Portable solutions for quality control of beers: a review

Abstract

Brazil is one of the top five market leaders in beer production. The quantity of establishments legally registered is expected to increase in the coming years. The quality of beer is measured by a complex set of sensory characteristics that include appearance, aroma, taste, and texture. It is also composed of more than 800 chemical compounds originating from different raw materials. The evaluation of the product quality of this process is extremely necessary in order to guarantee customer security and satisfaction. Although human and chemical analyses can be considered complex, there is a tendency to use artificial intelligence technology for precise and cheaper evaluation. Sensory training technologies for evaluators and electronic nose technologies have the purpose of facilitating the recognition of on-and-off characteristics of beer. There were found and discussed one review article, four patents, seven commercial products concerning aroma sensory training kits, and the top 10 technology areas screened with the Orbit® platform. Eight research articles were also highlighted about electronic nose technology, one commercially available, and the top 10 technology areas based on Orbit® platform data. The advent of such technologies represents a step forward in improving quality assurance, but electronic nose technologies do not replace human evaluators yet, because human recognition is a decision factor in releasing a product to market shelves.