Beer Quality Control Tests and Equipment

Beer quality is essential to continued production and profitability, which means that beer quality control tests and equipment are essential to have on hand.

Of course, there are dozens of devices out there and companies will try to sell you and have you breaking the bank to make sure you run every single test known to man only to find out you only need a small fraction of that equipment in the first place.

So how do you know what you need? What to invest in? And what tests are critical to run?

What Is Quality Beer?

First, let’s talk about what quality beer even means. How do you quality control something unless you know what to expect?

The first step is obvious. You want beer that is not contaminated or toxic to the drinker. Fortunately, beer usually offers its own anti-germs qualities thanks to the alcohol. It is quite rare for someone to get sick from beer. This obviously does not include someone who gets sick from drinking too much beer.

That’s a whole other story.

The second step is a matter of the senses.

Beer quality is tested by beer drinkers every time they take their first drink. Even before that, really.

We test beer’s quality through our eyes, our ears, our nose, and our mouth.

Perception is everything when it comes to beer, and most drinkers know a beer is off before they ever get a taste.

Clarity or Cloudiness

A beer that has been filtered and clarified should have no suspended particles, and beer drinkers know whether to expect clarity in their beer.

On the other hand, cloudy beer should appear hazy, not murky. Lovers of haze know what they’re looking for, and when something seems off. Those suspended proteins and enzymes drift delightfully in beer and invite patrons to partake.

A clear beer over time will eventually become cloudy, and a hazy beer may become murky given too much time past expiration date.

Carbonation

Yes, the beer drinker is often seeking that familiar “pfffft” sound of the opened bottle or can of beer. That pop of a can tells them the beer is fresh and will be frothy. The ear picks up this sound right away, and it recognizes the absence of that sound.

Aroma

The first hint something might be off is often in the aroma. A beer might smell rancid, like baby vomit, like buttered popcorn, green apples, metal, and even blood. All those off smells tell the drinker something just isn’t right, and it probably went wrong during brewing.

Taste

The beer will barely hit your tongue and you’ll know something is wrong. You’ll taste a version of anything described above as an aroma, and more.

Mouth Feel

Furthermore, the mouth picks up on texture in beer. A beer should be smooth and crisp, maybe rich and malty. It should not be watery; even the lightest beer should have a bit of mouthfeel from the grain. The senses pick up on these factors right away.

What Causes Beer to Go Bad?

Any number of things can occur that make a beer go bad.

It could be something in the water, something in the air, something during fermentation, a bad ingredient, or even just time.

The freshest possible beer is beer straight from the fermentation vessel in the brewery. The more time that passes since fermentation, and the farther beer travels from its origin, the higher the chances that something can go wrong.

How to Prevent Deterioration

The best possible practices you can take to prevent deterioration, and ensure your beer is not made bad and does not go bad, are pretty simple.

Ensure your equipment is clean, sanitized, and free of any cracks.

Invest in top quality ingredients and make your own beer from scratch, controlling for all aspects of ingredients and preparation.

Make and sell your beer in your brewery, minimizing time and distance from brewing.

If you market and sell your beer outside of your brewery, and long distances, ensure proper bottling, casking, or kegging, and control for proper storage and refrigeration during transportation.

Tests and Equipment

If you have taken all necessary measures to ensure your brewing process is clean, sanitized, and tightly controlled, and you find you still have issues with off flavors and deterioration, there are a few additional tests you can run and equipment you can invest in to monitor your brewery and your brewing process.

Yeast Cell Concentration

A yeast cell counter will help you determine the yeast cell concentration, which, in turn, is essential for the (re)pitching process. It helps you know exactly how much yeast you’re pitching, and this is super important, as underpitching can result in longer fermentations, with a high economic impact, while overpitching can lead to loss of bitterness, filtration issues, and a high risk of yeast autolysis (the rupturing of the yeast cell and the leaking of undesirable substances in the beer, ultimately leading to off-flavors).

Free Yeast Analysis

 

Also read: Yeast cell concentration: how can you use this data?

Yeast Viability

Just as important as yeast cell concentration, viability stands for the proportion of live cells within the analyzed cell population. Yeast concentration and viability go hand in hand during the pitching process. You may have the right yeast cell concentration, but if the viability is low, there is a high chance you will still end up with fermentation issues, or, at the very least, you will not be able to achieve product consistency. Basically, pitching a low viability yeast will have the same effects as underpitching.

Also read: Yeast viability: how can you use this data?

Moisture Analyzer

A moisture analyzer will measure the moisture in your grain and hops to make sure you don’t have mold or other contaminants making a home in your storage containers or in your ingredients as they arrive. These contaminants can greatly affect the flavor and aroma of your beer.

Water Tests

Too much chlorine can affect beer as can other contaminants not caught by your water provider. It can be helpful to invest in equipment that tests the quality of your water if you are not comfortable with your supplier.

Air Quality

Yes, even the air in your brewing room may be contaminated as a result of one factor or another. You can find inexpensive equipment that will check your air quality for contaminants that may affect your brew.

Beer Is Inherently Safe

Above all, it is important to remember that you have very little to fear in terms of contaminated beer. Thanks to the alcohol in beer, you are highly unlikely to get a client sick. You can, however, throw your beer off in terms of flavors and aromas.

Thus, it is helpful to first be sure you have taken all preventative measures. And, of course, it is always helpful to have a yeast cell counter on hand. Then, you can gradually invest in other equipment, if needed.

Cheers!

Passionate about the beer and/or wine making process? So are we! If you’re interested in finding out how you can use our technology to control fermentation and monitor your yeast, save work hours and improve the cost-efficiency of your business, drop us a line at [email protected] or check out our product pages:

Also, you can now get access to a fully functional demo account to test your yeast via our Web App. Completely free of charge and with no commitment to purchase.

Sources:

  1. https://www.brewersassociation.org/attachments/0001/3980/EDP_Quality.pdf
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