DESENVOLVIMENTO E CARACTERIZAÇÃO QUÍMICA E SENSORIAL DE CERVEJA PILSEN DE BAIXO TEOR ALCOÓLICO

Abstract

Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the fermentation of malted cereal must, where the alcohol content is, on average, between 4.5 and 5.5 oGL. A subdivision consists of beer with low alcohol content, which, according to Brazilian legislation, must have a content between 0.5 and 2.5 oGL. Beer is described as a sensitive drink, so any modification will result in changes in its sensory profile. Thus, ethanol removal will significantly influence the quality of the drink. In this study, the development and physicochemical and chromatographic characterization of low alcohol beers were performed in order to assess possible changes in the chemical and sensory parameters when there is a decrease in the alcohol content. In order to obtain low-alcohol beers, changes were made in stages of the production process, in relation to the quantity and processing of the malt, brewing temperature and type of yeast and fractional factorial design at two levels was applied with the purpose to assess the influence of these variables. The analysis of alcoholic degree showed results of 4.93 oGL in the standard beer and 0.97 to 2.35 oGL in the samples with low alcohol content, and the color varied between 6 and 8 EBC, corresponding to a lighter color than a traditional lager beer. The chromatographic determination of fermentable sugars in the must indicated that the changes made in the production process resulted in a higher concentration of non-fermentable sugars, providing a low alcohol content. To assess consumer acceptance, a sensory analysis was performed, which showed that 67% of the participants had a preference for low-alcohol beer and 33% opted for traditional beer, showing that the decrease in the amount of alcohol resulted in better characteristics than traditional beer.