Determination of Inorganic Anions in Beer by Ion Chromatography

The inorganic anions most frequently determined in beer are chloride, phosphate, nitrate, and sulfate. These ions are usually determined by wet chemical procedures, which may be considered lengthy and tedious. A Dionex ion-chromatography system was evaluated as an alternative for the routine analysis of these four anions in beer. The method demonstrates less than 3% coefficient of variation in the anion concentration ranges typically observed. Values obtained with this technique are in close agreement with values obtained by standard wet chemical procedures. The proposed method is rapid and provides for the simultaneous quantitation of these anions with a single sample injection.