TANNING PROPERTIES OF FLAVANOLS IN BARLEY AND HOPS MEASURED BY REACTION WITH CINCHONINE SULPHATE IN RELATION TO HAZE FORMATION IN BEER

The flavanoid polyphenol extracts from barley and hops were each separated into six fractions by adsorption chromatography on Sephadex LH20. These fractions were further characterised by several analytical methods, including high-performance liquid chromatography and a colorimetric measurement of polymerisation index. The tanning powers of the fractions were graded according to their reactivities with cinchonine sulphate solution in a standardised turbidometric test. Whereas, almost 75% of the flavanols from Ark Royal barley were non-tanning oligomers almost 96% of the flavanols from Bullion hops were polymeric tannins. Reactivity of most of the barley flavanols with cinchonine sulphate was increased greatly by oxidation with peroxidase and hydrogen peroxide. Some effects of polymerisation, caused by enzyme action or by exposure to air, on oxidisable polyphenols (non-tannins) were measured using (+)-catechin, procyanidin B3 and prodelphinidin B3 in model systems. These, and other measurements on experimental and commercial beers indicated that oxidation of simple flavanols from barley produced polymers with tanning properties. In contrast, the hop flavanols when extracted apparently in their native forms, were capable of co-precipitating with polypeptides in beer. Treatment of beers with different stabilising agents, such as Polyclar AT and silica hydrogel, retarded haze formation by restricting ‘protein-polyphenol’ interactions.