A method was developed using headspace solid-phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. The procedure was optimised by selection of the appropriate fibre and optimisation of extraction temperature, extraction time, and salting-out. The detection limits were well below the actual wort concentrations of the selected volatiles, ranging from 12 ng/l for linalool to 0.53 microg/l for furfural. Moreover, the procedure showed a good linearity and was applied to the analysis of wort samples taken from a wort boiling process in an industrial brewery.

Characterization of volatiles in unhopped wort.

The volatile fraction of wort components was studied during boiling. Not less than 118 volatile compounds were identified when unhopped pilsner wort was boiled and samples of wort and condensed vapors were analyzed with headspace SPME-GC/MS, of which 54 were confirmed with reference compounds. The wort samples contained 61 identifiable compounds, while the vapor condensate yielded 108 different compounds. Almost 30 known compounds were found that have not been described before in unhopped pilsner wort. One previously unknown aldol reaction product was tentatively identified as 2-phenyl-2-octenal. The detection of branched 2-alkenals underlines the importance of the aldol condensation in Maillard-type reactions, while the tentative identification of alkyloxazoles and alkylthiazoles could once more accentuate the central role of alpha-dicarbonyl compounds, aldehydes, and amino acids in flavor generation. The condensation of wort vapors joined with the SPME-GC/MS technique has proven to be a useful tool in volatile analysis.