Common Beer Research Articles

Assessing the knowledge, attitude and perception about potentially inappropriate medications among community pharmacists in Kedah, Malaysia

Potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) among geriatric are detrimental to both clinical outcomes and health care costs. Knowledge of PIMs among community pharmacists plays vital role in minimizing the inappropriate prescribing. Beers Criteria is commonly used guidelines that lists specific PIMs, where community pharmacists would benefit from knowledge of Beers Criteria in detecting PIMs in primary care. This study therefore investigates the knowledge, attitude and perception of PIMs among community pharmacists in Kedah, Malaysia. This is a prospective, cross-sectional study. The knowledge of PIMs; perception regarding PIMs; awareness of Beers Criteria; and perception of educational needs to enhance community pharmacists’ knowledge about PIMs was assessed by using 5‐point Likert scale. Descriptive statistics and Chi-square tests were used to analyse the data. In this study a total of 107 community pharmacists participated. The respondents demonstrated a higher-level knowledge of PIMs. All of the respondents agreed inappropriate medications among geriatric will cause increased in healthcare utilization, health complications and hospitalization. The respondents demonstrated poor awareness of Beers Criteria. Majority respondents were uncertain that Omeprazole is the most common Beers medication prescribed in healthcare system. Majority of respondents agreed incorporation of geriatric pharmacotherapy education as a core subject or elective subject and postgraduate education in geriatric pharmacotherapy can help to enhance community pharmacists’ knowledge about PIMs among elderly patients. The community pharmacists in Kedah demonstrated high knowledge level of PIMs but poor awareness of the Beers Criteria. Thus, there is a need to increase the awareness and use of Beers Criteria among community pharmacists.

Artisanal fortified beers: Brewing, enrichment, HPLC-DAD analysis and preliminary screening of antioxidant and enzymatic inhibitory activities

In this study an artisanal “Porter style” beer has been enriched with diverse natural bioactive substances, following all-grain brewing method. Common beer generally contains a poor content of phenolic acids which confers a low antioxidant power and nutritional value, also due to the presence of ethanol. However in this work we aimed to enrich beer with different flavonoids and other food supplements like taurine, resveratrol and caffeine, thus enhancing its nutritional value and energizing properties. A series of flavonoid/phenol-enriched artisanal beers have been prepared, then sample of each has been tested in vitro to evaluate antioxidant activity, chelating power and enzymatic inhibition capacity. Beer samples were also analysed with HPLC-DAD system to determinate flavonoid and phenol contents. Results show increased nutritional values and significant antioxidant properties in comparison with not-fortified beer as control.

SARS-CoV-2 Survival in Common Non-Alcoholic and Alcoholic Beverages.

SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19, is known to be transmitted by respiratory droplets and aerosols. Since the virus is shed at high concentrations in respiratory secretions and saliva, SARS-CoV-2 would also be expected to be transmitted through activities that involve the transfer of saliva from one individual to another, such as kissing or sharing beverages. To assess the survival of infectious SARS-CoV-2 in common beverages, we quantified infectious virus by plaque assays one hour after inoculation into 18 non-alcoholic and 16 alcoholic beverages, plus saliva, and also 7 days later for 5 of these beverages. SARS-CoV-2 remains infectious with minimal reductions in several common beverages, including milk and beer. However, cocoa, coffee, tea, fruit juices, and wine contain antiviral compounds that inactivate SARS-CoV-2. Although hard liquors containing 40% alcohol immediately inactivate SARS-CoV-2, mixing with non-alcoholic beverages reduces the antiviral effects. In summary, SARS-CoV-2 can be recovered from commonly consumed beverages in a beverage type and time-dependent manner. Although aerosol or droplet transmission remains the most likely mode of transmission, our findings combined with others suggest that beverages contaminated with SARS-CoV-2 during handling, serving, or through sharing of drinks should be considered as a potential vehicle for virus transmission.

Smart Detection of Faults in Beers Using Near-Infrared Spectroscopy, a Low-Cost Electronic Nose and Artificial Intelligence

Early detection of beer faults is an important assessment in the brewing process to secure a high-quality product and consumer acceptability. This study proposed an integrated AI system for smart detection of beer faults based on the comparison of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR) and a newly developed electronic nose (e-nose) using machine learning modelling. For these purposes, a commercial larger beer was used as a base prototype, which was spiked with 18 common beer faults plus the control aroma. The 19 aroma profiles were used as targets for classification ma-chine learning (ML) modelling. Six different ML models were developed; Model 1 (M1) and M2 were developed using the NIR absorbance values (100 inputs from 1596–2396 nm) and e-nose (nine sensor readings) as inputs, respectively, to classify the samples into control, low and high concentration of faults. Model 3 (M3) and M4 were based on NIR and M5 and M6 based on the e-nose readings as inputs with 19 aroma profiles as targets for all models. A customized code tested 17 artificial neural network (ANN) algorithms automatically testing performance and neu-ron trimming. Results showed that the Bayesian regularization algorithm was the most adequate for classification rendering precisions of M1 = 95.6%, M2 = 95.3%, M3 = 98.9%, M4 = 98.3%, M5 = 96.8%, and M6 = 96.2% without statistical signs of under- or overfitting. The proposed system can be added to robotic pourers and the brewing process at low cost, which can benefit craft and larger brewing companies.

Determination of volatile compounds during deterioration of African opaque beer using a stir bar sorptive extraction technique and gas chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry

Opaque beer traditional to African communities undergoes quick deterioration and is consumed within 7 days of its production. The current study has utilized a stir bar sorptive extraction technique followed by GC-HRT determination to trace variations of 84 volatile compounds in four opaque beers commonly brewed in South Africa over the 7-day shelf life period. The major fruity esters were observed to increase up to Day 4 and eventually decreasing until Day 7 where their levels were finally lower than Day 1. Aldehydes reduced drastically and were less than 50% on Day 2 and becoming almost undetectable at Day 7. The common beer alcohols (phenylethyl alcohol and 3-methyl-1-butanol) decreased during beer shelf life while phenolics with undesirable medicinal tastes (creosol and p-cresol) increased up to 24-fold by Day 7. This study might open future research perspectives around opaque beer traditional to African rural communities.

Effectiveness and Selectiveness of Traps and Baits for Catching the Invasive Hornet Vespa velutina.

Simple SummaryThe introduction of invasive species is one of the major causes of biodiversity loss and, in many cases, entails considerable economic consequences. Due to their biological traits, social Vespidae are known for their potential in establishing viable populations and become invasive in many countries of the world. A good example is represented by the invasion success of the Asian yellow-legged hornet Vespa velutina, a species that has been introduced and established in Europe and other countries of Asia. By preying on honey bees and native insects, this species is a threat for the biodiversity, the pollination ecosystem service and the economy. Traps for wasps and hornets are widely used for monitoring the presence of V. velutina or, at a rather higher density, as a complementary method for limiting its impacts. Here we compared the performance of two typologies of traps and baits widely used for trapping this invasive species and, at the same time, evaluated the consequences of this activity on native insects. Findings highlighted that the performance of the trap/bite combinations changed in relation to the season. However, the proportion of non-target insects in the traps stress the necessity of developing alternative monitoring and control techniques.Vespa velutina is an invasive hornet that is colonising several countries worldwide, with detrimental effects on multiple components but primarily affecting honey bees and native insect species. Traps for wasps and hornets are commonly used for trapping V. velutina, both for monitoring and control purposes. In this study, we compared the performances of two typologies of traps and baits widely used for trapping this invasive hornet, by evaluating their effectiveness and selectiveness in trapping V. velutina in two sites during two different periods of the year, spring and autumn. The performance of the traps changed in relation to (i) the trap’s model, (ii) the bait’s typology and (iii) the period of the year. In spring, traps with common beer as bait were more effective and more selective independently of trap’s model than the commercial bait that has been tested. On the contrary, in autumn, just one combination of trap and attractant (the commercial trap and bait) achieved higher effectiveness and selectiveness. Despite the underlined variations among traps and baits, overall catches of V. velutina were scanty compared to bycatches of non-target insects, since best performing traps either in term of effectiveness and selectiveness caught 3.65% of the target species in spring and 1.35% in autumn upon the total trapped insects. This highlights the urgent necessity of developing more selective trapping methods for monitoring and particularly for controlling purposes.

Beer spoilage lactic acid bacteria from craft brewery microbiota: Microbiological quality and food safety

Craft beer is more susceptible to microbial spoilage because it does not have a pasteurization or filtration process, with lactic acid bacteria (LAB) being the most common beer spoilage microorganism. The aim of this study was to isolate LAB in a craft brewery and their characterization from a food safety and microbiological quality perspective, with a special focus on their abilities to produce biogenic amines (BA) and spoil the beer. The results of 60 monitored points inside the craft brewery showed that LAB associated with the craft brewing processes belonged to Lactobacillus, Pediococcus, and Leuconostoc genera, and most of them were detected in the filling area, which can lead to secondary contamination. Two isolates of L. brevis showed the most significant beer spoilage ability because they could grow in more acidic conditions, at a higher hop and alcohol content, and they displayed horA, horC, and hitA genes, which spoiled the vast majority of the tested beers. In addition, the aforementioned L. brevis isolates showed the highest BA production.

Hedonic, emotional and willingness-to-pay response to beers of a different type in Brazil

PurposeThe purpose of this paper was to evaluate the differences between common Brazilian beer and pure malt beer in the responses of hedonic scaling, willingness to pay and emotional response.Design/methodology/approachTwo types of beer were selected to be tested – a common beer: Pilsen Skol and pure malt beer: Pilsen Eisenbahn. All the analysis was conducted under three labeling conditions: blind; labeled; inverted label with 70 participants in each test. A nine-point hedonic scale evaluated the acceptance. The consumer was questioned how much he/she would be willing to pay for a bottle of beer that he/she tasted. A questionnaire was elaborated based on the EsSense profile to evaluate emotions; 25 emotions were evaluated using a five-point scale. The socioeconomic status was defined based on consumer's household characteristics.FindingsThe acceptance score, positive emotions and willingness to pay were higher for pure malt beer in the labeled test and for common beer (labeled as pure malt) in the inverted test. The findings highlight that information, such as beer type and socioeconomic status, could influence consumer responses by altering hedonic perceptions, emotions and commercial value attributed to different beers. In general, the beer type did not affect the evaluated variables.Practical implicationsBrewing industry should explore in their marketing strategies and state clearly the pure malt label. In restaurants, owners can explore pure malt beers as a strategy for garnering different customer profiles. Technological and production investments should be encouraged to reduce the product price, favoring the final consumer.Originality/valueThis study contributes to understanding the growth in the consumption of pure malt beers in Brazil. Moreover, it brings an overview of the influence of the label/information on regular Brazilian consumers.

Designing New Yeasts for Craft Brewing: When Natural Biodiversity Meets Biotechnology

Beer is a fermented beverage with a history as old as human civilization. Ales and lagers are by far the most common beers; however, diversification is becoming increasingly important in the brewing market and the brewers are continuously interested in improving and extending the range of products, especially in the craft brewery sector. Fermentation is one of the widest spaces for innovation in the brewing process. Besides Saccharomyces cerevisiae ale and Saccharomyces pastorianus lager strains conventionally used in macro-breweries, there is an increasing demand for novel yeast starter cultures tailored for producing beer styles with diversified aroma profiles. Recently, four genetic engineering-free approaches expanded the genetic background and the phenotypic biodiversity of brewing yeasts and allowed novel costumed-designed starter cultures to be developed: (1) the research for new performant S. cerevisiae yeasts from fermented foods alternative to beer; (2) the creation of synthetic hybrids between S. cerevisiae and Saccharomyces non-cerevisiae in order to mimic lager yeasts; (3) the exploitation of evolutionary engineering approaches; (4) the usage of non-Saccharomyces yeasts. Here, we summarized the pro and contra of these approaches and provided an overview on the most recent advances on how brewing yeast genome evolved and domestication took place. The resulting correlation maps between genotypes and relevant brewing phenotypes can assist and further improve the search for novel craft beer starter yeasts, enhancing the portfolio of diversified products offered to the final customer.

My Beer Tank Lining Is Sick: A Common Beer Tank Lining Issue and How to Mitigate It

My Beer Tank Lining Is Sick: A Common Beer Tank Lining Issue and How to Mitigate It

First Study of Sourdough Beer Aging Via the Chemical Fingerprint of Volatile Markers

Despite years of research, sensory worsening during beer aging remains a challenge to brewing chemists. Taking into account the novelty of sourdough beer and the interest of consumers in artisanal and specialty beer, the study of its aging is mandatory. The shelf life of Lambic beer is known to be much longer than that of common beer, and it may last over a span of several years. No study is available for the shelf life of sourdough beer whose recipe is inspired to Lambic beer production. For this reason, it would be useful to establish a dataset of relevant substances for the objective evaluation of sourdough beer aging, with and without refermentation in the bottle, in a 2-year endpoint study. In our work, the headspace solid-phase microextraction was used to sample the volatile profile of fresh and aged samples. Principal component analysis enabled (i) the selection of the most eligible aging volatile indicators and (ii) the clustering of the samples according to their aging and fermentation process. Sourdough non-refermented beers have a shorter shelf life than others assessed in the study. Sourdough refermented beers still have to be analytically and sensorially monitored in the years to come to detect their very long shelf life.

Potentially inappropriate medicine prescribing by nurse practitioners in New Zealand.

Nurse practitioners (NPs) in New Zealand (NZ) prescribe a broad range of medicines; little is known about their prescribing practice for older adults. Potentially inappropriate medicines (PIMs) can cause more harm than benefit. This study reports on the prescribing of PIMs to older adults (≥65 years) by NPs in NZ. A subset analysis using data from NZ Ministry of Health pharmaceutical collection from 2013 to 2015 was completed. Data included NP registration number, medicines dispensed, patient age, sex, and NZ Deprivation level. Those <65 years were excluded. Beers 2015 criteria were used to identify the PIMs. There were 106 NPs that prescribed medicines to 12,410 patients aged ≥65 years. One third of the patients were prescribed ≥1 PIMss. Most (68.4%) were prescribed one PIM; 21.9% two PIMs; 7.1% three PIMs; and 2.6% were prescribed ≥4 PIMs. NPs prescribed an average of 14.9% PIMs. Primary care NPs were more likely to prescribe PIMs, compared to those with a scope of older adults and long-term conditions (p ≤ 0.001). The most common Beers 2015 PIMs prescribed were proton pump inhibitors, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, alpha blockers, hypnotics, tricyclic antidepressants, and benzodiazepines. NPs prescribe lower rates of PIMs to older adults than other prescribers in NZ. However, prescribing practices can be improved and the findings indicate that a more specific educational focus on prescribing to older adults is required. The findings provide an important baseline internationally for NP PIM prescribing and can be used by NPs, and educationally to review and improve practices.

Malting and Brewing Industries Encounter Fusarium spp. Related Problems

Versatile microbiota are inevitably naturally present on cereals. Fungi, yeasts and bacteria and their metabolites all contribute to the quality and safety of the final products derived from most common beer cereals—barley and wheat. The microorganisms that are most often associated with the safety and quality of cereals for beer production belong to the Fusarium spp. They greatly influence yields from the field, and can modify and diminish economic success for farmers. However, the real problem is their harmful metabolites—mycotoxins—that affect the health of humans and animals. In the era of emerging analytical methodologies, the spectrum of known toxins originating from microorganisms that can pose a threat to humans has grown tremendously. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor microflora throughout the productive “barley to beer” chain and to act suppressive on the proliferation of unwanted microorganisms, before and during malting, preventing the occurrence of mycotoxins in final products and by-products. Multi-mycotoxin analyses are very advanced and useful tools for the assessment of product safety, and legislation should follow up and make some important changes to regulate as yet unregulated, but highly occurring, microbial toxins in malt and beer.

Drug-disease interaction in elderly patients in family practice

To determine the frequency of potential drug-disease interaction in elderly patients in family practice. To assess which drugs and diagnoses are associated with a high risk related to drug-disease interaction and whether there are gender- or age-related differences. In routinely recorded electronic patient records, patients at least 65 years old with at least one diagnosis named in Beers list and one prescription were identified. Potential drug-disease interaction (PDDI) was presumed if within the same 3 months a "Beers" diagnosis and a potentially inappropriate prescription with respect to this diagnosis were documented for a patient. Multiple logistic regression analysis identified factors associated with a high risk of PDDI. Of 24,619 patients (63.4% women) corresponding to our inclusion criteria, 10.4% were exposed to at least one PDDI. Almost no (0.0%) PDDI was associated with the most common Beers disorder hypertension (prevalence 49.2%). However, 23.4% of men suffering from bladder outflow obstruction (prevalence 17.6% in males) were exposed to at least one PDDI. PDDI was quite common in some rarer conditions, for example, indications for anticoagulation (prevalence 2.6%, 31.5% PDDI). PDDI was not influenced by gender, but associated with taking more than 4 drugs (OR 1.91 (1.83 - 2.00)), suffering from more than one Beers disorder (OR 1.24 (1.16 - 1.31)), and advanced age (OR 1.10 (1.05 - 1.15)). High risk patient groups could be identified. Some disorders as well as some drugs are particularly prone to risky constellations; these should be reflected in systems assisting prescribing with regard to patient safety.

Heat transfer analysis of pasteurization of bottled beer in a tunnel pasteurizer using computational fluid dynamics

Abstract Beer is one of the most widely consumed alcoholic beverages in the world. Pasteurization is an important unit operation in beer processing that inactivates the spoilage microorganisms present in beer thereby extending its shelf life. It is difficult to determine the temperature profile and slowest heating zone (i.e. minimum heating region) inside the bottle during industrial scale tunnel pasteurization. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling can be used as a tool to determine the temperature distribution pattern inside the bottled beer. This study is unique in terms of using the actual thermophysical properties of beer unlike in earlier published works. Further, CFD simulation prediction of the temperature profile in the bottled beer was validated with experimental measurements. The study was extended to investigate the effects of different zones' temperatures on inactivation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae , the most common beer spoilage organism. A tunnel pasteurizer with seven zones was selected to study the temperature profile inside the bottled beer and found to be in good agreement with the published temperature profiles in different zones. In addition, the effectiveness of pasteurization was investigated in terms of pasteurization unit (PU) and the resultant PU value (15 to 30 PU) was adequate for achieving the maximum sterility of beer. Industrial relevance In recent years, a rapid development in the application of CFD in food processing operations has been witnessed. The main need for CFD analysis of pasteurization is to determine the uniform and effective heat distribution inside the bottled beer and to examine the position of slowest heating zone (SHZ). Relatively few works have been published related to applications of CFD during beer pasteurization. However, all the studies were performed with water as a model fluid. So far no work has been published on the CFD simulation during the pasteurization process in bottled beer by using the thermophysical properties of beer. Hence, the present study was aimed at investigating the temperature distribution inside the beer bottle during the pasteurization process and in each zone of the industrial tunnel pasteurizer. This model can be used for the brewery industry to ensure that the required pasteurization temperature has been reached inside the beer bottle when conveyed through a tunnel pasteurizer. This is very essential to render a safe product with extended shelf life to the consumers.

The impact of different ale brewer’s yeast strains on the proteome of immature beer

BackgroundIt is well known that brewer’s yeast affects the taste and aroma of beer. However, the influence of brewer’s yeast on the protein composition of beer is currently unknown. In this study, changes of the proteome of immature beer, i.e. beer that has not been matured after fermentation, by ale brewer’s yeast strains with different abilities to degrade fermentable sugars were investigated.ResultsBeers were fermented from standard hopped wort (13° Plato) using two ale brewer’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) strains with different attenuation degrees. Both immature beers had the same alcohol and protein concentrations. Immature beer and unfermented wort proteins were analysed by 2-DE and compared in order to determine protein changes arising from fermentation. Distinct protein spots in the beer and wort proteomes were identified using Matrix-assisted laser desorption-ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) and MS/MS and revealed common beer proteins, such as lipid transfer proteins (LTP1 and LTP2), protein Z and amylase-protease inhibitors. During fermentation, two protein spots, corresponding to LTP2, disappeared, while three protein spots were exclusively found in beer. These three proteins, all derived from yeast, were identified as cell wall associated proteins, that is Exg1 (an exo-β-1,3-glucanase), Bgl2 (an endo-β-1,2-glucanase), and Uth1 (a cell wall biogenesis protein).ConclusionYeast strain dependent changes in the immature beer proteome were identified, i.e. Bgl2 was present in beer brewed with KVL011, while lacking in WLP001 beer.

Leaf area index retrieval using gap fractions obtained from high resolution satellite data: Comparisons of approaches, scales and atmospheric effects

This study is aimed at demonstrating the feasibility of the large scale LAI inversion algorithms using red and near infrared reflectance obtained from high resolution satellite imagery. Radiances in digital counts were obtained in 10m resolution acquired on cloud free day of August 23, 2007, by the SPOT 5 high resolution geometric (HRG) instrument on mostly temperate hardwood forest located in the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence forest in Southern Quebec. Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), scaled difference vegetation index (SDVI) and modified soil-adjusted vegetation index (MSAVI) were applied to calculate gap fractions. LAI was inverted from the gap fraction using the common Beer–Lambert's law of light extinction under forest canopy. The robustness of the algorithm was evaluated using the ground-based LAI measurements and by applying the methods for the independently simulated reflectance data using PROSPECT+SAIL coupled radiative transfer models. Furthermore, the high resolution LAI was compared with MODIS LAI product. The effects of atmospheric corrections and scales were investigated for all of the LAI retrieval methods. NDVI was found to be not suitable index for large scale LAI inversion due to the sensitivity to scale and atmospheric effects. SDVI was virtually scale and atmospheric correction invariant. MSAVI was also scale invariant. Considering all sensitivity analysis, MSAVI performed best followed by SDVI for robust LAI inversion from high resolution imagery.