Characterization of Hop Acids in Spent Brewer's Yeast from Craft and Multinational Sources¹

1 This research was presented given as an oral presentation at the 75th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Brewing Chemists (ASBC), Tucson, AZ, May 19–23, 2013.

Abstract

Spent brewer's yeast, a significant byproduct of brewing, presents a disposal issue for craft breweries. To understand value-added opportunities for its use, we measured hop acid profiles of spent yeast from three beer styles produced by a craft brewery and spent yeast from three multinational breweries using high-performance liquid chromatography with photodiode array detection/mass spectrometry. The average α-acid content of craft yeast (2,074 ± 531 μg/g) was 12-fold higher than multinational brewery samples (167 ± 89 μg/g), and the average total hop acid content of craft yeast samples (2,557 ± 622 μg/g) was fivefold higher than the multinational brewery yeast samples (487 ± 136 μg/g). Centrifuged craft yeast slurry from both light and dark ales had 7-to 10-fold, 150- to 158-fold, and >200-fold higher content of iso-α-, α-, and ß-acids, respectively, than that in the corresponding beer, demonstrating a high affinity of brewer's yeast for hop acids. Ongoing research has shown that hop acids have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and antibacterial activities. The elevated content found in spent craft brewer's yeast suggests consideration for use as a high-value functional food ingredient.

• α-Acids
• ß-Acids
• Beer
• Humulones
• Humulus lupulus
• Lupulones