Crucial Tips to Augment Beverage Quality Control Process

By conducting a moisture content analysis on a hops sample, using an instrument such as a moisture analyzer, one can prevent beer wastage and hop rejection.

FREMONT, CA: High-quality drinks typically have a specific feature that draws customers, such as scent, color, consistency, palate, and, in some cases, the tone of a liquid when it is first opened. Specific characteristics can vary based on the type of drink, but if they differ in any way from what the customer wants, their disappointment is likely to result in a refusal to repurchase the product.

The beverage testing industry must delicately balance consistency and turnaround; thus, a rigorous Quality Control (QC) procedure is critical to ensuring that the product meets standards and is safe for use.

Quality Control and Beverage Production

Beverage producers face many difficulties and must weigh many considerations, from the provision of high-quality raw materials to successful recruitment of workers and the implementation of skilled testing methods. Additionally, to achieve a robust manufacturing chain, these elements must function together harmoniously.

Well trained and skilled professionals are required in the QC laboratories, the tasting rooms, and throughout the shipping process, both of whom are preferably passionate and passionate about the craft. Maintaining a 'thirst' for the industry is the secret to having a cocktail the best it can be. Although raw materials are significant, the guarantee that certain materials are used in compliance with the necessary requirements is often ignored.

For example, when purchasing brewing beer hops, excessive moisture may contribute to spoilage contamination, inefficient fermentation of yeasts or even extreme hop creep. By conducting a moisture content analysis on a hops sample, using an instrument such as a moisture analyzer, one can prevent beer wastage and hop rejection. Finally, trained approaches ensure that raw materials, manufacturing processes, and completed products follow the standards and customer preferences. Without skilled methods and goods in QC research laboratories, there is no guarantee of high-quality beverage on the market, and the brand is likely to struggle as a result.

Analytical, Microbial and Physical Testing

There are two primary components of QC – the first is analytical and microbial testing, followed by physical testing, which is a smaller, less critical component. Analytical testing is usually the first and most straightforward to set up since the procedures are simple, reliable, and well-developed. Next, a laboratory water pump is connected to a High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) system. Volume alcohol (ABV), syrup concentration, or mineral composition measurements are then conducted using analytical instruments and sample preparation equipment.

The QC microbiology laboratory is critical for detecting spoilage microorganisms, identifying yeast titers, and testing the water. While the QC microbiology test is frequently underestimated, it is the laboratory that is most likely to detect any issues within the manufacturing process.  Most drinks are filterable, so sterile disposables or funnels combined with dehydrated media pads can be used to detect any spoilage microorganisms. Upon having the spoilage microorganisms and verifying the type of microorganism, one will have a better idea of where the infection has originated from and, as a result, will know how to get rid of it.

Physical testing is an essential but frequently overlooked QC field; laboratories test the substance to ensure that foreign bodies, such as wood, glass, or metal, do not exist. Using large pore membrane filters helps to eliminate floc haze that accumulates if the drinks have been left on the shelf for some time. While floc haze and wood fragments do not generally impact flavor, they are unsightly and can be put off for customers.