SCREENING YEAST STRAINS FOR THEIR ABILITY TO PRODUCE PHENOLIC OFF‐FLAVOURS: A SIMPLE METHOD FOR DETERMINING PHENOLS IN WORT AND BEER

Abstract

Amounts of several phenolic compounds in wort and beer were measured by gas‐chromatography following extraction with a small volume of chloroform. The procedure described is not specific for phenols and the limit of sensitivity is 0·05–0·1 μg ‘phenol’/ml. However, the precision is reasonable and this relatively rapid method has proved useful for screening yeast strains for their ability to produce phenolic off‐flavours. Phenolic‐tasting beers contained significant amounts of 4‐vinyl guaiacol; whilst this compound may not be the sole cause of the undesirable flavour, its production is symptomatic of the unsuitability of a yeast strain for brewing. 1981 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling