Commercial craft beers of midwest Brazil: biochemical and physicochemical properties and their relationship with its sensory profile

Abstract

Faced with changes in eating habits, consumers currently seek to enjoy moderate consumption of healthy food products that results in sensory pleasure. Here, our study aimed to evaluate the biochemical and physicochemical properties and sensory profile of craft beers produced in the Brazilian Midwest region. Our evaluation of the beverages revealed different physicochemical characteristics such as alcohol content, soluble solids, titratable acidity in citric acid, and dry extract percentage, with values ranging between 4.06-6.13%, 5.13-10.98 °Brix, 1.71-3.45%, and 3.38-7.99%, respectively. Moreover, the average density of the beverages was 0.9906 g/cm3. In addition, the antioxidant activity and total phenolic of the beverages ranged between 14.28-20.46 mMol of Trolox/100 mL and 74.84-108.45 mg/100 g, respectively. Phenolic compounds that are essential in human nutrition, such as epicatechin, catechin, gallic acid, p-coumaric acid, caffeic acid, ferulic acid, rutin, and kaempferol, were identified in the beverages. Regarding the sensory profile of the craft beers, the beers had an average acceptability index of 75.11% for appearance, 70.24% for aroma, 60.43% for flavor, and 73.53% for texture. Our study demonstrated a correlation between chemical composition and acceptability index of beer, indicating a preference for lighter colored, fuller, and less acidic beers.