Simultaneous determination of alcohols, amines, amino acids, flavonoids, and purine and pyrimidine bases in bottled beer samples directly without any pre-treatment was carried out by capillary zone electrophoresis with diode-array detection. Electrolyte conditions such as pH, composition and concentration of the buffer, working voltage and type and time of injection were checked. The best separation of the cited analytes was achieved in 70 mM sodium borate solution and pH 10.25. The detection limits were from 2.1 to 5.6 mg L(-1) for the 18 compounds studied. The developed method is rapid, sensitive and quantitative and has been applied to seven types of international bottled beers of different origins bought locally.