Simple and robust method for the quantification of nine organic acids in beer using 3-chloropropyl bonded C18 materials with HPLC-UV analysis

A simple and robust reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography procedure was developed with only an aqueous H3PO4 solution (pH 2.1) as the mobile phase for the simultaneous determination of nine organic acids (oxalic, formic, malic, lactic, acetic, citric, succinic, fumaric, and gallic acids) in beer based on a polar-copolymerized 3-chloropropyl C18 column. The proposed method was validated according to linearity, limits of detection, accuracy, precision, repeatability, and reproducibility. Quantifications of the nine organic acids in 12 commercial Chinese beer samples from five different brands were conducted only after degassing and filtration of the samples. In all beer samples, the most abundant organic acid was succinic acid; its concentration was in the range of 907.99-3557.22 mg/L. This was followed by malic acid (170.39-936.78 mg/L). Principal component analysis was used to compare the different brand of beers according to organic acid concentration, and results may provide a reference for the evaluation of beer quality and taste.