Discrete Analyzer for Beer Applications

Consolidated Analysis — Consistent Quality: multiple analytes from multiple samples

Although beer is typically brewed from four basic ingredients: water, yeast, malt and hops, the diversity across the finished products is vast. Quality beer starts with quality water. The water quality used for the beer brewing process significantly affects the brand signature and ultimately affects customer retention and expansion. For brewers, the compounds of interest range from point of entry water testing for  top five feed water chemical parameters that can influence beer quality. To determine the extent of fermentation involves accurate determination of sugars, organic acids, sulfites and hop bittering, principles that contribute to overall taste and bitterness—to proteins. Today’s labs analyze beer to determine the concentration of added preservatives and colorants, in addition to ensuring manufacturing authenticity.

Ready to use reagents for beer analysis: compliance with confidence

Ensuring confidence in the quality of results, the methods used for beer, wort and malt analysis in the Gallery Plus Beermaster are well known enzymatic and colorimetric chemistries optimized to the result levels of the international reference methods like ASBC, EBC and MEBAK. Ready-to-use liquid reagents eliminate reagent preparation saving time in the daily work. Moreover, the volume optimized system kits minimize reagent waste. Thermo Scientific Gallery system reagents for brewing and malting analysis save your technician’s time by eliminating reagent preparation, thus reducing errors and ensuring confidence in the quality of results.

Over 40 ready-to-use Gallery system reagents for water, beer, and malt analysis are available in barcoded vials, enabling identification data, such as lot and expiration date, to be read automatically by the barcode reader. Automated dilutions make it possible to apply methods for a wide range of analyte concentrations, with many test applications based on recommended international standard methods used across the world. Save time and reduce errors by simplifying your analysis with the Gallery system reagents for water, beer, and malt analysis.

Standard malt analysis methods

The American Society of Brewing Chemists (ASBC) has adopted the following methods for malt analysis using discrete analyzers.

ASBC reports conclude that the repeatability and reproducibility coefficients of variation for free amino nitrogen, beta-glucan, alpha-amylase, and diastatic power in malt by automated discrete analysis were acceptable and similar to the results from using the segmented flow analysis.

Automated bitterness testing

The Bitterness unit (BCM), an integrated coated capillary column within the Gallery Plus Beermaster discrete analyzer, includes unique automated pretreatment and measurement for bitterness. The traditional manual test for bitterness is slow and laborious, and uses liquid-liquid extraction with isooctane, which must be disposed of properly. The system’s bitterness module, on the other hand, uses ‘green’ solid-phase extraction ahead of a fully-automated testing protocol. During the automated process, the beer bittering substances are first extracted from interfering compounds present in the sample matrix, and then measured at 275 nm approximately eight bitterness tests per hour. With the BCM in use, the Gallery Plus Beermaster discrete analyzer can accommodate 72 samples. Your lab will increase efficiency in beer, malt, and wort quality control while saving significant time in sample pretreatment and analysis—ultimately improving lab productivity.