Adsorption and Desorption of Beer and Coffee on a Lipid Membrane as Related to Sensory Bitterness

Adsorption and Desorption of Beer and Coffee on a Lipid Membrane as Related to Sensory Bitterness

Hirotaka Kaneda ¹, ³, Junji Watari ¹, Masachika Takashio ¹ and Yoshio Okahata ^2
1Frontier Laboratories of Value Creation, Sapporo Breweries, Ltd., 10, Okatohme, Yaizu-City, Shizuoka 425-0013 Japan.
²Department of Biomolecular Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology. 4259 Nagatsuda, Midori-ku, Yokohama 226-8501 Japan.
³Corresponding author. E-mail: Hirotaka.Kaneda@sapporobeer.co.jp

J. Inst. Brew. 109(1), 27-33, 2003  |   VIEW ARTICLE

ABSTRACT
An objective evaluation method for the bitter characteristics of beverages was developed with a lipid-coated quartz-crystal microbalance connected with a flow injection system. Observation of the adsorption and desorption of beer and coffee on the lipid membrane in the buffer system specifically noted the hydrophobic interactions between the beer and coffee components and the lipid membrane, which could simulate the bitter reception reactions on the tongue. The adsorption or duration of beer or coffee on the lipid membrane in the acetate buffer successfully agreed with the bitter intensity or duration in the sensory evaluation, respectively.

Key words:
Beer, coffee, lipid membrane sensor, bitterness.