Developing analytical chemical analysis procedures for craft beers and their adjunct ingredients

Farmer, Jason Christopher (2022) Developing analytical chemical analysis procedures for craft beers and their adjunct ingredients. Masters thesis, Northern Arizona University.

Text Farmer_2022_developing_analytical_chemical_analysis_procedures_craft_b.pdf - Published Version Download (1MB)

Abstract

Throughout history, commercially available beer has remained unregulated relative to other food and beverage products. At present, the brewing industry is transitioning from minimal oversight to regulations that are more in line with other commercial beverages. Mounting pressure from regulatory bodies and industry rivals has created considerable demand for better QA/QC procedures pertaining to beer. One topic of growing interest and concern is the heavy metal content of finished beer. There are currently no effective regulations on the heavy metal content of commercially available beer. Recent research has indicated the presence of previously unknown heavy metal contaminant exposure routes in the industry. The raw materials used to make beer are mostly agricultural goods. Therefore, they are potential facilitators of common farm contaminants such as living organisms, fertilizers, and pesticides. The brewing process through which raw materials become beer is one that involves metal tanks, acidic conditions, and elevated temperatures. These conditions are ideal for the leaching of metal contaminants into beer. Additionally, the growing trend of adding unique, unprecedented ingredients to process beer has resulted in alarming outcomes. These factors are all quite worrisome, as it is the responsibility of brewers to ensure that consumers are not chronically ingesting contaminants such as trace metals. The industry needs methods that ensure proper quality control and consumer safety. Optimized analytical grade analysis procedures would be a significant boon to this effort. Research into the viability of two procedures was conducted: (1) the destructive analysis of trace metals within beer products via spectroscopic methods and (2) a nondestructive approach to quantifying and assessing the in-solution stability of unique drug compound ingredients over time. An adequate digestion protocol would enable analysts to prepare a sample for elemental analysis, without losing analyte or introducing heavy metal contaminants. Applying such methods to beer is a difficult task. Beer is a loose term that applies to a complex organic sample matrix with distinct compositions and infinite varietals. Even consecutive executions of the same brewing processes can produce batches with significant chemical differences. This presentation will focus on the development of analytical sample digest methods that overcome these hurdles and enable brewers and chemists alike to probe their beer with rigor and reproducibility. .

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Publisher’s Statement:	© Copyright is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the Cline Library, Northern Arizona University. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.
Keywords:	Brewing Science; Elemental Analysis; Heavy metals; Brewing industry--Law and legislation;
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor
NAU Depositing Author Academic Status:	Student
Department/Unit:	Graduate College > Theses and Dissertations College of the Environment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences > Chemistry and Biochemistry
Date Deposited:	15 Jul 2022 17:56
Last Modified:	25 May 2023 08:30
URI:	https://openknowledge.nau.edu/id/eprint/5866

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