Influence of fining agents on the sensorial characteristics and volatile composition of mead
Copyright © 2017 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling Mead, one of the oldest fermented drinks, is derived from the fermentation of diluted honey by yeasts. In the context of wine production, several procedures are applied to stabilize the beverage and to improve its organoleptic properties. This study aims to evaluate the impact of adding fining agents on the production of mead. In general, the best results were obtained for the samples containing just one fining agent instead of two combined. However, the best performance was obtained for the combined fining agents (bentonite + gelatine + egg albumin). Tannins decreased significantly the content of volatile compounds. On the other hand, silica appears to be the best fining agent, resulting in the lowest loss of volatile compounds. Thirty-six volatile compounds were determined by gas chromatograph–flame ionization detector and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, including alcohols (42.5%), carbonyl compounds (40.4%), acetates (14.4%) and esters (1.8%). Eleven volatile compounds had odour activity values > 1, representing those with a major impact on the aroma of mead. Significant differences (p 0.05) were observed for remaining compounds. Copyright © 2017 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling. ; A. Pascoal would like to thank Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), Programa Operacional Pontencial Humano and European Union for his postdoctoral grant (SFRH/BPD/91380/ 2012). The authors are grateful to FCT, Portugal and Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER) under Programme PT2020 for financial support to Centro de Investigação de Montanha (CIMO) (UID/AGR/00690/2013). This work was supported by the strategic programme UID/BIA/04050/2013 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007569) funded by national funds through the FCT I.P. and by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the COMPETE2020 – Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion