Analytical and Technological Insights into Beer, Malt, and Fermented Beverages
A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 July 2026 | Viewed by 1762
Special Issue Editors
Interests: brewing; beer; malt; malting; food contaminants; biotechnology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: fermentation; grains; volatiles; gas chromatography; beer
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The dynamic evolution of research on beer and malt, as well as other fermented beverages, continues to accelerate, driven by analytical advancements, technological innovation, and shifting consumer demands for high-quality, sustainable, and health-conscious products. This interdisciplinary field emphasizes not only the scientific understanding of raw materials, fermentation and bioprocessing pathways, and flavor development, but also the growing recognition of bioactive compounds formed or transformed during fermentation. These include polyphenols, chalconoids, terpenoids, xanthohumol, and other fermentation-derived metabolites originating from malt, hops, microorganisms, and alternative substrates. Such compounds significantly influence sensory attributes (taste and aroma) and may contribute to functional and health-related properties, including antioxidant activity.
Modern analytical tools, such as chromatography, spectroscopy, metabolomics, chemometrics, and sensory analysis, enable precise characterization of fermentation substrates, process-induced chemical transformations, and final fermented beverages. These approaches provide critical insights into the extraction, stability, bioavailability, and interaction of bioactive and technologically relevant compounds during malting, brewing, and other fermentation processes. Increasing attention is also being given to non-conventional fermentation strategies, including non-alcoholic and low-alcohol products, novel microbial strains, alternative cereals, pseudocereals, legumes, and the valorisation of agri-food by-products as fermentation substrates, reflecting the sector’s pursuit of diversity, sustainability, and nutritional enhancement.
This Special Issue invites original research articles and reviews addressing innovations in beer and malt science within the broader context of fermented products and substrates for their production. Contributions may focus on bioactive compound formation and transformation, raw material selection, fermentation and processing optimisation, analytical and sensory methodologies, and sustainability-oriented approaches. Studies exploring how advances in fermentation science, substrate utilisation, and analytical insight collectively improve product quality, functionality, and environmental performance are particularly encouraged.
You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Beverages.
Dr. Kristina Mastanjević
Dr. Alan Gasiński
Guest Editors
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-blind 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.
Keywords
- beer
- malt
- brewing
- fermentation
- bioactive compounds
- polyphenols
- chalconoids
- terpenoids
- xanthohumol
- non-alcoholic beer
- non-conventional yeast
- alternative raw materials
- antioxidants
- sensory analysis
- functional beverages
- beer quality
- hops
- yeast
- sustainability
- lactic acid bacteria
- fungi
- probiotics
- microbiome diversity
- koji
- functional foods
- bioactive peptides
- solid-state fermentation
- spontaneous fermentation
- upcycled fermentation
- sourdough
- acetic acid bacteria
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