Kombucha is a fermented sweetened tea with a mixed fermenting culture of yeast and acetic acid bacteria. While the history of kombucha is not completely clear, it is now available around the world and has shown an increase in availability and demand in the United States market. The proponents of kombucha consumption tout the varied health benefits it can provide. The final kombucha flavor and composition is a function of both the initial tea used and the fermentation process. While the ascribed benefits are varied and numerous, the number of direct studies has been limited. This review focuses on the current state of understanding of the chemical composition and the potential health effects both positive and negative reported in the literature.

This is a literature review of the most commonly available wine packaging categories. This includes glass bottles, polyethylene terephthalate bottles (PET), bag-in-box (BIB), aluminum cans, and Tetra Pak. This review includes a description and history of each category. In addition, the market share and environmental impacts of each category are discussed. Special attention is paid to the reported impact on packaged wine flavor and aroma for each packaging type. Finally, the potential impacts on consumer preference are discussed. While glass is still the dominant packaging material within the wine industry and by consumer demand, economic and environmental concerns are driving the industry and consumers to investigate and adopt alternative packaging materials.

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.

Sour beers have been traditionally brewed with spontaneous fermentation. This has been occurring in Belgium for hundreds of years, and more recently in the United States as the American craft beer industry has boomed. Belgian sour styles include lambics, which are mirrored in a burgeoning style called the American coolship ale (ACA). American beers have much more creative leeway than their Belgian counterparts, as American craft brewing tends to incorporate more contemporary techniques and ingredients than their traditional European forebears. This review paper will summarize the history, production methods, fermentation, microbiological profiles, and sensory profiles of Belgian lambics and American coolship ales.