Probiotic beer

Studies have shown that some probiotics, which are live microorganisms that confer health benefits when consumed, could relieve the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, prevent diarrhoea caused by infections and antibiotics, reduce bone density loss and improve the digestion and absorption of food and nutrients.

Their positive health effects are why Associate Professor Liu Shao Quan, who is part of the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Food Science and Technology Programme, has dedicated part of his research to developing new probiotic foods and drinks that could appeal to more people and expand the options for a healthier diet.

Over the past few years, he and his students have created probiotic beer – a first in the market – and two other probiotic beverages made with durian pulp and okara respectively.

Okara is soy pulp that is leftover from the production of soy products such as soy milk and tofu.

“The general health benefits associated with consuming foods and beverages with probiotic strains have driven demand for them up dramatically,” said Professor Liu.

“In recent years, consumption of craft or specialty beers has become more popular too.”

“I am confident that our probiotic, gut-friendly beer will be well-received by beer drinkers, as they can now enjoy their beers and be healthy.”

To create the beer, the team experimented with six probiotic strains and varied factors such as the temperature and amount of ingredients during the brewing process.

They eventually succeeded with the Lactobacillus paracasei L26 probiotic strain.

The beer is also unfiltered and unpasteurised to maintain the live probiotic counts.

Every 100 millilitre of the drink contains one billion probiotic organisms, which is the minimum number per serving recommended by the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics to unlock maximum health benefits.

Professor Liu’s research also found that a type of yeast called Williopsis saturnus can be used to significantly improve the survival of the Lactobacillus casei probiotic strain during the fermentation of durian pulp to create durian-based probiotic beverages.

“Using the yeast also produces much higher levels of volatile compounds, including alcohols and acetate esters, which positively contributes to the flavour notes,” he added.

Furthermore, both the probiotic beer and durian beverage are non-dairy products, unlike most probiotic drinks on the market.

This means that the NUS scientists’ creations can be consumed safely by people who are lactose-intolerant.

Such flavours are important in the region, where durian is a very popular fruit, and where such ingredients appeal to populations that don’t typically consume milk, such as Thailand and Japan.

“When you look at the health benefits that some probiotic strains can confer to humans, mainly in the area of gut health and immunity enhancement, we should try to develop new foods and drinks that can deliver them to people,” said the professor.

The Asia-Pacific region is now the largest regional market for dietary supplements and vitamins.

FoodNewsInternational


I have to wonder, what a college days "Quarter Beer Night " probiotic beer hangover might be like ?