A Rapid and Sensitive Method for the Determination of 4-Vinyl Guaiacol in Beer by Electron-Capture Gas-Liquid Chromatography¹

1 Presented at the 51st Annual Meeting, Milwaukee, WI, June 1985.

Abstract

A method is described for the determination of amounts as low as 25–50 μg/L of 4-vinyl guaiacol in beer as a heptafluorobutyrate derivative. The method involves an extraction of the beer with freon 11, evaporation of the solvent, formation of the derivative, and gas chromatographic analysis. It is rapid (60 min) and takes advantage of sensitive electron-capture detection. The method was tested in several commercial North American beers as well as in experimental beers fermented with brewing yeast strains and with nonbrewing, wild-type yeast strains. The effect of increasing levels of contamination of the pitching yeast with wild yeast on the concentration of 4-vinyl guaiacol in beer was also examined.

• 4-Vinyl guaiacol
• Beer
• Electron-capture detector
• Gas chromatography