Better beer bubbles Gérard Liger-Belair, a professor of chemical physics at the University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, has spent much of his career exploring the bubbles produced in champagne and other sparkling beverages. Now, Liger-Belair and colleague Clara Cilindre have turned their attention to beer (ACS Omega 2021, DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.1c00256). Bubbles that arise from poured beer come from tiny imperfections in the beer glass. These imperfections must be a certain size, with larger ones producing more bubbles than smaller ones. Glass manufacturers can engineer these bubble-making imperfections into beer glasses. The researchers also determined a critical concentration of dissolved carbon dioxide that’s needed for bubbles to form.
by Arminda Downey-Mavromatis | May 02, 2021
—Brewing beer on Mars and growing hairy skin “” Beer on tap for Mars It will be at least another 20 years before humans even get close to establishing a colony on Mars, according to the U.S. National Aeronautics & Space Administration. But when they do, they’ll be able to look forward to a nice cold brew of martian beer.
by Marc S. Reisch | January 29, 2018
Numbers aside, beer no doubt is popular. He adds, "There is also growing evidence supporting the nutritional and health benefits of moderate beer consumption as part of a healthy lifestyle." Development of the skunky taste and odor in lightstruck beer was recognized by 1875, the author says. Simple tests of the protective powers of glass indicated that brown bottles were best at fending off lightstruck properties. Champagne, wine, milk, and other drinks are also sensitive to light, he says, but none displays the "unique skunky odor and taste of lightstruck beer." The use of skunky as a descriptor is not a coincidence. Photochemically induced off-flavors in beer have been traced to 3-methylbut-2-ene-1-thiol (MBT).
by BY K. M. REESE | May 28, 2001
—Fossil-Infused Beer, 75 Million-Year-Old Turtle Bones “” If you’re an aficionado of craft beers made from ancient relics, then you will be happy to know that Lost Rhino Brewing in Ashburn, Va., is cooking up 650 gal of beer made with yeast teased from a 35 million-year-old whale fossil. It should be on tap at the end of May.
by Marc S. Reisch | April 28, 2014
There are sure to be a few beer bottles tossed into recycling bins during the holidays. And we’ve probably all asked ourselves, once the bottles end up there, why do fruit flies seem to congregate around them? Well, wonder no more. Anupama Dahanukar, an assistant professor of entomology at the University of California, Riverside, and colleagues found that a protein receptor dubbed Gr64e, associated with sensory neurons in flies’ mouths, draws the flies to beer like bees to honey.
by Marc S. Reisch | December 12, 2011
Blue Moon opened in 1995 and produces about 2 million barrels of beer annually, or roughly 4 million kegs, operating within the MillerCoors beer conglomerate. The independently owned Renegade, founded in 2011, filled about 1,250 barrels in 2014. C&EN visited Villa and Filter to learn about modern beer brewing last month during the American Chemical Society national meeting in Denver.
by Matt Davenport | April 20, 2015
—Bioengineer Charles Denby is working to make beer and wine more sustainable “His start-up Berkeley Yeast is genetically modifying yeast to produce flavor compounds for craft brewers and winemakers” When Charles Denby looks at a pint of beer, he sees a product of one of the oldest biotechnologies in the world. Beer- and winemaking are now under threat from climate change: experts expect the taste of beer to change and prices to go up as drought and high temperatures impact the growth and supply of hops, barley, and fruit crops. Denby hopes to reform brewing with molecular engineering. Berkeley Yeast—the start-up he cofounded in 2017 as Berkeley Fermentation Science—is engineering yeast to produce key molecules that give beers and wines distinct flavors.
by Prachi Patel, special to C&EN | May 15, 2022
PET makers are hoping for similar success in beer. They have addressed the problem of keeping carbon dioxide in the bottles and the oxygen out, thereby creating bottles that have physical properties similar to those of glass. Although the thought of plastic beer bottles may make some people cringe, the bottles may have enough advantages to grab a strong hold on niche markets, industry sources say.
by Alex Tullo | May 22, 2000
Beer breweries and soft drink makers are the second-biggest customers for CO2, just behind the refrigeration industry, and they’re bracing for a hit. “Here comes this potential supply chain disruption for an absolutely essential ingredient in beer,” says Charlie Berger, cofounder of Denver Beer Company. “CO2 and beer go hand in hand.” It provides the fizz for beer and soda; bars and restaurants use it to dispense beer. Brewing does generate CO2 as a by-product, Berger says, but most small breweries buy it as a refrigerated liquid because they don’t have the equipment to capture and reuse it. Major companies have the clout and contracts to make sure they get the CO2 they need.
by Craig Bettenhausen | April 22, 2020