The development of new strategies for the enhancement of flavour stability of beer.

During prolonged storage of beer a loss of flavour stability is observed due to numerous changes on the chemical and sensory level. Past research on the appearance of staling compounds as well as the deterioration of distinctive flavour compounds of the fresh beer mainly had a focus on pilsner type beers. In this study however an attempt is made to translate this existing knowledge on beer flavour stability onto a wide variety of Belgian specialty beers and monitor the subsequent effects of ageing. This is achieved trough an integrated study starting with the analysis of the raw materials, i.e. malts, adjuncts and hops, taking in account the specific conditions of the brewing process combined with an extensive array of analyses on both fresh and aged beers. Primary in view of realising a characterisation of the ageing process and secondly to obtain a classification of the different types of beers based on their ageing characteristics. In addition the influence of production parameters on the resulting flavour stability is studied by the production of lager beers on a pilot scale and subsequent monitoring.

Keywords:Beer, Flavour stability

Disciplines:Food sciences and (bio)technology