Jessie Smith

Bitterness is an important component of most beers, but the ways that we have to measure it are far from perfect. How can brewers effectively test for and quantify it?

• Bitterness
• QA/QC
• IBUs

There is an art to designing, brewing, and blending tasty beers that get their complex character from mixed cultures and time on oak. To give your art its best shot, however, it’s best to know the science.

• Quality Control
• Mixed-Culture Brewing
• Barrel-Aging

Quality isn’t only about flavor and freshness—testing for color is important for making sure your beer is consistently meeting the drinker’s expectations. Here’s what to know.

• Quality Control
• SRM
• Data

Adding a quality lab can seem daunting to a small brewery, but it’s not so bad when you know what equipment you need and which tests are appropriate for your scale. Here, we outline exactly what you should need.

• Quality Control
• Brewery Labs
• QA/QC

Many smaller breweries lack the resources to perform regular cell counts on their yeast pitches or slurries. Luckily, yeast share some of their secrets with us via pH values, and that can be an easy way to check on their health. Here’s what to know.

• Quality Control
• pH
• Fermentation

In hard seltzers and other FMBs, sulfur as an off-flavor can be an even smellier obstacle than it is in beer. Here’s how to avoid it.

• Sulfur
• QA/QC
• Quality Control

One of the most convenient packaging options for small, draft-focused breweries also happens to be fraught with shelf-life issues. Yet benchtop can seamers have their fans, and they have advantages, too. Here’s how to do it right.

• Packaging
• Crowlers
• Growlers

For anyone serious about quality, there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a well-thought-out binder packed with standard operating procedures. Here’s how to get started on SOPs for your brewery’s quality program.

• SOPs
• Safety
• Standard Operating Procedures

Brewers don’t typically lose sleep over Bacillus, despite it being ubiquitous throughout the brewery. Being aware of it and knowing when it can cause problems can help ensure better, more consistent beer.

• Bacillus
• Bacteria
• QA/QC

Understanding this off-flavor, how to test for it, and how to reduce it is key to producing commercially viable beer.

• Diacetyl
• Off-Flavors
• Hop Creep

As brewers, we love our low DO levels and our cans of light, crisp lager in the summertime. Unfortunately, so do a couple of the stealthiest spoilage organisms known to the beer industry.

• Packaging
• Bacteria
• QA/QC

Widely available programs such as Excel or Google Sheets can be simple yet powerful tools for your brewing business, helping you achieve more consistent fermentations and a more predictable brewing schedule.

• Fermentation
• Data
• Quality Control