A global survey of the stable isotope and chemical compositions of bottled and canned beers as a guide to authenticity

Abstract

This study presents a dataset, derived from the analysis of 162 bottled and canned beers from around the globe, which may be used for comparison with suspected counterfeit or substitute products. The data comprise δ2H and δ18O compositions of the whole beer and δ13C compositions of the dry residue (mostly sugar) together with the concentrations of five anions (F, Cl, NO3, SO4, PO4) and seven cations (Ca, K, Mg, SiO2, V, Mn, Sr). A strong correlation, consistent with natural waters but offset from the Global Meteoric Water Line, was observed between the δ2H/δ18O composition of the beers. The extent of the offset could be explained by the brewing process and the alcohol and sugars present in the beers. Correlations between inorganic analytes were consistent with the addition of salts in the brewing process. Beers were classified as follows: ale, lager, stout or wheat-beer and the chemical composition was found to be characteristic of the assigned type, with lagers being the most readily classified. A combination of chemical and isotopic data was found to be characteristic of the geographical origin (on a continental scale) and could most easily identify beers from Australasia or Europe. A global map of δ18O data revealed a geo-spatial distribution that mirrored existing maps of the isotopic composition of annual precipitation. This confirmed a commonsense view that local precipitation will be the primary source for the water used in brewing. Using this isoscape (or alcoscape) it may be possible to assess the geographical origins of samples for which genuine comparative samples cannot be obtained.