Poor foam stability in gluten-free beers is associated with distinct protein composition compared with barley-malt beers
- 1University of Sydney
Abstract
Why was the work done?: Gluten-free (GF) beers typically exhibit poorer foam stability than conventional barley malt-based beers, yet the molecular basis underlying this difference remains poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate protein-level factors associated with foam stability in GF and barley beers. How was the work done?: Three commercially produced GF beers, comprising two lagers brewed from rice or sorghum, and one pale ale brewed from a millet-buckwheat-rice blend, were compared with two commercially produced barley-malt beers, comprising a lager and a pale ale. Soluble protein was isolated from freeze-dried beer powder using TCA-acetone. Protein profiles were examined using SDS-PAGE, and proteomes were characterised and compared using label-free quantitative LC-MS/MS. What are the main findings?: GF beers showed lower soluble protein concentrations and significantly lower foam stability than the barley beers. SDS-PAGE revealed fewer and weaker protein bands in GF beers compared with barley beers. Proteomic analysis showed that barley beers were enriched in known foam-active proteins, particularly lipid transfer protein 1 (LTP1) and Protein Z (serpin family members), whereas these proteins were not detected or were detected only at very low levels in GF beers.
Related
- Neuronal lipid composition regulates distinct states of full-length tau assembly, mechanics and membrane interactions
- Proteomic Profiling of Endothelial Cells Under Laminar Shear Stress Confirms the Importance of KLF4 in the Regulation of Membrane Protein Expression Compared to Oscillatory Flow
- Impacts of Anthropogenic, Environmental, and Genetic Factors on Peanut Seed Protein Content and Composition
- Impact of oil composition and dry matter content on the structure and texture of highly concentrated faba bean protein gels
- An evolutionary strategy for highly efficient secretion of multidomain Staphylococcal protein A: N- to C-terminal stability gradient
BibTeX
@misc{lyu2026poor,
title = {{Poor foam stability in gluten-free beers is associated with distinct protein composition compared with barley-malt beers}},
author = {Z. Lyu and J. Humphries and F. Masoomi-Aladizgeh and T. H. Roberts},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.04.749538},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.04.749538v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Poor foam stability in gluten-free beers is associated with distinct protein composition compared with barley-malt beers
AU - Z. Lyu
AU - J. Humphries
AU - F. Masoomi-Aladizgeh
AU - T. H. Roberts
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/04
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.09.04.749538
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.04.749538v1
AB - Why was the work done?: Gluten-free (GF) beers typically exhibit poorer foam stability than conventional barley malt-based beers, yet the molecular basis underlying this difference remains poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate protein-level factors associated with foam stability in GF and barley beers. How was the work done?: Three commercially produced GF beers, comprising two lagers brewed from rice or sorghum, and one pale ale brewed from a millet-buckwheat-rice blend, were compared with two commercially produced barley-malt beers, comprising a lager and a pale ale. Soluble protein was isolated from freeze-dried beer powder using TCA-acetone. Protein profiles were examined using SDS-PAGE, and proteomes were characterised and compared using label-free quantitative LC-MS/MS. What are the main findings?: GF beers showed lower soluble protein concentrations and significantly lower foam stability than the barley beers. SDS-PAGE revealed fewer and weaker protein bands in GF beers compared with barley beers. Proteomic analysis showed that barley beers were enriched in known foam-active proteins, particularly lipid transfer protein 1 (LTP1) and Protein Z (serpin family members), whereas these proteins were not detected or were detected only at very low levels in GF beers.
ER -