Review of degassing methods for beer

BRYAN R. DONALDSON (1)
(1) University of California, Davis, CA

The Society has long had procedures in place for the degassing of beer, starting with the development of Method Beer-1 A in 1958. The step is essential in a multitude of other beer analyses. As such, much work has been done over the past 20 years to find more effective, easier, and faster ways to decarbonate beer samples, without losing the ability to run the subsequent analyses with precision and accuracy. Interestingly, not all of this work has come directly from the brewing industry, but from outside sources studying beer for reasons such as health effects and storage issues. A review of the literature has shown that different analytical procedures will work better with different degassing methods. Identifying the proper method of degassing for each analytical method will allow for more consistent, reportable results, with minimal damage and loss of sample.

Bryan Donaldson graduated with a B.S. degree in biochemistry from Santa Clara University in 2009. He began graduate school at UC Davis in 2009, pursuing a master’s degree in food science, with a focus on beer and brewing, working with Charles Bamforth. During the summer of 2010 he worked as a brewing intern at the Los Angeles brewery of Anheuser Busch-Inbev. He plans to have completed his degree by June 2011.


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