Measurement of Color, Bitterness, and Diacetyl Content of Beer Using UV-Vis Spectrophotometer

Introduction

Among alcoholic beverages, beer is extremely popular and enjoys a strong market, and diverse beers with distinctive individual characters, exemplified by craft beers, have sold well in recent years. Although sensory evaluation is an essential technique, evaluations using various types of analytical instruments are also effective for ensuring the uniform quality of these beers. The UV-Vis spectrophotometer is one useful instrument for beer analysis. The standard international methods for sensory evaluation of beer are the methods of the American Society of Brewing Chemists (ASBC) and the European Brewery Convention (EBC), and in Japan, the Brewery Convention of Japan (BCOJ), centering on major beer producers, has established analytical methods for beer. Among the 12 inspection items in the ASBC Methods of Analysis, color (Beer-10) and bitterness (Beer-23) are inspected by UV-Vis spectrophotometry. UV-Vis spectrophotometry also makes it possible to analyze the diacetyl, iron, polyphenol, and other components contained in beer. This article introduces measurements of the color, bitterness, and diacetyl content of commercially-available beers using a Shimadzu UV-1900i UV-Vis spectrophotometer.

August 4, 2020 GMT