Coffee and Beer

   The article that caught my eye was simply titled, “The Chemistry of Beer and Coffee.” I chose to comment on this article because it reminded me of when Professor Fuson told my chemistry class that in order to understand basic things in the natural world, you need to apply some aspect of chemistry. When I think of beer and coffee I never really stop to think about the chemical process by which they are made or the overall ingredients inside of them.
    The article I read, written by Katherine Shonesy, discusses how Tracy Hamilton, Ph.D., at University of Alabama at Birmingham, studied the different elements of both coffee and beer and how they had an effect on the overall taste. For example, when first made, oils from the hops plant are added to beer to add a citrusy flavor and aroma. Geraniol and citral are compounds also used to enhance the fruity undertones of beer. Beer is a balance of many flavors that has to be fermented properly in order to avoid unwanted flavors. Coffee mainly gets it’s flavors from pyrazines and broken down sugar compounds that add to the strong flavor of freshly brewed coffee.
    Overall, I enjoyed reading this article because it offered a chemical explanation for two basic things I never truly wondered about. 

http://phys.org/news/2014-09-chemistry-beer-coffee.html

Submitted by Madeleine Brason