Non-alcoholic Beer Research Articles

Effect of Moderate Beer Intake on the Lipid Composition of Human Red Blood Cell Membranes.

Background/Objectives: Growing evidence suggests that erythrocyte membrane lipids are subject to changes during their lifespan. Factors such as the type of dietary intake and its composition contribute to the changes in red blood cell (RBC) membranes. Due to the high antioxidant content of beer, we aimed to investigate the effect of moderate beer consumption on the lipid composition of RBCs membranes from healthy overweight individuals. Methods: We conducted a four-weeks, prospective two-arm longitudinal crossed-over study, where participants (n = 36) were randomly assigned to alcohol-free beer group or traditional beer group. The lipids of RBCs membranes were assessed at the beginning and the end of the intervention by thin-layer chromatography. Results: Four-weeks of alcohol-free beer promoted changes in fatty acids (FA), free cholesterol (FC), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) and phosphatidylcholine (PC) (p < 0.05). Meanwhile, traditional beer intake led to changes in FA, FC, phospholipids (PL), PE and PC (p < 0.05). The observed alterations in membrane lipids were found to be independent of sex and BMI as influencing factors. Conclusions: The lipid composition of erythrocyte membranes is distinctly but mildly influenced by the consumption of both non-alcoholic and conventional beer, with no effects on RBC membrane fluidity.

Survival of Escherichia coli O157, Salmonella Enteritidis, Bacillus cereus and Clostridium botulinum in non-alcoholic beers

Why was the work done: To (i) determine whether microbial pathogens were present in packaged alcohol-free and low alcohol beers, (ii) to assess whether pathogens can survive or grow in non-alcoholic beers, and (iii) to determine the impact of pH and bitterness on their growth and survival of pathogens in alcohol-free beer. How was the work done: : 50 alcohol-free and low alcohol beers, available in the UK, were screened for pathogens and analysed for ABV, pH and bitterness (IBU). One of the alcohol-free beers (with the lowest IBU) was adjusted to 25 and 50 IBU and pH 3.8, 4.2, 4.6 and 4.9. Challenge testing of these beers was performed with Escherichia coli O157, Salmonella Enteritidis, Bacillus cereus and Clostridium botulinum. In addition, the heat resistance (D60 value) of the pathogens, spoilage bacteria and Saccharomyces cerevisiae ascospores in these beers was determined. What are the main findings: Salmonella, E. coli, Enterobacteriaceae, Bacillus cereus and sulphite reducing clostridia were not found in any of the 50 beers. However, two emerging opportunistic pathogens (Cupriavidus gilardii and Sphingomonas paucimobilis) were found in the low alcohol keg beers. None of the pathogens used in this study could grow in the alcohol-free beer at low pH (pH 3.8). E. coli O157 was unable to grow at pH 4.2 but could grow at pH 4.6 but only with reduced levels of carbon dioxide and increased oxygen. Salmonella Enteritidis was able to grow at pH 4.2 and 4.6 but also with reduced levels of CO2 and increased O2. Although Bacillus cereus and C. botulinum were unable to grow in any of the tested conditions, both pathogens were able to survive. Survival and/or growth of the microorganisms was impacted by pH; bitterness had no effect. Why is the work important: Salmonella Enteritidis and E. coli O157 only grew in alcohol free beer at a higher pH (4.2 and 4.6 for Salmonella and 4.6 for E. coli) together with with reduced levels of CO2 and increased O2. This suggests that packaged beer with appreciable levels of carbon dioxide and negligible levels of oxygen will not support the growth of pathogens. However, draught alcohol free beer may be vulnerable to pathogens.

The Influence of Pervaporation on Ferulic Acid and Maltol in Dealcoholised Beer

Non-alcoholic beer is becoming more and more popular every year. Due to the high demand for such drinks, numerous breweries decided to produce non-alcoholic beer. There are various methods to create a beer with a reduced alcohol content. Among them are biological methods influencing the biochemistry of the brewing process and physical methods focused on removing ethanol from ready beer. Thus far, the most popular methods are vacuum rectification and reverse osmosis. This work evaluated another method called pervaporation for non-alcoholic beer production. During the study, low-alcohol beer (0.58 vol.%) was achieved from standard beer (3.62 vol.%) using pervaporation. The colour of the product remained unchanged at level 7 EBC. The concentration of ferulic acid decreased from 11.5 to 9.1 mg/dm3, and maltol was concentrated, reaching a concentration of 38 mg/dm3 in the final retentate during a 5 h process.

Multi-response kinetic modelling of the formation of five Strecker aldehydes during kilning of barley malt

Control of aroma formation during production of barley malt is critical to provide consistent and high-quality products for the brewing industry. Malt quality can be affected by the inherent variability of raw material and processing conditions, leading to inconsistent and/or undesirable profiles. Dried green malts were cured isothermally at 65, 78 and 90 °C for 8.4 h, and characteristic aroma compounds (Strecker aldehydes), precursors and intermediate compounds were analysed over time. By kinetic modelling of Strecker aldehydes, based on fundamental chemical pathways, we showed that degradation of Amadori rearrangement products and short-chain dicarbonyls was more sensitive to temperature change due to their higher activation energies compared to other kinetic steps. This study can help maltsters to manipulate formation of Strecker aldehydes, via raw material screening and process control, and hence optimise the organoleptic quality of malts and their products, such as non-alcoholic beers, where these aldehydes play a key role.

ABA and AAB renewal of alcohol seeking in rats are reduced by exposure to beer before extinction

Three experiments with rats examined the impact of a retrieval-extinction procedure on ABA and AAB renewal of instrumental learning. In all experiments, rats were trained to run down an alley for alcoholic beer in Context A. Then, the instrumental response underwent extinction, which was conducted in Context B for Experiments 1 and 2, and in Context A for Experiment 3. In each experiment, one group of animals received a brief exposure to the beer prior to each extinction session, whereas this beer exposure was omitted for a second group. Moreover, Experiment 2 comprised a third group that was exposed to non-alcoholic beer before each extinction session. Finally, all rats were tested in their extinction context and in a second context, which was Context A for Experiments 1 and 2, and Context B for Experiment 3. We found ABA (Experiments 1 and 2) and AAB (Experiment 3) renewal of beer seeking in those animals for which beer exposure prior to extinction was omitted. However, response recovery was not evident when animals received exposure to beer before extinction, regardless of whether alcoholic or non-alcoholic beer was used. Our results suggest that the renewal of alcohol seeking can be prevented by means of the retrieval-extinction paradigm.

Enhancing the mouthfeel of non-alcoholic beers: The influence of dextrin and arabinoxylan on perceived viscosity and body

Carbohydrates in beer are recognized for enhancing viscosity. Increasing their levels during the production of non-alcoholic beers (NABs) may serve as a valuable strategy to compensate for the loss in viscosity and palate fullness due to dealcoholization. This study assessed the effectiveness of dextrin and arabinoxylan (AX) in this respect, within their content range and with the structural characteristics found in commercial beers. The addition of purified dextrin and AX isolates to water, pilsner beer, and NAB revealed that 30 g/L dextrin or 1.5 g/L high-molecular-weight AX (HMW AX) was required to compensate for the dealcoholization-induced viscosity loss. Evaluating the effect of both components on perceived palate fullness and mouthfeel involved producing eight NABs with varying dextrin and HMW AX levels and assessing them by a trained sensory panel (n = 12). Dextrin and HMW AX combined significantly increased palate fullness (p < 0.10), while solely increasing either was insufficient to achieve this effect. Increasing beer viscosity by itself could not fully compensate for palate fullness loss due to dealcoholization. Thus, adjusting NAB production to elevate HMW AX and dextrin levels simultaneously emerges as a viable strategy for improving palate fullness, offering valuable insights for brewers towards enhanced NAB quality.

The Commercial Determinants of Men's Health Promotion: A Case Study of Gambling, Nonnies, and Athleisurewear.

Although the social determinants of health have guided equity work with the tailoring of men's health promotion programs, the role of, and potential for, the commercial determinants of health in those interventions is rarely addressed and poorly understood. While four commercial products, tobacco, alcohol, ultra-processed food, and fossil fuels, account for more than a third of global deaths, there is a need to recognize that consumer goods industries can make both positive and negative contributions to health. This article begins much-needed discussions about what we might learn from, and strategically tap in the commercial sector to seed, scale, and sustain men's health promotion programs. Three case studies, online sports betting, beer and the rise of the nonny, and athleisurewear, are discussed. Connections between online sports betting and masculinities explain young men's disproportionate involvement and gambling addictions with recommendations to legislate an end to gambling advertisements and de-incentivize industry profiteering through penalties and higher taxes. Regarding beer and the rise of the nonny, brewers have innovated with non-alcoholic beer based on shifting consumption patterns and masculinities in their core market-men. The nonny reminds health promoters to know their end-user's values and behaviors to bolster program acceptability. Detailing Under Armour and Lululemon, two highly gendered but diversifying athleisurewear brands, the complexities of, and potential for, leveraging public health and industry collaborations are underscored. Taken together, the article findings suggest men's health promoters should rigorously explore tapping key commercial entities and tax revenues to advance the health of men and their communities.

Trends in non-alcoholic beer and its prospects

Trends in non-alcoholic beer and its prospects

BINGE DRINKING HAS NO EFFECT ON MUSCULAR STRENGTH AND NEUROMUSCULAR RESPONSES DURING MAXIMAL AND HIGH-INTENSITY ISOMETRIC FATIGUE PROTOCOL

We investigated the effects of binge drinking on maximal strength, time to exhaustion during a high-intensity isometric fatigue protocol, and neuromuscular responses of the elbow flexor muscles. Ten young male participants were randomized in two conditions: (1) alcohol consumption (ALC) or (2) placebo consumption (PLA). In each condition, volunteers ingested 1g of alcohol per kg of body mass of alcoholic beer (ALC) or non-alcoholic beer (PLA). Neuromuscular performance (elbow flexors peak torque and time to exhaustion – TTE - during an isometric fatigue protocol at 70% of peak torque) and EMG parameters (amplitude and median frequency) of biceps brachii (BB) and brachioradialis (BRA) were assessed before and after drink ingestion. A breath alcohol concentration of 1.1 ± 0.25 mg/L was observed in ALC condition. Torque was similar between-conditions (p = 0.76) and condition*moment interaction (p = 0.92), with a significant reduction in post in both conditions (p = 0.01; ALC: -4.4%; PLA: -4.7%). TTE and maximal EMG amplitude of BB were not affected by conditions and moments (p &gt; 0.05). Maximal EMG amplitude of BRA was reduced in post in both conditions (ALC: -16.4%; PLA: -14.6%). EMG amplitude of BB and BRA during the fatigue protocol, the behavior was similar between moments and conditions (p &gt; 0.05) and we only observed an increase during protocol (p &lt; 0.05). Median frequency of BB was higher in PLA compared to ALC (+9.8%). Decreases were observed in both muscles during protocol (p &lt; 0.001). Our results revealed that binge drinking did not alter maximal strength, time to exhaustion during high-intensity isometric fatigue protocol, and neuromuscular responses.

Association of Beverage Consumption with Cardio-metabolic Risk Factors and Alanine Transaminase Levels in Children and Adolescents: The CASPIAN-V Study.

This study aims to evaluate the association of beverage consumption with cardiometabolic risk factors and alanine transaminase (ALT) levels in children and adolescents. This nationwide study is a part of the fifth survey of a national surveillance program in Iran. Overall, 4200 students, aged 7-18 years, were selected from 30 provinces by multi-stage cluster sampling. In addition to filling in questionnaires, blood sampling and biochemical tests were done. The weekly use of six different beverage types including milk, juice, tea, coffee, soda, and non-alcoholic beer, was documented by interview. The participation rate was 91.5% (n = 3843), and data of 3733 students were complete for the current study. Beverages containing high levels of sugar such as soda and non-alcoholic beer were significantly associated with higher levels of ALT. Model coefficient of regression (SD) was 0.66 (0.31) (P value: 0.034). Healthy beverages such as milk and fresh juice and also beverages containing high levels of caffeine did not have significant association with ALT levels (P value = 0.32, P value = 0.60). Healthy beverages had a significant and inverse relationship with triglycerides (TG) (P value = 0.029), total cholesterol (TC) (P value = 0.008) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) (P value = 0.008) levels. This study showed that consuming sugar-sweetened beverages is significantly associated with higher levels of ALT, whereas healthy beverages are associated with a better cardiometabolic profile meaning that consuming healthy beverages leads to lower TG, TC, and LDL levels. The effects of beverages on children's health should be emphasized in health recommendations.

일부 비알코올 맥주의 우식활성능 비교

The growing popularity of non-alcoholic beer in society demands an investigation of their potential impact on oral health. This study compared the dental caries activity of commercially available non-alcoholic beer with that of their alcoholic counterparts, focusing on factors that influence demineralization. We measured the pH and buffering capacity of both beer types since they directly affect tooth enamel erosion. Streptococcus mutans was cultured on agar media containing the experimental beverages to assess biofilm formation. The results indicated that the pH of all non-alcoholic beer were below the critical level (5.5) for enamel demineralization. Furthermore, their buffering capacities were significantly lower than those of their alcoholic counterparts. Biofilm formation by S. mutans was higher in non-alcoholic beer (P&lt;0.001). These findings highlight the potential risk of dental cariesassociated with specific non-alcoholic beer, emphasizing the need for a broader assessment across various non-alcoholic beer types, considering the factors influencing dental caries and real oral conditions. Further research is warranted to comprehensively understand their impact on dental health.

Validation Study on Spectrophotometric Measurement of Ethanol from Beer and Non-Alcoholic Beer Samples Distilled by Micro Steam Distillation Method

The method validation technique for determining the ethanol percentage (v/v) in beer and non-alcoholic beer is presented in this study. The underlying idea is to use the micro water vapor method to distill the ethanol from beer and then use the spectrophotometric method, which uses the oxidation of sodium dichromate to measure the amount of ethanol. The Harmonized Guidelines for Single-Laboratory Validation of Methods of Analysis were used to validate the analytical method that we provided. The following aspects of the method were assessed: precision, recovery, linearity, measuring range, detection and quantification limitations, method detection limit, and measurement uncertainty. The following were the limits of detection (LOD) and quantification values (LOQ), and the method detection limit (MDL): ethanol, 0.04%, 0.05%, and 0.15. For both repeatability and within-laboratory reproducibility, the relative standard deviation values were less than 2.36 and 4.12%, respectively. The spiked samples had recovery rates ranging from 97% to 102%. These findings fulfilled the minimal performance standards set forth in AOAC Official Methods of Analysis Appendix F: Guidelines for Standard Method Performance Requirements. As a result, the process can be used for the regular analysis of ethanol in the beer and non-alcoholic beer under study.

Effective strategies to maximise dextrin formation in brewing

Why was the work done: Dextrin is the non-fermentable product of starch hydrolysis and plays a role in enhancing the perceived palate fullness of beer. Therefore, increasing dextrin formation is a promising strategy to improve palate fullness, particularly in non-alcoholic and low-alcohol beers. How was the work done: This study investigated the impact of adjusting the mashing profile of a 100% barley malt mash on the dextrin content and molecular weight distribution in the wort. Mash thickness, heating rate, and mashing-in temperature with and without the addition of a thermostable α-amylase were adjusted during mashing to evaluate the impact on dextrin content and molecular weight distribution. To benchmark this work, the dextrin content and molecular weight distribution was determined in five pilsener beers and their non-alcoholic counterparts. What are the main findings: With the exception of one non-alcoholic beer which contained 72 g/L, the concentration of dextrin ranged from 15 to 30 g/L in the five commercial pilsner-type beers and their non-alcoholic equivalents. The molecular weight distribution of dextrin among the beers was similar, with 85-98% of the dextrin population characterised by a degree of polymerisation below 35. Various strategies were applied during mashing to evaluate the impact on the content and the molecular weight distribution of dextrin. A strategy that promoted dextrin formation was mashing with a lower water-to-grist ratio. This resulted in delayed starch gelatinisation influenced by increased solid extract content in wort. Furthermore, at a low water-to-grist ratio, faster mash heating (up to 2°C/min) or isothermal mashing at temperatures below 72°C had no impact on dextrin formation. Isothermal mashing at 78°C supplemented with thermostable α-amylase increased the dextrin level in wort up to 60 g/L, while the molecular weight distribution of dextrin was similar to that found in commercial beers. Why is the work important: This study demonstrates that increased dextrin formation is achievable in beer but requires significant changes to the mashing process. These insights will enable brewers to enhance the palate fullness of beers, especially those which are non-alcoholic or low in alcohol.

The Effects of High-Intensity Interval Training and Moderate Alcohol Consumption on Cognitive Performance-A Multidisciplinary Intervention in Young Healthy Adults.

The main purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a high-intensity interval training (HIIT) intervention in the context of moderate alcohol consumption on cognitive performance in healthy young adults. We conducted a 10-week HIIT program along with four types of beverages with/without alcohol content. A total of 75 healthy adults (18-40 years old; 46% female) were allocated to either a control Non-Training group or an HIIT program group (2 days/week). Using block randomization, participants in the HIIT group were further allocated to an HIIT-Alcohol group (alcohol beer or sparkling water with vodka added, 5.4%) or an HIIT-NonAlcohol group (sparkling water or non-alcohol beer, 0.0%). The control group was instructed to maintain an active lifestyle but did not undergo any regular training. A comprehensive neuropsychological battery was used to evaluate cognitive performance (i.e., memory, working memory, processing speed, inhibitory control, and verbal fluency). Changes from baseline to week 10 were included in the main analyses. All groups improved in all neuropsychological measures (all p ≤ 0.001), independent of sex and alcohol consumption, with no statistical differences between groups (all p > 0.05). Furthermore, larger increases in maximal oxygen uptake were associated with greater improvements in processing speed, inhibitory control, and verbal fluency (all p < 0.050). Although the improvements found in cognitive performance cannot be attributed to the HIIT intervention, no significant impairments in cognitive functions were noted due to moderate alcohol intake. Furthermore, our results confirmed that exercise-induced physical fitness improvements were associated with cognitive performance enhancements in young healthy adults.

Unexpected Behavior of a Maltose-Negative Saccharomyces cerevisiae Yeast: Higher Release of Polyfunctional Thiols from Glutathionylated Than from Cysteinylated S-Conjugates

At present, non-alcoholic and low-alcoholic beers (NABLABs), in addition to their premature sensitivity to oxidation, still suffer from a lack of fruity fermentation aromas. Maltose/maltotriose-negative yeasts offer a highly attractive alternative for creating diversified pleasant aromas and/or eliminating off-flavors in NABLAB production. The aim of this study was to explore the potential of Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. chevalieri, SafBrewTM LA-01 to release fruity polyfunctional thiols from glutathionylated (G-) and cysteinylated (Cys-) precursors. Interestingly, it proved to release free thiols from their glutathionylated S-conjugate much more efficiently (0.34% from G-3-sulfanylhexanol in 15 °P wort after seven days at 24 °C) than the best S. pastorianus strains previously screened (0.13% for lager yeast L7). On the other hand, despite its classification as a S. cerevisiae strain, it showed an inefficient use of cysteinylated precursors, although the release efficiency was slightly higher under NABLAB fermentation conditions (6 °P; 3 days at 20 °C). Under these conditions, as expected, LA-01 consumed only glucose, fructose, and saccharose (0.4% v/v ethanol formation) and produced only low levels of fermentation esters (1.6 mg/L in total) and dimethylsulfide (5 µg/L). The POF+ character of LA-01 also brought significant levels of 4-vinylguaiacol (810 μg/L), which could give to NABLABs the flavors of a white beer.

Use of Botanical Ingredients: Nice Opportunities to Avoid Premature Oxidation of NABLABs by Increasing Their ORAC Values Strongly Impacted by Dealcoholization or Pasteurization

Even when fresh, non-alcoholic, and low-alcoholic beers (NABLABs) exhibit significant staling defects due to premature oxidation. In this study, the antioxidant power of eleven fresh commercial NABLABs was assessed by means of three different assays: the oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), the linoleic acid-induced oxidation (TINH), and the indicator time test (ITT). Only the first two assays, both involving radicalar degradations initiated by AAPH, were found to correlate with each other. NABLABs displayed lower ORAC values than conventional beers (on average, 6127 μmol eq. Trolox/L), except for three samples made with special-colored malts or dry-hopped. Dealcoholization was the step with the greatest impact on the ORAC value (up to a 95% loss) and on flavan-3-ols, sotolon, and polyfunctional thiols, while pasteurization strongly affected color, TBA, and Strecker aldehydes. ORAC assays applied to hop, alternative cereals, and various botanical ingredients indicated that mashing with red sorghum, dry hopping/spicing, and wood maturation could bring the antioxidant power of a NABLAB close to those of conventional beers. With an ORAC value not reached by any other tested botanical ingredient (5234 µmol eq. Trolox/g), African Vernonia amygdalina leaves (traditionally used for Rwandan Ikigage beers) emerged here as the best candidate.

Natural deep eutectic solvent-supported exfoliated graphite nanoplatelet-based electrochemical sensor for the determination of tyramine in fermented beverages

A novel electrochemical sensor was developed for the determination of tyramine. The sensor was constructed by modifying the surface of a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) with a film composed of exfoliated graphite nanoplatelets (xGnPs) dispersed in a natural deep eutectic solvent (NADES). The NADES was prepared by simply mixing equimolar amounts of caprylic acid and menthol and heating at 80 °C for 30 minutes. Characterization studies confirmed the formation of a NADES through the attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy technique, while transmission electron microscopy demonstrated the ability of the NADES to disperse the xGnPs. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy data showed that the modified sensor exhibited lower resistivity than the unmodified electrode. By optimizing the parameters of square wave voltammetry and experimental conditions to obtain the highest peak current values for tyramine oxidation, a calibration curve was constructed in a 0.1 mol L−1 phosphate buffer (pH 7.0), obtaining detection and quantification limits of 0.06 and 0.20 mg L−1, respectively. Finally, the sensor was successfully applied to the determination of tyramine in fermented milk, beer, and non-alcoholic beer samples, with satisfactory recovery data.

Melamine sponges incorporated azo-linked porous organic polymer as adsorbent for extraction and determination of six B vitamins using pipette tip micro solid-phase extraction

A novel azo-linked porous organic polymer (AL-POP) was synthesized from caffeic acid and benzidine via an azo-coupling reaction and characterized by FTIR, SEM-EDS, BET, TGA, XRD and zeta potential analysis. AL-POPs were incorporated into melamine sponges and used for pipette tip micro solid-phase extraction (PT-MSPE) of six types of B vitamins (including thiamine, riboflavin, nicotinamide, pyridoxine, folic acid, and cyanocobalamin). After extraction, the samples were analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) system. The effect of AL-POP composition on the extraction efficiency (EE) of vitamins was investigated and benzidine to caffeic acid mol ratio of 1.5, 3.35 mmol of NaNO2, and reaction time of 8 h were selected as optimum conditions. The efficiency of the extraction process was improved by optimizing various parameters such as the amount of sorbent, pH and ionic strength of the sample, sample volume, number of sorption and desorption cycles, type of wash solvent, and type and volume of eluent solvent. Linearity (R2≥0.9987), Limit of detection (LOD) (11.88–18.97 ng/mL), limit of quantification (LOQ) (39.62–63.23 ng/mL), and enrichment factor (EF) (1.27–4.31) were obtained using calibration curves plotted under optimum conditions. Recovery values of these six B vitamins in the spiked multivitamin syrup samples varied from 80.01% to 108.35%, with a relative standard deviation (RSD) below 5.44%. Eventually, the optimized method was successfully used to extract and quantify the B vitamins in multivitamin syrup and non-alcoholic beer.

Malting and Brewing Performance of β-Amylase-Deficient Barley

β-Amylase (α-1,4-glucan maltohydrolase; EC 3.2.1.2) is known to be an important enzyme in beer brewing. To identify the contribution of β-amylase in more detail, two β-amylase-deficient barley, ‘Backcrossed line (BCL)-Haruna’ and ‘Nittakei 81’, were used for the investigation of malt quality and brewing characteristics. ‘BCL-Haruna’ was bred by the backcross method for the introduction of the β-amylase-deficient trait from landrace barley (‘Tibet Violet 1’) to Japanese traditional malting barley ‘Haruna Nijo’. ‘Nittakei 81’ was bred by crossing between Japanese malting barley ‘Sukai Golden’ and ‘Tibet Violet 1’. With regards to the malting quality under 41.0% target cast moisture in micro-malting, the diastatic power (DP) and apparent attenuation limit (AAL) of ‘BCL-Haruna’ and ‘Nittakei 81’ were 408 oWK and 416 oWK and 12.4% and 14.8% lower than those of the control variety ‘Haruna Nijo’. Oligosaccharide analysis indicated that the maltose concentration of the ‘Nittakei 81’ wort was 19.7 g/L lower in comparison to a standard European malting barley ‘Propino’ wort, although the maltotetraose and maltopentaose concentrations of the ‘Nittakei 81’ wort were 5.6 g/L and 2.7 g/L higher than those of the ‘Propino’ wort. After fermentation, the alcohol concentration of the ‘Nittakei 81’ beer was 0.67% lower compared with the ‘Propino’ beer, and the extract and concentrations of maltotetraose and maltopentaose of the ‘Nittakei 81’ beer were 5.0 g/L and 2.5 g/L higher than those of the ‘Propino’ beer. The results indicate that the β-amylase-deficient barley has a unique malting quality, especially lower DP and AAL, which might induce inadequate starch degradation or fermentation. However, this trait caused no serious issues during the brewing process, suggesting the possibility of β-amylase-deficient barley as a unique brewing material including low-alcoholic and non-alcoholic beer production with a specific saccharide composition.

Predicting and improving complex beer flavor through machine learning

The perception and appreciation of food flavor depends on many interacting chemical compounds and external factors, and therefore proves challenging to understand and predict. Here, we combine extensive chemical and sensory analyses of 250 different beers to train machine learning models that allow predicting flavor and consumer appreciation. For each beer, we measure over 200 chemical properties, perform quantitative descriptive sensory analysis with a trained tasting panel and map data from over 180,000 consumer reviews to train 10 different machine learning models. The best-performing algorithm, Gradient Boosting, yields models that significantly outperform predictions based on conventional statistics and accurately predict complex food features and consumer appreciation from chemical profiles. Model dissection allows identifying specific and unexpected compounds as drivers of beer flavor and appreciation. Adding these compounds results in variants of commercial alcoholic and non-alcoholic beers with improved consumer appreciation. Together, our study reveals how big data and machine learning uncover complex links between food chemistry, flavor and consumer perception, and lays the foundation to develop novel, tailored foods with superior flavors.