Glycosides have been identified in almost every type of plant tissue including leaves, roots, stems, and reproductive organs (i.e., flowering and fruiting bodies). The direct role of glycosides in plants is still uncertain, but it is hypothesized that glycosides were a part of the “chemodiversity” necessary for plants to survive. The addition of sugar moieties onto hydrophobic aglycones changes the overall polarity and water solubility of the aglycone. The increased polarity of the glycoside allows for detoxification, storage, and transport within the plant.
Both winemaking and brewing processes have several production steps that may influence the glycosidic profile in the finished beverage. Within this section, winemaking and brewing processes are discussed in separate sections with emphasis on the process itself in regard to glycosides. Microbial considerations for the winemaking and brewing sections are limited to Saccharomyces yeast as they are used for the majority of wine and beer fermentations. The production of wine and beer products with non-Saccharomyces microbes has been organized into its own section due to the large scope of yeast and bacteria that can be introduced into grape juice or wort systems. Outlines of winemaking and brewing processes with respect to glycoside hydrolysis may be found in Table 1.
Table 1. Hydrolytic outline of the winemaking process and the brewing process.
Winemaking Stage | Primary Hydrolysis | References |
---|---|---|
Destemming and crushing | Endogenous grape enzymes | [31][35][36][37][38][39] |
Fermentation—Saccharomyces | Exogenous yeast enzymes | [29][30][31][32][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50] |
Fermentation—non-Saccharomyces yeast and/or mixed fermentations | Exogenous yeast enzymes | [51][52][53][54][55] |
Malolactic fermentation | Exogenous bacterial enzymes | [52][53][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66] |
Racking, bottling, and storage | Spontaneous Acid Hydrolysis | [34][67][68] |
Brewing Stage | Primary Hydrolysis | References |
Mashing | N/A | N/A |
Lautering and sparging | N/A | N/A |
Boiling and whirlpool | Acid | [2][26] |
Fermentation—Saccharomyces | Exogenous yeast enzymes | [51][69][70] |
Fermentation—non-Saccharomyces yeast and/or mixed fermentations | Exogenous yeast or bacterial enzymes | [51][54] |
Dry hopping and hop creep | Exogenous hops enzymes | [71][72] |
Storage | Spontaneous Acid Hydrolysis | [25] |
Glycosylated aroma molecules are common metabolites found in the plant families Vitis vinifera and Humulus lupulus. The glycosylated molecules are of increasing interest due to their connection with free volatile molecules in wine and beer. Comparatively, there is a rich history of knowledge concerning the presence of glycosides and their respective aromas in grapes and wine, while the field of research is starting to develop for hops and beer. A large focus of winemaking has shown that microbial activity during the fermentation process is a key event in the hydrolysis of glycosides. Although much work has shown that microbial activity can trigger the hydrolytic release of glycosides from wine, there is still more work needed to understand how to control the process. Brewing is a complex process that offers several opportunities for hydrolysis such as the boiling and fermentation stages; however, the impact of glycosides from hops is frequently brought into question due to their low abundances. The development of liquid chromatography mass spectrometry methods has allowed for more in-depth and faster analysis of intact glycosides in both plant materials and fermented beverages when compared to traditional hydrolysis methods. More development is still needed for these methods as it can be difficult to distinguish isomeric aroma glycosides from one another through mass spectrometric methods alone.
This entry is adapted from the peer-reviewed paper 10.3390/foods10050935