Beverages, Vol. 5, Pages 40: Biogenic Amines Determination in “Plant Milks” “Plant milks” are water-based beverages, such as, extracts from cereals, pseudo-cereals, oil seeds, legumes or fruits. Plant milk consumption is rising in European and North American markets due to problems related to cow milk allergies, intolerances, but also because of vegan diets and sensitivity to environmental issues. There is no specific regulation for these beverages, therefore their composition can vary considerably, even in the same category. The aim of this study is to characterize the main categories of cereal and pseudo-cereal milks on the market by studying the profile of 8 biogenic amines (histamine, serotonin, spermine, spermidine, putrescine, β-phenylethylamine, cadaverine, tyramine) through a RP-HPLC/FD method with a pre-column derivatization. Biogenic amines are ubiquitous compounds, produced by the decarboxylation of the respective amino acids and they have been proposed as quality and safety markers of different foods and beverages. In the analyzed samples, the total biogenic amines content ranged from a minimum of 1.92 mg/L, to a maximum of 9.27 mg/L. The main biogenic amine found in the samples was histamine. The results show a low content of biogenic amines in all types of analyzed products. This ensures the quality and safety of cereal and pseudo-cereal milk samples.

Beverages, Vol. 5, Pages 39: Why Craft Brewers Should Be Advised to Use Bottle Refermentation to Improve Late-Hopped Beer Stability The aromatic complexity of craft beers, together with some particular practices (use of small vessels, dry hopping, etc.), can cause more oxidation associated with pre-maturated colloidal instability, Madeira off-flavors, bitterness decrease, and aroma loss. As bottle refermentation is widely used in Belgian craft beers, the aim of the present work is to assess how this practice might impact their flavor. In fresh beers, key flavors were evidenced by four complementary techniques: short-chain fatty acids determination, esters analysis, XAD-2 extract olfactometry, and overall sensory analysis. In almost all of the fresh beers, isovaleric acid was the sole fatty acid found above its sensory threshold. Selected samples were further analyzed through natural aging at 20 °C. The presence of yeast in the bottle minimized the trans-2-nonenal released from Schiff bases and proved less deleterious than suggested by previous studies with regard to fatty acid release and ester decrease through aging. Furthermore, according to the yeast species selected, some interesting terpenols and phenols were produced from glucosides during storage.

Beverages, Vol. 5, Pages 38: Computer Vision Method in Beer Quality Evaluation—A Review Beers are differentiated mainly according to their visual appearance and their fermentation process. The main quality characteristics of beer are appearance, aroma, flavor, and mouthfeel. Important visual attributes of beer are foam appearance (volume and persistence), as well as the color and clarity. To replace manual inspection, automatic, objective, rapid and repeatable external quality inspection systems, such as computer vision, are becoming very important and necessary. Computer vision is a non-contact optical technique, suitable for the non-destructive evaluation of the food product quality. Currently, the main application of computer vision occurs in automated inspection and measurement, allowing manufacturers to keep control of product quality. This paper presents an overview of the applications and the latest achievements of the computer vision methods in determining the external quality attributes of beer.

Beverages, Vol. 5, Pages 37: Caffeine Consumption through Coffee: Content in the Beverage, Metabolism, Health Benefits and Risks Caffeine (1,3,7-trimethylxanthine) is the most consumed psychoactive substance in the world, acting by means of antagonism to adenosine receptors, mainly A1 and A2A. Coffee is the main natural source of the alkaloid which is quite soluble and well extracted during the brew’s preparation. After consumption, caffeine is almost completely absorbed and extensively metabolized in the liver by phase I (cytochrome P450) enzymes, mainly CYP1A2, which appears to be polymorphically distributed in human populations. Paraxanthine is the major caffeine metabolite in plasma, while methylated xanthines and methyluric acids are the main metabolites excreted in urine. In addition to stimulating the central nervous system, caffeine exerts positive effects in the body, often in association with other substances, contributing to prevention of several chronic diseases. The potential adverse effects of caffeine have also been extensively studied in animal species and in humans. These aspects will be approached in the present review.

Beverages, Vol. 5, Pages 36: Occurrence of Ochratoxin A in Coffee: Threads and Solutions—A Mini-Review Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a widespread bioactive extrolite from secondary metabolism of fungi which presence in foods like coffee is of public health concern, particularly for heavy drinkers. Coffee is one of the most consumed and appreciated non-alcoholic beverage in the world. Its production from the plantation to the coffee cup involves several steps that would determine the final concentration of OTA in the beverage. This review gives an overview of OTA contamination in roasted coffee beans in different countries and mitigation strategies for OTA reduction.

Beverages, Vol. 5, Pages 35: Craft Beer as a Means of Economic Development: An Economic Impact Analysis of the Michigan Value Chain While many studies have suggested the beer value chain might be a vehicle for economic growth, few have estimated the economic impacts of craft beer to a geographic region. As such, this study uses modified input/output analysis to identify the economic contributions of instate beer production to the Michigan economy. We find that the beer value chain generated nearly $500 million in Gross State Product in 2016, contributing nearly $1 billion as well as 9738 jobs in total aggregate economic contributions. The results suggest that state governments might generate economic growth by creating a business climate that is conducive to the growth of the instate beer value chain.

Beverages, Vol. 5, Pages 34: Kavalactones and Flavokavins Profiles Contribute to Quality Assessment of Kava (Piper methysticum G. Forst.), the Traditional Beverage of the Pacific Kava (Piper methysticum) is increasingly traded internationally and there is need for a rapid method to analyze kava raw material before export. The objectives of the present study were: (i) to develop a simple and robust protocol for high throughput simultaneous quantification of kavalactones (KLs) and flavokavins (FKs) in kava and (ii) to assess its potential for quality control. Methysticin; dihydromethysticin; kavain; desmethoxyyangonin; dihydrokavain; yangonin; and flavokavin A, B and C were quantified using HPTLC in acetonic extracts of 174 kava varieties. UHPLC analysis was conducted on a subset of six varieties representing the genetic variation of the species. The genetically distinct groups of nobles, two-day and wichmannii varieties were clearly differentiated and multivariate analyses of UHPLC and HPTLC data were congruent. Noble varieties have significantly low FKs/KLs (0.13) and high kavain/flavokavin B (K/FKB = 7.31). Two-day and wichmannii varieties are characterized by high FKs/KLs (0.36, 0.21) and low K/FKB (1.5, 1.7). A high-throughput HPTLC protocol was developed with a total analytical time of 50 min for 20 samples and only 10 mL of mobile phase. The use of acetone, sonication and two different detection wavelengths improves the accuracy compared to previous HPLC studies and confirms that kava varieties exhibit distinct chemotypes clearly differentiated by their FKs/KLs profiles. These results will strengthen the use of Codex Alimentarius regional standards.

Beverages, Vol. 5, Pages 33: Development of Artificial Neural Network Models to Assess Beer Acceptability Based on Sensory Properties Using a Robotic Pourer: A Comparative Model Approach to Achieve an Artificial Intelligence System Artificial neural networks (ANN) have become popular for optimization and prediction of parameters in foods, beverages, agriculture and medicine. For brewing, they have been explored to develop rapid methods to assess product quality and acceptability. Different beers (N = 17) were analyzed in triplicates using a robotic pourer, RoboBEER (University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia), to assess 15 color and foam-related parameters using computer-vision. Those samples were tested using sensory analysis for acceptability of carbonation mouthfeel, bitterness, flavor and overall liking with 30 consumers using a 9-point hedonic scale. ANN models were developed using 17 different training algorithms with 15 color and foam-related parameters as inputs and liking of four descriptors obtained from consumers as targets. Each algorithm was tested using five, seven and ten neurons and compared to select the best model based on correlation coefficients, slope and performance (mean squared error (MSE). Bayesian Regularization algorithm with seven neurons presented the best correlation (R = 0.98) and highest performance (MSE = 0.03) with no overfitting. These models may be used as a cost-effective method for fast-screening of beers during processing to assess acceptability more efficiently. The use of RoboBEER, computer-vision algorithms and ANN will allow the implementation of an artificial intelligence system for the brewing industry to assess its effectiveness.

Beverages, Vol. 5, Pages 32: Effect of Asparaginase Enzyme in the Reduction of Asparagine in Green Coffee Coffee is the most consumed beverage in the world, especially in Nordic countries. Its composition has substances considered to have high value for human health, such as chlorogenic and phenolic acids. However, the roasting of coffee can form substances such as acrylamide that are considered toxic and carcinogenic, depending on the time and the heat of roasting. However, there are some ways of reducing acrylamide formation during the processing of coffee beans. The reduction of its precursor asparagine is one of these ways. This can be achieved by the treatment of beans with the enzyme asparaginase. This study aimed to test the effectiveness of applying asparaginase (Acrylaway™) and evaluate the reduction of the amount of asparagine in Coffea arabica and C. canephora beans. The results showed the effectiveness of the enzyme in the reduction of free asparagine in green coffee beans of both species (C. arabica and C. canephora). Steam pretreatment was effective for the two species but required different times (30 min for C. arabica and 45 min for C. canephora). This can be attributed to the different chemical compositions found in the two species.

Beverages, Vol. 5, Pages 31: Utilization of Cooking-Type ‘Saba’ Banana in the Development of Ready-to-Drink Juice with Improved Quality and Nutritional Properties The ‘Saba’ banana cultivar is one of the most abundantly grown fruit crops in the Philippines. However, large postharvest losses were posed due to the rapid deterioration and challenges in marketing. This study was conducted to develop a ready-to-drink (RTD) beverage using the cooking-type banana cultivar [Musa acuminata × balbisiana Colla (ABB Group) ‘Saba’]. The pulp was subjected to treatment with α-amylase and pectinase enzyme concentrations ranging from 0.25% to 1.00% to facilitate juice extraction. The effect of α-amylase and pectinase enzyme combinations on juice yield, color and clarity was determined. The highest juice yield (69.83%) and clarity (72.56% by transmittance at 660 nm) were achieved using 1.00% α-amylase: 1.00% pectinase and 0.5% α-amylase: 1.00% pectinase enzyme treatments, respectively. The juice treated with 0.5% α-amylase: 1.00% pectinase was used in the formulation of the RTD beverage. Physico-chemical and sensory properties of the product were analyzed. The developed RTD ‘Saba’ juice with acceptable sensory characteristics had 11.45 cP viscosity, 0.33% titratable acidity, 5.38% protein, 1660 ppm potassium, 40 ppm sodium and 460 ppm calcium. Results showed that the cooking-type banana cultivar ‘Saba’ can be utilized in the development of the RTD beverage with enhanced sensory and nutritional quality.