Bitter beers: a spatial orientation problem solved

Abstract

Determination of the stereochemistry of organic compounds has been a problem that the scientific community has been giving solution to over the years. Different methods have emerged, such as X-ray Diffraction or different types of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR). However, it just has been discovered that the method used in the determination of the absolute configuration of the ?-acids derived from hops used in the manufacture of bitter beers, was not the appropriate.