What's in beer

Molecules in it 14

• EthanolC2H6O

  On MoleculeFinder's curated beer list: ~5% alcohol by volume from source

  The alcohol in wine, beer, and spirits, and what the body reads as intoxicating.

  As a pure substance: LD50 5,628 mg/kg (rat, oral) from source

• MaltoseC12H22O11

  On MoleculeFinder's curated beer list from source

  Malt sugar, two glucoses joined. It is what starch becomes when it is broken down, which is the sweetness in malted barley and in beer wort.

• MyrceneC10H16

  On MoleculeFinder's curated beer list from source

  The earthy, hoppy, faintly mango note in hops, lemongrass, and cannabis, and one of the most abundant terpenes in beer.

  As a pure substance: LD50 5,000 mg/kg (rat, oral) from source

• CaryophylleneC15H24

  On MoleculeFinder's curated beer list from source

  The peppery, woody note of black pepper, cloves, and hops. It is unusual among terpenes in binding a cannabinoid receptor.

  As a pure substance, its GHS hazard label: signal word Danger; Irritant, Health hazard from source

• Isoamyl acetateC7H14O2

  On MoleculeFinder's curated beer list from source

  The smell of banana and pear drops, and the alarm pheromone honeybees release when they sting.

  As a pure substance: LD50 7,422 mg/kg (rabbit, oral) from source

• Isoamyl alcoholC5H12O

  On MoleculeFinder's curated beer list from source

  A fusel alcohol yeast makes alongside ethanol, and a big part of what makes whisky and rum smell of more than just alcohol.

  As a pure substance: LD50 1,300 mg/kg (rat, oral) from source

• DiacetylC4H6O2

  On MoleculeFinder's curated beer list from source

  The taste of butter, made naturally in fermentation. Inhaled as a vapour in flavouring plants it caused the lung disease nicknamed popcorn lung.

  As a pure substance: LD50 1,580 mg/kg (rat, oral) from source

• AcetaldehydeC2H4O

  On MoleculeFinder's curated beer list from source

  What alcohol first turns into as the body breaks it down, and a large part of a hangover.

  As a pure substance: LD50 661 mg/kg (rat, oral) from source

• 2-NonenalC9H16O

  On MoleculeFinder's curated beer list from source

  A cucumber-and-paper smell familiar from stale beer and the scent of old books.

  As a pure substance, its GHS hazard label: signal word Warning; Irritant from source

• GlycerolC3H8O3

  On MoleculeFinder's curated beer list from source

  The sweet, syrupy backbone that three fatty acids hang from in every fat. On its own it keeps toothpaste, frosting, and skin cream from drying out.

  As a pure substance: LD50 5,570 mg/kg (rat, oral) from source

• Carbon dioxideCO2

  On MoleculeFinder's curated beer list from source

  The gas you exhale, the fizz in a soda, and the molecule plants pull out of the air to build themselves.

  As a pure substance, its GHS hazard label: signal word Warning; Compressed gas, Irritant from source

• WaterH2O

  On MoleculeFinder's curated beer list from source

  The one molecule everything else on this site dissolves in, freezes in, or is carried by. Two hydrogens and an oxygen, bent at about 104 degrees.

  As a pure substance: LD50 25,000 mg/kg (mouse, iv) from source

• Nicotinic acidC6H5NO2

  On MoleculeFinder's curated beer list from source

  Vitamin B3, which your cells use to turn food into usable energy; roasting even creates a little of it in coffee.

  As a pure substance: LD50 7,000 mg/kg (rat, oral) from source

• RiboflavinC17H20N4O6

  On MoleculeFinder's curated beer list from source

  Vitamin B2, the pigment that makes a B-complex vitamin bright yellow and, taken in excess, turns urine fluorescent yellow-green.

  As a pure substance: LD50 10,000 mg/kg (rat, oral) from source