## 3 Results and Discussion
### Total Phenolic Content (TPC), Antioxidant Activity, and Antitradical Activity  
All carob syrup samples prepared exhibited a high content of total polyphenols. This is primarily due to the high concentration of polyphenols and constituents present in  
Figure 3: Values of the SRM and EBC methods and their color representation (Standard Reference Method, 2021). \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c c c c} \hline  & & t = 0 Days & \multicolumn{4}{c}{1 st Fermentation (t = 30 Days)} & \multicolumn{4}{c}{2 nd Fermentation (t = 60 Days)} \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{\ \begin{tabular}{c} pH \\ \(\circ\)plato \\ Alcohol (\% \(\
u/\pi\)) \\ Degree of \\ fermentation \% \\ EBC \\ SRM \\ \end{tabular}  } & \multicolumn{2}{c}{
\begin{tabular}{c} **CB1:** \\ **Strong** \\ **Dark Ale** \\ **Carb Beer**  
the carob used for the preparation of the carob syrups [22; 36; 37]. The carob syrup used to prepare the carob beers had a total phenolic content of 911.4 \(\pm\) 19 mg GAE/100 mL, antioxidant capacity expressed as 6464 \(\pm\) 69.6 mg Fe\({}^{2+}\)/100 mL, and antiradical activity 2514 \(\pm\) 45.3 TE/100 mL. Similar studies have determined a mean value of 729 \(\pm\) 487 g GAE/100 g among 14 carob syrups [31] and 9.51-14.80 mg GAE/g among nine carob syrups from Cyprus and Greece [36]. The high concentration of polyphenols makes the carob syrups ideal as additives and capable of enriching foods and beverages with antioxidants. Beer presents significant antioxidant activity mainly attributed to the phenolic compounds originating from barley and hops [38; 39; 40]. The dark ale beer 6% ABV (B-60d) produced in this study had a total phenolic content of 48.9 mg GAE/100 mL at the end of the second fermentation (Figure 4). Similar studies have shown that dark beers had a minimum TPC content of 300 mg GAE/L and that dark beers had higher TPC than pale beers due to the greater presence of malted barley and the generation of polyphenols during the malting process [41]. However, it was shown that the addition of carob syrup significantly increased the bioactivity of carob beers. The strong dark ale carob beers had significantly higher total phenolic content, antioxidant activity, and antiradical activity compared to the dark ale beer without carob (Figure 4). More specifically, the carob strong dark ale with 8% ABV (CB1), after the second fermentation (60 days), had total phenolic content (99.9 mg GAE/100 mL), antiradical activity (129.0 mg TE/100 mL), and antioxidant activity (387.0 mg Fe\({}^{2+}\)/100 mL), which was higher by approximately two times, four times, and three times, respectively, compared to the respective values of the standard dark ale (6% ABV) without the addition of carob syrup (48.9 mg GAE/ 100 mL, 31.7 mg TE/100 mL and 105.4 mg Fe\({}^{2+}\)/ 100 mL). The carob strong dark ale with 10% ABV (CB2) after 60 days of fermentation had total phenolic content (176.4 mg GAE/100 mL), antiradical activity (206.6 mg TE/100 mL), and antioxidant activity (838.2 mg Fe\({}^{2+}\)/100 mL), which was higher by more than three times, six times, and eight times, respectively, compared to the respective values for the standard dark ale (6% ABV) without the addition of carob syrup. Many studies have shown that the addition of plant ingredients rich in bioactive substances during craft beer brewing might increase the total phenolic content and antioxidant activity of the final product [7; 8; 9; 42; 43]. The contents of polyphenic compounds and the ABTS and DPPH radical scavenging abilities were increased by more than 2.0-fold, 2.0-fold, and about 6.0-fold, respectively, in beers brewed with the addition of dotted hawthorn (_Crntagus punctata_) juice [8]. In another study, the total polyphenol contents and the ABTS and DPPH radical scavenging activities in beer were increased by 42.8%, 44.3%, and 42.4%, respectively, with the addition of mango juice [42].