Evaluation of physico-chemical parameters and phenolic compounds of craft beer subjected to forced aging

Beer is the most consumed alcoholic beverage in the world, obtained by cooking barley malt with the addition of hops and brewer's yeast. The craft beer market has been growing, and, at the same time, the demand for studies on nutritional issues, compounds, and chemical reactions. The forced aging analysis assesses the long-term stability of the drink to simulate the reality of storage. During the shelf life, the drink may undergo reactions that alter the physical-chemical characteristics, color, and flavor. Thus, this research aimed to evaluate changes in phenolic compounds and physical-chemical parameters of beers subjected to the forced aging process. After production, beer samples remained at 50 °C for 1, 3, 6, 9, and 13 days. Afterward, color-EBC analyses were performed through reading at 430 nm, pH, dry extract, phenolic compounds’ content and physical-chemical analyses in the Beer Analyzer® equipment. The most significant results were related to color, which showed a darkening during the experiment; the pH was more alkaline during aging, and the total phenolic compounds dropped over the days. The results obtained can be related to changes due to storage temperature and product instability after bottling.