There is currently an increased demand for foodstuffs that are classified as gluten-free including beer. Beer produced using gluten-free grains has a distinct flavor profile that differs greatly from that of beer produced from gluten-containing grains. The chemical difference between beers made from these two different grain sources has been explored and some key differences have been identified. Here malt sources containing gluten (barley) and malt without gluten (sorghum) were used to determine which compounds are statistically different based upon their concentrations. A total of 14 (7 barley and 7 sorghum) small-batch beers were made from malt extract. The aroma profile was sampled using SPME with chemical separation and identification and quantification using GC-MS. As expected, the differences were not the result of unique compounds but compounds present in differing amounts. A total of 17 compounds were found to be present in beer brewed from both extracts but in amounts that were highly significantly different.
