Uncovering the Latest Trends in the Beer Brewing Process: From Raw Material to Refined Product

Dear Colleagues,

The brewing industry stands at a fascinating crossroads, where centuries-old traditions meet cutting-edge science and technology. As global beer consumption continues to evolve, driven by craft beer movements, consumer demand for product diversity, sustainability concerns, and health-conscious trends, the scientific community faces unprecedented opportunities to advance brewing knowledge. Recent years have witnessed remarkable innovations across the entire brewing value chain: from precision agriculture and novel raw material development to sophisticated fermentation control, advanced analytical techniques, and sustainable production practices. The integration of molecular biology, process engineering, data science, and sensory analysis has transformed brewing from an empirical craft into a well-understood, scientifically rigorous discipline. However, significant challenges remain, including the need for improved resource efficiency, reduced environmental impact, enhanced product stability, and the development of healthier beer alternatives without compromising sensory quality. Understanding the complex interactions between raw materials, processing parameters, microbial metabolism, and final product characteristics requires continued multidisciplinary research efforts. This Special Issue recognizes the critical importance of brewing science not only for the beverage industry but also as a model system for studying fermentation processes, flavour biochemistry, and agricultural biotechnology with broader applications in food science.

I am pleased to invite you to contribute to this Special Issue of Foods, which seeks to compile cutting-edge research that addresses contemporary challenges and opportunities in beer production. This is an excellent opportunity to share your latest findings with the international brewing science community and contribute to the advancement of this dynamic field.

This Special Issue aims to provide a comprehensive platform for presenting recent advances across the complete beer production chain, from field to glass. The collection will showcase innovations in raw material development, processing technologies, fermentation science, quality assessment, and sustainability practices.

By bringing together diverse perspectives from academia and industry, we seek to foster cross-disciplinary dialogue and identify future research directions that will shape the brewing industry in the coming decades. Our goal is to assemble a substantial collection of high-quality articles that will serve as a valuable resource for researchers, brewing technologists, and industry professionals, and may be published in book form to maximize impact and accessibility.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Novel barley, hop, and yeast varieties: development, characterization, and brewing applications.
• Alternative and non-conventional raw materials for beer production, including gluten-free and ancient grain substrates.
• Climate change impacts on agricultural inputs and adaptation strategies.
• Advanced malting technologies and mashing optimization approaches.
• Fermentation innovations: wild yeasts, non-Saccharomyces strains, co-culture systems, and metabolic engineering.
• Modern hop utilization techniques and biotransformation of hop compounds.
• Flavour chemistry: formation, analysis, and modulation of beer volatiles and non-volatiles.
• Process monitoring and control: sensors, automation, and data-driven optimization.
• Production of low-alcohol, non-alcoholic, and functional beers.
• Advanced analytical methodologies for comprehensive beer characterization.
• Sustainable brewing practices: water and energy efficiency, waste valorisation, and circular economy approaches.
• Beer stability, aging mechanisms, and shelf-life extension strategies.
• Sensory analysis and consumer perception studies.
• Food safety aspects: contaminant detection, mitigation, and quality assurance.
• Nutritional properties and health-related compounds in beer.
• Digital technologies and artificial intelligence applications in brewing.

Dr. Katya Carbone
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the Special Issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Foods is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.