Agricultural and Life Sciences (IFAS)
Thompson-Witrick Lab
Led by Katherine Thompson-Witrick · Food Science and Human Nutrition
What we study
The lab studies how ingredient changes and fermentation conditions affect the flavor and aroma of fermented beverages like beer, kombucha, and wine. Experiments involve altering water chemistry, ingredient sources, and packaging to observe their impact.
What working here is like
- Wet lab
- Yeast
- Bacteria & microbes
- Coding helps
- Projects
- 5
- Papers
- 5
Current projects
Florida-grown malts and brewing quality
Testing how malts from Florida affect beer flavor and quality.
Kombucha tea preparation techniques
Examining different tea preparation methods for kombucha production.
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Brettanomyces bruxellensis and fermentation environment
Studying how fermentation conditions impact beer flavor through Brettanomyces bruxellensis.
Impact of wine packaging on flavor
Investigating how wine packaging affects the flavor profile of Florida wines.
Effects of Seeping Time and Temperature on the Physical and Chemical Characteristics of Kombucha
The lab examines how different soaking times and temperatures for tea affect the taste and chemistry of kombucha. Students prepare tea at various times, ferment it, and measure acidity, pH, sugar, polyphenols, caffeine, and flavor compounds.
From the Spring 2025 UF Undergraduate Research Symposium · abstract book, p. 221
Summaries are written by AI in plain language from public symposium abstracts and may be imperfect.
Recent papers, explained
- Time and Dosage Related Kinetics of Cannabinoid and Flavor Extraction in Dry-Hemped Beer
2026 · Journal of the American Society of Brewing Chemists
Studies how hemp extracts cannabinoids and flavors in beer over time.
- Thermal inactivation of Salmonella in ready-to-use therapeutic food and prediction using neural network and conventional models
2026 · Food Research International
Measures how heat kills Salmonella in a food product and predicts results.
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- Assessment of Florida Blueberry Wine Packaged in Glass Bottles, Cans, and Plastic Bottles Throughout Accelerated Shelf-Life Testing
2026 · Beverages
Compares how different wine containers affect wine quality over time.
- Microbiological and physicochemical dynamics during black tea kombucha fermentation and their association with Salmonella Enteritidis survival
2026 · Food Microbiology
- Balancing acidity in low alcohol wines: effects of fermentation conditions, chemical modification, and yeast selection on consumer perception
2026 · Frontiers in Food Science and Technology
Tests ways to reduce acidity in low-alcohol wine without affecting taste.
Plain-language summaries are AI-written and reviewed by us; check the paper for details.
How to reach out
Katherine Thompson-Witrick hasn't set up this page yet. You can also look them up in the UF directory (search “Katherine Thompson-Witrick”).