The lab features a 60L pilot microbrewery with a filter tank and two fermenters (double-walled, separately regulated). CIP is integrated into both pieces of equipment.
This simple, flexible, and automated tool allows for recipe development, for example, using raw materials other than barley or wheat, adapted brewing programs (LABNAB), etc. The produced volume is sufficient for all subsequent tests, including sensory analysis.
The conventional mash (congress mash) is a standardized small-scale brewing procedure used to evaluate malt quality, established by the European Brewery Convention (EBC) in 1975. 50g malt samples are milled, coarsely or finely, then extracted with four volumes of water in a regimen that involves a gradual temperature increase to imitate programmed temperature mashing or decoction mashing. After filtration, the resulting wort can be tested in various ways: density, odor, turbidity, pH, color, viscosity, free amino nitrogen content, final degree of attenuation…
Alcohol is measured using an Anton Paar alcohol meter. It determines the alcohol content of a wide range of alcoholic beverages – all types of beers and beer mixes, as well as wine, cider, spirits, and liqueurs.
The same analysis cycle provides results for density, extract, attenuation, and calories.
Saturation (CO2) and dissolved oxygen (O2) provide an immediate overview of filling operation performance and will allow for predicting product stability during storage. Multiple routine determinations are fully automated and can be performed on bottles (glass and PET), cans, kegs, or in-line.
The quality of beer foam is a determining factor in the appearance of a good beer. Beer served with a strong and durable head is highly valued in most cultures. The Nibem foam stability tester measures the foam retention time (time for a given foam collapse).
The Haffmans nephelometer, Vos Rota type, measures light scattered by particles and incorporates the latest MEBAK standards (90° and 25° measurement angles).
Particles smaller than 1 µm, such as proteins and polyphenol complexes, primarily cause lateral light scattering and are measured at 90°. Particles larger than 1 µm, such as kieselguhr and yeast, primarily cause forward light scattering and are measured at 25°. The dual-angle measurement provides operators with a quick and reliable overview of the product’s condition.
The tannometer allows for various useful analyses in beer quality control by micro-dosing, particularly for predicting product stability during storage and aging, and its behavior towards polyphenol oxidation reactions.
Tannoids and sensitive proteins involved in colloidal haze, reducing power, or the cold alcohol precipitation test (chill haze) are all measured parameters that can help the brewer qualitatively improve the shelf life of their products.
The analysis of phenolic substances in wine, fruit juices, or plant extracts is also possible with this device.
The fully automated yeast propagator can supply 100 to 240L of fresh liquid yeast starter for breweries (concentrated by sedimentation).
The unit (2021) benefits from the latest cleaning and disinfection technologies (integrated CIP), ensuring pure and highly viable cultures.
The tool is entirely dedicated to the propagation of brewing yeasts, from our collection or for third parties.
The flow cytometer allows for individual quantitative and qualitative characterization of cells, based on their intrinsic optical properties or marked by different agents such as fluorochromes. The cytometer is primarily used in research. Glycogen content is an example of an application that can provide an idea of the viability as well as the vitality of a liquid culture.
The cell counter allows for both enumerating the number of cells present in solution and, through Trypan blue staining, evaluating the viability of the yeast solution.
It is an essential tool for controlling yeast starters produced in the laboratory for both brewing and research.
Headspace gas chromatography analysis of volatile compounds produced by yeast during fermentation is important for defining a strain’s aromatic profile.
Esters (fruity notes), higher alcohols, aldehydes, and vicinal diketones (buttery taste) can be measured.
Two liquid chromatography systems are dedicated to the analysis of fermentable sugars (glucose, fructose, sucrose, maltose, maltotriose) in wort or beer, and classic organic acids (acetate, lactate, oxalate, malate, gluconate, etc.) produced during fermentation.
This allows for precise monitoring of fermentation processes and characterization of the finished product, whether brewing-related or otherwise.
Yeast performance is evaluated according to an EBC-defined protocol using glass tubes, 150 cm in height and 5 cm in diameter, equipped with a sample port 50 cm from the bottom (= EBC column).
Fermentations in EBC columns allow for predicting and evaluating the behavior and fermentation capacity of a given yeast strain. They also allow for evaluating the fermentation characteristics of newly isolated yeast cultures.
The principle is to introduce yeast into the wort, maintained at a controlled temperature, and samples are taken and analyzed throughout the fermentation process.
The fluorescence microscope is primarily used for research purposes, both fundamental and applied.
Thanks to specific fluorochromes, it allows for labeling cells, whether animal, eukaryotic, or bacterial. It is a fine molecular imaging technique widely used in cell culture for medical or paramedical applications.