Application of High-Performance Liquid Chromatography in Brewing. II. Analysis of Total Carbohydrate in Beer. G. Belleau and M. Dadic, Molson Breweries of Canada Ltd., Montreal, Quebec, Canada H2L 2R5. J. Am. Soc. Brew. Chem. 43:0047, 1985.

Total carbohydrate in beer was determined with a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method employing differential refractomonitor (refractive index monitor) detection at low sensitivity. The procedure is rapid and accurate, giving the analyte as a single peak. Accuracy was confirmed by spiking beer with potentially interfering substances and with the aid of various adsorbents, followed by HPLC. The beer sample was passed through a column of MB-1 mixed bed ion-exchange resin to eliminate interference from inorganic salts. A number of different beers were analyzed and the results compared with those obtained using existing methods. The ASBC formula, corrected by subtraction of involatile glycerol, yielded higher carbohydrate contents than the other methods. The anthrone procedure gave values very close to those obtained by HPLC, whereas the phenol-sulfuric acid method yielded somewhat higher results. Enzymic and acid hydrolyses, followed by determination of residual glucose, resulted in lower values than those given by HPLC. Glycerol and ethanol contents of beer were determined by a simultaneous HPLC procedure. The results for ethanol were compared with those given by the ASBC refractometry and gas chromatography procedures.

Keywords: Aminex HPX-85H, ASBC methods, Beer, Ethanol, Glycerol, Total carbohydrate