Brewery Lab & Quality Control: Rewery AB

Yeast Essentials 2014
Brewery Lab & BREWERY LAB &
Quality Control
YEAST ESSENTIALS 2.0
Outline
◼Why & how to start a QC program
◼Overview of testing
◼Identifying contaminants
◼Putting it all together- being a real scientist ☺
Why a Quality Control Program?
-Consistent beer from batch to batch
-Predictable fermentation rates
-Consistent flavor profile
-Detection, identification, and control of brewery contaminants
-Allows you to be preventative, not reactive

Budget
Where to
Start?
Time
Goals
Goals for your lab
Goals What You Need to Know
-Yeast health & management -Cell counts, viability, morphology
-Meaning of clean & Forced Wort testing
-Clean Brewing process
-Forced Fermentations
-Predictable Fermentations
-Forced diacetyl testing
-No undesirable off flavors -Media plates & Gram staining
-Identify contaminants
Cell Counts/Yeast Morphology
◼Knowing the concentration of cells in a slurry prior to pitching is a
prerequisite for calculating the correct amount of yeast to pitch
◼The yeast pitching rate has a great impact of the performance, yeast derived
flavor compounds, as well as the longevity of a yeast culture
◼Bonus effect: Visual evaluation of the yeast culture helps the brewer
understand the state of the culture
Yeast Viability and Vitality
◼Definition of “viability”
“Capacity of a Cell to Exhibit Life Functions”
DEAD OR ALIVE
◼Definition of “vitality”
“Yeast Activity or Physiological Health” Or “Potential To Endure Stress and Still
Perform”
METABOLIC FITNESS
YEAST VIABILITY
ASSAY
Methylene Blue
staining method
Pros: Quick, easy,

inexpensive
Cons: can be inaccurate,

great risk of human error in
the dilutions
The Meaning of Clean
Definitions:
Clean – soil reduced to an acceptable level. Usually done with a

combination of water and detergent
Sanitized – viable organisms reduced to an acceptable level on a

clean surface.
Sterile – all organisms including spores and viruses are completely

destroyed.
Cleaning & Sanitizing
“If you don’t get it clean the first time, try, try again”
Frequency of cleaning
Length of exposure time to cleaning/sanitizing
◼ Important to have SOPs for these procedures and audit when necessary
◼ What works for one brewery might not work for you
◼ Check with your chemical manufactures to make sure you’re using them correctly
◼ ATP meters to check for cleanliness
Forced Wort Testing
◼Simple, affordable and effective way to check that
the hot side of the brewing process is clean.
◼After you have cooled, oxygenated, and
transferred the wort, you collect a small amount
prior to pitching the yeast.
◼Incubate this sample, and look for evidence of
contamination.
Results
◼ Clear wort = Beer is clean
◼ Cloudy wort or wort with bubbles = contamination
Duration Result
1 day Very dirty, clean heat exchanger and hoses. Beer will need to be dumped.
Major contamination. Need to clean problem, beer most likely will be affected. Do not collect yeast for re-use
2–3 days
from this batch.
3–6 days Mild contamination build up, clean problem. Beer may or may not be affected.
7 or more Very clean, keep up the good work

Forced Fermentations
◼You force the fermentation to the max
attenuation with high temp and constant stirring
◼Once the activity stops→take a specific gravity

reading. This is your lowest gravity with this
wort & yeast combination.
Forced Diacetyl Testing
◼Forcing conversion of precursor to diacetyl with heat and oxygen
Mr. → water bath (140-160°F)
Mrs. → Room temperature
10-20 min
Cool
Smell
Results
Room Temp Beer Heated Beer Conclusion
Negative Negative No precursor present, beer is ready to go
Negative Positive Precursor present, beer needs more time on yeast
Beer is loaded with precursor or possibly

Positive Positive
contaminated
Contamination Detection
Use your senses:
Smell
Taste
Sight
Implement media into your QC program:

Selective media plating
Environmental plates in the brewery
The Contaminants
Acetic Acid Bacteria
Gram-negative rods
beer spoilers
Aerobic (don’t survive in the absence of oxygen)
Acetobacter
Gluconobacter
Contaminants
Lactic Acid Bacteria
Gram-positive rods or cocci
Aerotolerant anaerobes
Temperature tolerant
(2-53°C)
Optimum temperature 30-40°C

Contaminants
Wild Yeast
Gram-positive cocci, lemon, football, or
elongated
Temperature tolerant
(2-53°C)
Optimum temperature 30-

40°C
Alcohol tolerant
pH tolerant (down to 3.0)

Identification
Selective or Differential Growth Media
◼Growth of organisms based on environmental and metabolic conditions

◼Involves specific substrates and inhibitory compounds
Wallerstein Differential Media (WLD)

Lin’s Cupric Sulfate Media (LCSM)
Lin’s Wild Yeast Media (LWYM)
Hsu’s Lactobacillus and Pediococcus Media (HLP)
Schwartz Differential Media (SDA/ LMDA)
Identification from Plates
You’ll need a microscope Not this
Identification from Plates
▪ Microscopy & Gram Staining (least expensive)
Simple, rapid, and require minimal equipment and training
▪ Differentiate organisms by:
Cell morphology (shape & grouping)
Gram-positive or negative (purple or red)
Pros: Easy, cheap, relatively quick

Cons: Requires some microbial knowledge and skills.
Identification
Various Tolerance Tests
◼Oxygen tolerance (aerobic vs. anaerobic)

◼Catalase positive or negative
◼Oxidase positive or negative
Identification
Advanced Genetic Technology
◼PCR, Genetic sequencing

◼Results can take weeks
Putting it all Together
◼Record keeping is key-
▪ starting gravity, ending gravity over time, fermentation temperatures, pitch
rates, pH readings, etc.
◼Develop your testing program-

▪ Set your limits
▪ Set your timelines
▪ Protocols
▪ Communicate with your staff

Being a Real Scientist
Bottom Line
Even small lab programs can benefit your end product
Start with a microscope and build from there
Have good record keeping
Be proactive, not reactive!

Yeast Essentials Workshop 2014
THANK YOU!!
Thank You
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Yeast Essentials 2014

Brewery Lab & BREWERY LAB &

-Predictable fermentation rates

-Consistent flavor profile

-Detection, identification, and control of brewery contaminants

-Allows you to be preventative, not reactive

Pros: Quick, easy,

Cons: can be inaccurate,

Clean – soil reduced to an acceptable level. Usually done with a

Sanitized – viable organisms reduced to an acceptable level on a

Sterile – all organisms including spores and viruses are completely

7 or more Very clean, keep up the good work

◼Once the activity stops→take a specific gravity

Negative Negative No precursor present, beer is ready to go

Negative Positive Precursor present, beer needs more time on yeast

Beer is loaded with precursor or possibly

Implement media into your QC program:

Aerobic (don’t survive in the absence of oxygen)

Optimum temperature 30-40°C

Optimum temperature 30-

pH tolerant (down to 3.0)

◼Growth of organisms based on environmental and metabolic conditions

Wallerstein Differential Media (WLD)

Pros: Easy, cheap, relatively quick

◼Oxygen tolerance (aerobic vs. anaerobic)

◼PCR, Genetic sequencing

◼Develop your testing program-

▪ Communicate with your staff

Start with a microscope and build from there

Have good record keeping

Be proactive, not reactive!

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