Comparative Investigation of Flavors in Red and Brown Flemish Beers: Key-Role of Brettanomyces and Torrefied Malts in Ethylphenols Occurrence

Abstract

Red and brown Flemish sour beers form a distinct class of Belgian beers obtained by mixed (yeast/lactic bacteria) microbial fermentation and often resulting from blending a 1-to-2-year-old beer with a younger one to obtain a balance between acidic character and sweetness. A detailed composition in volatiles (phenols, lactones, esters, alcohols, acids, …) of three beers representative of the red and brown subcategories is presented. GC data were obtained after different extraction procedures, including solvent-assisted flavor evaporation (SAFE) and headspace. The first results showed the influence of Brettanomyces yeast on the phenol and ester contents. An efficient Brettanomyces activity in the red sour beers (especially in Rodenbach Vintage) was observed, favored by long maturation in wooden casks. This was organoleptically perceived by the horsey flavors brought by 4-ethylguaiacol and 4-ethylphenol, and the solvent-like ethyl acetate through esterase activity. The brown Flemish sour beer (produced in stainless steel fermenters) showed significantly more unreduced 4-vinylguaiacol and 4-vinylphenol, although traces of 4-ethylguaiacol and 4-ethylphenol were also detected (most probably here issued from torrefied malts, as suggested by the opposite substituted phenol/guaiacol ratio).