New sensor detects beer freshness in one step

The University of Madrid in Spain has developed a new technology: just a simple color sensor and an Android app can detect the freshness of beer. Simple, fast, and accurate compared to gas chromatograph.

Unlike wine, beer does not have a shelf life. But it will not be fresh and it will be a mixture of bad tastes. The brewery really should not buy this kind of wine into a store or a bar. Although beer was previously tested for freshness, it often involves expensive GC analysis equipment and takes a lot of time to test. However, a simple color sensor and an Android app can replace these test devices.

The technology developed by the University of Madrid in Spain combines small polymer disks containing a derivative of the organic compound aniline. This derivative reacts with another compound, and the amount of this compound increases as the time after beer production is extended. As we all know, as the amount of furfural increases, the color of the disk will change from yellow to pink.

For the first time, the user publicly detected the beer sample on the disk and then took a photo with the smart phone app. The photo-based color app will analyze the color of the wine to determine the fresh rating. If the polymer also turns pink, the beer will be considered expired and cannot be consumed.

In the laboratory, beer tests made at different time periods were performed using more sophisticated gas chromatography and mass spectrometry equipment and the test results were almost identical to the new test results.