Beer

Helping to ensure a consistent quality throughout the brewing process.Breweries like Sierra Nevada, Coors, Anheuser-Busch, Miller, and Boston Brewing Co. have multiple labels and stringent standards on what they will release to the public. Tight quality controls, established by these breweries, have dramatically reduced the chances of a customer getting a poor batch. And this is quite amazing considering how many types of beers there are, and how much volume is being produced annually.

Moreover, pale lagers, pilsners, ales, IPAs, stouts, and other beers have different concentrations of bitterness, free amino nitrogen, β-glucans and other constituents that can affect taste, color, smell and even shelf life. Therefore Astoria-Pacific’s analyzers use methods that have been established by the ASBC to accurately monitor such parameters. For example, Bitterness can be tested on our analyzers to make sure that a batch of a particular label is within the limits established by the brewery. If not, production can either blend it with another batch–or, in extreme cases (i.e. other problems exist), scrap the entire lot. Of course, the latter scenario is what automated analysis helps avoid–by identifying problems early before tons of ingredients, thousands of gallons of product, and precious hours of labor are wasted!

Naturally, today’s large modern breweries–trying to produce a quality beer every time–certainly out-scale a craft brewer’s set up. However, much of the same principles apply, and it’s imperative that a brewery’s laboratory monitors the process from start to finish. Therefore ask an Astoria-Pacific representative for the best system for your laboratory.