The human senses can be used as analytical tools to evaluate many different aspects of our daily lives. The use of our senses through organoleptic methods offers unique and powerful insights into the characteristics of different stimuli. Due to the unique function of the different sensory organs we use to...
The production of high-quality wine is an important target for wineries worldwide, and low crop level (yield) has been one vineyard management criterion long believed to achieve wine quality. Low yields are most often achieved by removing clusters from the grapevine. Some studies show that cluster thinning can enhance grape...
The biotransformation of hop aroma via yeast is a prominent topic in the brewing industry with considerable interest placed on how yeast can enhance volatile thiol production during wort fermentation. Three potent thiols are known contributors to tropical qualities in wine and beer aroma, specifically 3-mercaptohexan-1-ol (3MH), 3-mercaptohexyl acetate (3MHA),...
The water status of grape vine throughout the growing season is a primary determinant of vine vigor and berry composition. The concentrations of volatile compounds and precursors in grape berries are highly influenced by viticultural practices. Imposing a water deficit on the vine during berry development is an important vineyard...
Kombucha is a traditional fermented beverage that has become increasingly popular in the United States due to its perceived health benefits and unique flavor profiles. The drivers of kombucha flavor have not been fully characterized, at least in part because it is produced using a complex microbial community, leading to...
Kilning, which is the drying operation in hop cultivation, is a processing step that can have a tremendous impact on hop quality. Historically, hops have been dried at temperatures ranging from 140-155°F. In the last decade, growers have moved toward kilning hops at lower temperatures averaging between 125-140°F in the...
Nitrogen is a crucial nutrient required by yeast to successfully complete alcoholic fermentation. In particular, the concentration of yeast assimilable nitrogen (YAN) influences fermentation kinetics and the production of a range of volatile aroma compounds, both desirable and undesirable. YAN is naturally present in the grape, but producers can boost...
The yeast Brettanomyces bruxellensis is the most important wines spoilage yeast encountered during winemaking as it can survive in wine for long periods, requires minimal nutrients for growth, and can be difficult to control. Brettanomyces produces two major spoilage products, the volatile phenols 4-ethylphenol (Band-Aid, medicinal smell) and 4-ethylguaiacol (smoke,...
This dissertation focused on data mining in food science research and on the technical functional properties of wheat straw-derived biorefinery-byproduct fiber preparations as related to potential applications as food ingredients. This first study evaluated the importance of electronic bibliographic database selection and multiple database usage during the information retrieval phase...
Historically, brewers have used dry-hopping (a cold extraction of nonvolatile and volatile chemicals from hops into fermenting or finished beer) to increase the microbial stability and shelf life of their beer. As hoppy beer styles have gained in popularity over the last decade (2007-2017), the objective of dry-hopping has turned...