There is limited research of many aspects of brewing chemistry. Brewing yeast and their aerobic and anaerobic metabolic pathways are the most well studied. Our group has focused efforts on humulone, commonly referred to as an α-acid.  This compound is the main bittering component in hops that are added during the brewing process. The isomerization of this molecule is of high interest as it undergoes an intramolecular rearrangement from a six to a five membered ring. This takes place during the boil in the brewing process, however it is less known what specifically promotes this reaction.  Isolation of humulone from hops and evaluation of the isomerization rates via polarimetry has allowed insight into this interesting reaction.  The effects of concentration, pH, temperature, and reaction solvent on the rate of isomerization will be discussed.

Use of polarimetry in studying the isomerization of bittering agents in beer: The effects of temperature, pH, ultra-violet light, and solvents on the conversion of humulone to isohumulone

249th National Meeting (2015)

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