Does yeast matter? A beer chemistry laboratory for liberal arts students

CHED 426

Patricia A. Brletic, pbrletic@washjeff.edu, Crystal L. Young, cyoung@washjeff.edu, Francis P. Smith, smithfp@gmail.com, and Jeff J. Farrell, farrelljj@washjeff.edu. Department of Chemistry, Washington and Jefferson College, 60 South Lincoln St., Washington, PA 15301
A laboratory which combines analytical techniques along with the popularity of beer was developed for non-science majors at Washington and Jefferson College. The laboratory is structured around a simulated brewery investigating the effect of yeast strain on beer. Each group of students brews a particular style of beer but varies the yeast strain and then applies various analytical and sensory techniques to determine if there is a difference due to yeast strain. Distillation, titration, density, and spectroscopic methods are used to analyze the beer for alcohol content, acidity, original and final gravity, color, and bitterness. The emphasis is on understanding the underlying chemistry, techniques, and use of statistics to report results. The laboratory culminates with a poster session and sampling of the beer styles.