The terpene composition of the hops – and their relative proportions – has
a major impact on the aroma and flavour of the finished beer. However,
a number of factors can affect the levels of terpenes in hops, including
packaging, storage and ageing, so it is essential that robust quality control
is applied. In addition, many of the aroma compounds have low odour
thresholds, so a highly sensitive analytical approach is needed to assess
the quality of the hops before brewing commences.
Here, we employ fully automated high-capacity sorptive extraction, with
secondary refocusing (using thermal desorption) to enhance sensitivity
of hops and beer analysis.
Furthermore, we apply robust, repeatable and
affordable flow-modulated GC×GC with parallel detection by FID, TOF MS
and SCD, for comprehensive screening and highly-specific detection of
sulfur species, all in a single run.