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A technique developed in the twentieth century has helped researchers to pin down the conformations of the compounds that flavour one of the world's oldest beverages.

A team led by Werner Kaminsky at the University of Washington in Seattle used X-ray crystallography to study the bitter-tasting chemical humulone — a component of the beer additive hops — and its derivatives.

The authors purified acids recovered during beer-making and grew them into salt crystals that were then analysed with X-rays. This showed the exact position of the chemicals' molecular side chains, contradicting previous assumptions made from easier but less-rigorous techniques.

Now the arrangements of the humulone compounds are known, their purported health benefits can be better explored, the authors suggest.

Angew. Chem. Int. Edn 52, 1553–1555 (2013)