Technical aspects of the enrichment of beer with thiamine.

Abstract

Beer is naturally low in thiamine because the vitamin is removed by yeast during fermentation. Refortification has been suggested to prevent thiamine-related brain damage in [human] alcoholics. The flavor threshold of thiamine added to beer was determined as 10-15 mg/l, depending on the preparation used. A few sensitive tasters can detect thiamine at 5 mg/l. According to the literature, the rate of fortification to overcome malabsorption in alcoholics is approximately 5 mg/l, hence unpractical in terms of flavor. However, a physiologically equivalent allithiamine, tetrahydrofurfuryl disulfide (TTFD), is absorbed without hindrance. Effective fortification with TTFD requires only 0.5 mg/l, well below the flavor threshold of 27 mg/l TTFD at 0.5 mg/l was soluble and stable and did not affect the appearance or stability of beer in any way.