Today, many individuals are on the lookout for alcohol-free alternatives to beer and wine. While these beverages each have distinct flavors, they also share numerous aromatic qualities, complicating the task of creating non-alcoholic versions that convincingly resemble their alcoholic counterparts. Researchers have shared their findings in the ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, detailing a comprehensive literature review and experimental work aimed at identifying the chemical elements responsible for the unique scents of beer and wine. Their discoveries could pave the way for the creation of tasty, non-alcoholic alternatives.
Today, many individuals are on the lookout for alcohol-free alternatives to beer and wine. While these beverages each have distinct flavors, they also share numerous aromatic qualities, complicating the task of creating non-alcoholic versions that convincingly resemble their alcoholic counterparts. Researchers in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, have shared their findings detailing a comprehensive literature review and experimental work aimed at identifying the chemical elements responsible for the unique scents of beer and wine. Their discoveries could pave the way for the creation of tasty, non-alcoholic alternatives.
Researchers in the food and beverage industry are focused on replicating the appealing aromas and flavors of beer and wine in alcohol-free options. However, due to the fermentation process both beverages undergo, they share similar scents, and there is limited understanding of which particular aromas give each drink its distinctive identity. Therefore, Xingije Wang, Stephanie Frank, and Martin Steinhaus embarked on a project to pinpoint the crucial elements that set the aroma of beer apart from that of wine.
The initial step for the team involved conducting a literature review to determine the typical ratios of 29 aromatic compounds found in beer and 32 in wine that contribute to their scents. They employed these ratios as guidelines to create standard beverages that emitted the aromas of either beer or wine. From this foundation, they made adjustments, altering the levels of specific fragrances in the beer-like sample to align with those in the wine-like sample and testing which components had the strongest effect on the perception of each beverage. Skilled testers then evaluated the aromatic samples, rating them on a scale from beer-like to wine-like.
The results indicated that testers perceived drinks with more intense fruity aromas as being closer to wine. The team also completely transferred the aromatic profiles from one sample into the other’s liquid base. Their findings revealed that it was the aromatic compounds, rather than the liquid base itself, that had the greatest impact on the testers’ perceptions of whether they were smelling beer or wine. According to the researchers, these insights could be instrumental in developing beverages that closely replicate beer or wine while catering to consumers’ desires for non-alcoholic choices.
The authors acknowledge funding from the China Scholarship Council.
