A modification of a procedure by Hage [1] is proposed for the gas chromatographic evaluation of the content of free medium-chain fatty acids and related ethyl esters in beer. The method involves extraction of free fatty acids and ethyl esters by SPE using C-18 bonded phase columns, derivatization of free fatty acids and related ethyl esters with diazomethane, and GC analysis using an SP-2340 capillary column. The results obtained have shown the method to be rapid and highly reproducible. The technique has been compared with other methods used for determination of free fatty acids
