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Boiling and cooling have the most effect on levels of DMS in beer. At boiling temperatures, SMM is decomposed into DMS. Wilson & Booer showed that SMM's [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half-life half-life] is about 35 minutes at a pH of 5.4, meaning that it takes ~35 minutes to reduce half of the SMM present into DMS <ref name="Anness"></ref>. pH plays a role in the reduction of SMM to DMS, with a higher pH reducing the half-life of SMM. Dickenson showed that at a wort pH of 5.2, SMM had a half-life of 38 minutes, but at a pH of 5.5 the SMM has a half-life of 32.5 minutes <ref>[http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/j.2050-0416.1979.tb03914.x/abstract THE RELATIONSHIP OF DIMETHYL SULPHIDE LEVELS IN MALT, WORT AND BEER. C. J. Dickenson. 1979.]</ref>. The half-life of SMM doubles for every 6°C cooler, meaning that at 95°C the half-life is ~70 minutes (see the table below). During the boil, the converted DMS is evaporated off due to its low boiling temperature of 37.3°C <ref name="pubchem">[https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/dimethyl_sulfide#section=Odor Dimethyl Sulfide. PubChem. Retrieved 03/02/2016.]</ref> and the convection currents of the boil.
The largest contribution of DMS from SMM is after boiling the wort, and during the chilling process. SMM continues to breakdown into DMS after boiling and before the wort is completely chilled. DMS formed during this time is mostly retained in the wort due to the wort being still, especially in a closed cooling system where evaporation is prevented completely. Once the wort reaches a temperature of 80-85°C, the decomposition of SMM into DMS is greatly reduced <ref name="Anness"></ref>. It has been shown that a longer boil will help decompose the SMM and drive off DMS <ref>[http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/j.2050-0416.1979.tb06845.x/abstract CONTROL OF THE DIMETHYL SULPHIDE CONTENT OF BEER BY REGULATION OF THE COPPER BOIL. R. J. H. Wilson andC. D. Booer. 1979.]</ref>, however if the level of SMM in the malt is high (3-8 µg DMS equivalents/g malt) and more than 50 µg DMS equivalents/liter of SMM survives the boil, then reducing the time in the whirlpool where the wort sits above 80°C can help reduce the amount of DMS in the finished beer. SMM that is not decomposed into DMS during the boil/whirlpool and survives going into the fermenter is not metabolized by yeast, but is also not decomposed into DMS (typical brewing conditions result in little SMM going into the fermenter) <ref name="Anness"></ref><ref name="bamforth"></ref>. DMS is very volatile, and evaporates easily at temperatures below boiling (80°C, for example), and assuming the wort is not in a closed system, will eventually evaporate off even if the wort is not boiling. Scheuren et al. (2016) determined that there is not a significant difference in DMS evaporation in water versus wort or different gravities of wort, and came up with equations for determining the evaporation of DMS in water using laws of thermodynamics. They also established that the volatility of DMS is the same regardless of the concentration of DMS, and that it is effected by temperature and atmospheric pressure. A larger top surface area will allow for faster evaporation of the total DMS present in the wort, but the total DMS present in the wort would eventually be evaporated off regardless of what the top surface area of the kettle is <ref name="Scheuren2016"></ref>. In order to limit DMS in the end product, it is advised to allow no more than 100 µg/L of DMS into the fermenter <ref name="Scheuren2016mbaa">Influence of Extract on Volatility of Flavor Components in Wort During Open and Closed Boil. Hans Scheuren Roland Feilner, Frank-Jürgen Methner, and Michael Dillenburger. MBAA website. 2016.</ref>.
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===Volatility of DMS====
DMS is a very volatile compound. Scheuren et al. (2016) determined that there is not a significant difference in DMS evaporation in water versus wort, and came up with equations for determining the evaporation of DMS in water using laws of thermodynamics. They presented a somewhat counter intuitive result that DMS actually volatilizes more readily as temperatures drop, until about 50°C (volatilization of DMS drops significantly under 50°C). Their calculations state that 3.2% of the wort volume needs to be evaporated for 90% of the DMS to volatilize at 100°C, whereas only 1.3% of the wort needs to be evaporated for 90% of the DMS to volatilize at 80°C (keep in mind that the rate of evaporation at 80°C is much slower, and thus it takes more time to reach 1.3% evaporation). This indicates that some amount of DMS is evaporating off at temperatures below boiling until 50°C is reached <ref name="Scheuren2016mbaa"></ref><ref name="Scheuren2016"></ref>.
They also established that the volatility of DMS is the same regardless of the concentration of DMS, and that it is effected by temperature, atmospheric pressure, and the concentration of DMS (higher concentration of DMS slightly raises the volatility of DMS <ref name="Scheuren2016mbaa"></ref>). A larger top surface area will allow for faster evaporation of the total DMS present in the wort, but the total DMS present in the wort would eventually be evaporated off regardless of what the top surface area of the kettle is <ref name="Scheuren2016"></ref>. In order to limit DMS in the end product, it is advised to allow no more than 100 µg/L of DMS into the fermenter <ref name="Scheuren2016mbaa">Influence of Extract on Volatility of Flavor Components in Wort During Open and Closed Boil. Hans Scheuren Roland Feilner, Frank-Jürgen Methner, and Michael Dillenburger. MBAA website. 2016.</ref>.
Recent work by Scheuren et al. on the thermodynamics of DMS shows some counter intuitive properties of the volatility of DMS. DMS is more volatile than wort because its [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vapor_pressure vapor pressure] is higher.
===DMSO Precursor and Effects of Fermentation===