Ethanol content of a traditional Saudi beverage Sobia

Abstract

Sobia is a traditional locally made fermented beverage consumed in Saudi Arabia and made by the fermentation of wheat. We aimed to measure ethanol concentration in Sobia beverage stored under different conditions. Forty-eight freshly made Sobia samples were purchased from different vendors. Twenty-four samples were stored at room temperature (RT: 21–25°C), and another 24 samples at a cold temperature (CT: 2–8°C). Ethanol was measured in RT samples on 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 7 days, and on 0, 4, 7, and 14 days in CT samples. The mean ± SE ethanol at zero-time for all 48 samples was 27.2 ± 7.2 mg/dL. Ethanol concentration increased to 121.8 ± 33.5 mg/dL on day 14 at CT, compared to 514.0 ± 91.9 mg/dL after one week at RT. Sobia can be categorized as Halal beverage, and can be consumed within two weeks when stored at a CT.