Improvement in Analytical Methods for Determination of Sugars in Fermented Alcoholic Beverages

Table 1

Physicochemical properties, raw materials, and production process of some Ethiopian traditional alcoholic beverages.

S. no.	Samples (% alcohol)	Physicochemical properties	Raw materials	Production process
1	Tella (2.9 ± 0.3), Korefe (4.6 ± 0.4)	Dark brown in color, with pH 3.56 ± 0.02 and 4.28 ± 0.02	Kita (a thin, 5–10 mm thick, pancake-like bread), enkuro (a dark brown toasted flour), bikil (germinated grain), and powdered gesho (Rhamnus prinoides) [25, 26]	A four-phase fermentation for 10–12 days [25, 26]
2	Tej (9.1 ± 0.3)	Yellow, sweet, effervescent, and cloudy, with pH 3.65 ± 0.01	Honey or mixture of sugar with honey and leaves of gesho (Rhamnus prinoides) [25, 27]	Mixing boiled must with gesho (Rhamnus prinoides) and unboiled must and then allowing to ferment for 5 days in warm weather or for 15–20 days in colder weather [25, 27]
3	Birz (6.5 ± 0.8)	Yellow, sweet, effervescent, and cloudy, with pH 3.40 ± 0.06	Honey or mixture of sugar with honey [25]	Has a short fermentation period, usually overnight [25]
4	Borde (1.8 ± 0.4)	Opaque, effervescent, and whitish-grey to brown colored with a thick consistency and a sweet-sour taste, with pH 5.77 ± 0.03	Unmalted maize (Zea mays), barley (Hordeum vulgare), wheat (Triticum aestivum), finger millet (Eleusine coracana), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), and/or tef (Eragrostis tef) and their malt; additional ingredients garlic, fresh chili (Capsicum minimum), ginger, and salt [25, 28, 29]	A four-phase fermentation for less than 4 days [25, 28, 29]
5	Keribo (1.7 ± 0.3)	Dark brown colored, with pH 3.72 ± 0.03	Unmalted roasted barley (Hordeum vulgare), sugar, and yeast [30]	Has a short fermentation period, usually overnight [30]

% alcohol was determined by the method in [22].