Beer discrimination using a portable electronic tongue based on screen-printed electrodes

• An electronic tongue system for classifying different types of beer is developed.
• Samples can be measured with no more pretreatment than agitation.
• This technique may predict beer properties from a single measurement.

There is a wide variety of Lager beer styles that differ, among others characteristics, in their alcohol content and color. Beer contains a high concentration of electrochemical active compounds, some of them related to the color of these beverages. In the present work, the applicability of a portable electronic tongue based on an array of electrochemical screen-printed electrodes was applied to the analysis of Lager beers. Multivariate analysis of the obtained signals allowed establishing mathematical models able to predict the European Brewery Convention (EBC) color index and the alcoholic strength with an accuracy of 76% and 86% respectively. Moreover, a discriminant model was established, able to classify beer by styles with 100% degree of accuracy.