Relevant testing of beer enterprise laboratory

With the rapid development of the domestic craft beer industry, craft beer companies and beer houses have sprung up, so the competition in the craft beer market is becoming increasingly fierce. The essence of market competition is the competition of product quality. In order to enable consumers to drink high-quality beer, the laboratory work of beer enterprises has of course become an important task to ensure the quality of beer. It not only effectively guarantees product quality, but also promotes product quality improvement. The essence of laboratory work is the "eyes" of beer companies.

1, the detection of brewing water

Water is one of the important raw materials in beer brewing. The quality of water quality directly affects the taste of beer, so the detection of water quality is very important. Generally speaking, drinking water can be used to brew beer, but although some water has reached drinking conditions, it needs to be treated in order to brew good beer.

Brewing water should be tested regularly, firstly to meet the requirements of general hygiene, and secondly to determine the sensory characteristics of the production water - color, clarity, odor and taste, and also to determine the pH value of the water, total hardness, alkalinity, residual Alkalinity, oxygen content, total residues, free chlorine content, and a range of cation and anion levels are used to evaluate water quality.

2, Detection of raw malt

Malt is another important raw material in beer brewing. To brew good beer, good malt must be used. The selected malt needs to be tested for inclusions, moisture, difference in thickness and fineness, mashing time, wort viscosity, wort chromaticity after boiling (boiling chromaticity), α-amino nitrogen, Courbach value, mashing power, etc. .

3, Testing of hops and hop products

The whole hops should be stored in a cold storage after drying, pressing and sealing. It is forbidden to store them at room temperature or a hot place to prevent oxidation. Some hops are directly processed into granules or flakes, which are packed in plastic bags and evacuated or filled with inert gas for long-term storage and easy transportation. Whether it is whole hops or hops that have been processed into granules or flakes, the moisture and α-acid content should be determined. If possible, the part of measuring β-acid should be added in the laboratory to convert the bitterness value. From the result, the amount of hops can be calculated to determine the bitterness of the beer and maintain the consistency of the bitterness of the beer.

4，Detection of saccharified wort and spent grain water

The wort after boiling should be measured for extract content, invert sugar, pH value and color. In addition, mash strength, bitterness content and viscosity, these analysis results can be provided to the relevant technical department or mash room, and the yield of the mash room, malt quality, yeast reproduction, beer bitterness, and foam and protein stability of the final product can be obtained. . The oxygen content of the wort after cooling (before the addition of zymogen) is determined. It is very important to monitor the work of the saccharification chamber to measure the extract content and pH value of the washed water.

5,Detection of beer fermentation and post-fermentation

The number of yeast cells in the fermentation broth and the appearance of the extract were checked every day, and samples were taken to determine the appearance of the final fermentation degree, pH value, bitterness content and diketone before cooling after sealing.

Carbon dioxide content and apparent leachate were checked daily during post-cooking, diketone, viscosity and filterability, and oxygen content were determined prior to filtration. In order to ensure the qualified products of the factory, it is also necessary to measure the alcohol, remaining extract, the original wort concentration, fermentation degree and color, total acid, pH value and carbon dioxide content obtained by calculation according to the standard. Measures should be taken to make adjustments in a timely manner.

6, finished beer testing

The filled finished beer is measured for alcohol and residual extract according to the standards of different products, and the original wort concentration, fermentation degree and pH value, color, total acid, carbon dioxide content, bitterness, continuous Ketone, foam retention, oxygen content and turbidity test, and at the same time, take several samples for preservation test to observe the preservation period.

7, the detection of microorganisms

Microbial control in the brewery plays an important role in the entire production process, but many breweries do not pay enough attention. From the beginning of cooling the wort to the mature filling and sterilization of the beer, there is a chance of being contaminated by miscellaneous bacteria. Contamination by miscellaneous bacteria will lead to abnormal fermentation and sour and peculiar odors in the product, so microbiological testing is required. The bacteria polluted in the beer brewing process are generally lactic acid bacteria, acetic acid bacteria, mutant bacteria, coliform bacteria and other wild yeasts, be controlled.

It is recommended that the person in charge of the beer enterprise and the technical workers attach great importance to the "eye" of the beer enterprise, and gradually change its role from the original simple laboratory work to a normative quality control system, not only to test the final finished beer, but also to It is necessary to inspect various raw and auxiliary materials, semi-finished products, microbial control, etc. in the process, and establish a complete quality monitoring system to effectively ensure product quality, continue to maintain the company's product advantages, and improve its competitiveness.