Some Topics on the Physics of Bubble Dynamics in Beer

Abstract

Besides being the favorite beverage of a large percentage of the population, a glass or bottle of beer is a test bench for a myriad of phenomena involving mass transfer, bubble-laden flows, natural convection, and many more topics of interest in Physical Chemistry. This paper summarizes some representative physical problems related to bubbles that occur in beer containers, pointing out their practical importance for the industry of beverage processing, as well as their potential connection to other processes occurring in natural sciences. More specifically, this paper describes the physics behind the sudden foam explosion occurring after a beer bottled is tapped on its mouth, gushing, buoyancy-induced motions in beer glasses, and bubble growth in stout beers.

Unveiling Carbon Dioxide and Ethanol Diffusion in Carbonated Water-Ethanol Mixtures by Molecular Dynamics Simulations

“…In premium sparkling wines, for example, dissolved CO 2 results from a second in-bottle fermentation process promoted by adding yeasts and sugar in a still base wine stored in thick-walled glass bottles hermetically sealed with a crown cap or a cork stopper [4]. In bottled or canned beers, dissolved CO 2 is also the result of a natural fermentation process [5,6]. In carbonated soft drinks (and in some cheaper sparkling wines and sparkling waters) carbonation is rather undertaken by forcing exogenous gas-phase CO 2 to dissolve into still soft drinks, and by conditioning them in cans or in bottles most often sealed with crown or screw caps [1].…”

“…In the past two decades, the chemical physics behind bubble dynamics has been thoroughly investigated in champagnes [3,8,23], beers [6,8,10,24], carbonated soft drinks [25,26], and sparkling waters [27][28][29], both experimentally and theoretically. In addition to the level of dissolved CO 2 responsible for modifying the overall sensory properties of carbonated beverages, as described above, another key parameter of CO 2 was pointed out as being significantly involved in the bubbling process, as well as in the degassing process, under standard tasting conditions.…”

Physics of Beer Tapping -- Lower vs. Upper Bottle

“…As it moves, it collects even more gas, which in turn further increases the sizes of the bubbles. Cloud growth now scales as t 2 and the cloud takes a form reminiscent of a mushroom cloud from a nuclear explosion (see the illuminating figures in [7]). If enough large clouds have been formed, the liquid foams over at approximately 0.5 s after the "tap".…”

The Life of a Surface Bubble

“…A champagne consumer would probably not trust a foamed beverage: drink bubbles means consume sparkling wine in France. Beer drinkers and champagne consumers both love bubbles [14,15], but not in the same way. The entire life of a bubble covers many steps that we now shortly review to define the scope of this review.…”