Beer

Among other factors, one of the things that makes so-called hoppy beers so popular is their fruity aroma. A new process could allow brewers to better quantify the thiol compounds that produce that aroma, in the development of fruitier-smelling beers.

Yes, iron. Fine iron powder can burn at high temperatures, emitting nothing but rust as a by-product. That rust can be reduced back into iron powder using renewable energy to create a clean, renewable combustion fuel that could have big implications.

Nothing ruins a session like stale beer, but it’s a common problem. Now researchers from Jiangnan University have found a way to keep beer fresher for longer, by genetically engineering lager yeast to produce certain compounds that slow staleness.

​PicoBrew has continued to build out its lineup of brewing machines, with the newly launched Pico MultiBrew the latest to join the family. The device makes brewing up a cup of Joe its priority, but will apparently be perfectly capable of serving up beer, tea, kombucha and other beverages, too.

According to a new study from ​Northwestern University, our preference for sweet or bitter beverages isn't so much about flavor, but about the psychoactive buttons these drinks push​ in our brains.

Every now and then, an invention comes along that makes us wonder how we ever lived without it – but those are in the minority. New Atlas rounds up the weirdest and wackiest inventions that left us scratching our heads this year.

​Countertop craft beer systems are not new, Seattle's PicoBrew has been offering devices of all shapes and sizes for a number of years. Now LG has decided to join the party with an automated machine called the HomeBrew, which will make its debut at CES 2019 in Las Vegas next month.​

If you need a hand entertaining over the holidays, Stella Artois has a suggestion. The company has come up with its Bartending Automated Robotic Technology (BART), which converts a robotic vacuum into a drinks- and snacks-toting bartender that can both serve guests and clean up simultaneously.

Keurig is best known for popularizing the coffee pod machine, but realizing it’s always five o’clock somewhere, the company is now taking the concept out on the town with the Drinkworks Home Bar, which cooks up cocktails (or beer and cider, for some reason) from the same kind of premixed pods.

Beer is generally thought to be about 7,000 years old, but now archaeologists have found clues that could date beer-making to almost twice that age, meaning it predates agriculture and represents the oldest record of man-made alcohol.

The Ocean Cleanup barge is currently on its way to tackle the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, but it never hurts to find ways to reduce plastic before it gets into the sea. In that vein, Danish beermaker Carlsberg has announced the Snap Pack, a simple alternative to plastic six-pack rings.

Aerogels are among the best thermal insulators, but their cloudy appearance doesn't work for windows, one of the worst offenders for letting heat escape a building. Now, researchers at Colorado University Boulder have found a way to make them transparent, recycling a beer by-product in the process.