Microbrewidics:\nA Microfluidic Platform to Investigate\nWhat Stabilizes Hop Oil Emulsions in Beer

Hop oils form microscopic emulsions\nin aqueous beer,\nbut little\nis known about which molecules in beer stabilize these emulsions.\nHere we use a microfluidic platform as a tool to enable the creation\nof assays to explore the role of proteins in the stabilization of\nhop oil emulsions in beer. The terpenes linalool and α-pinene\nwere used to form emulsions with a Kölsch-style ale on a microfluidic\ndevice (oil-in-beer emulsions). Gluten was added to these emulsions\non-chip to investigate how this protein, which is present in beer,\naffects the stability of the emulsions. Then Brewers Clarex, an enzyme\ncommonly used in brewing to degrade proteins, was added to digest\nthe oil-in-beer emulsions. Our data suggest that the type and amount\nof proteins present in beer may affect the stability of the hop oil\nemulsions, which could have an impact on the shelf life and sensory\nquality of the beer.