Building a Quality Lab on Any Budget

Building a Quality Lab on Any
Budget
Presented by: Casey Bartman Jr.
About me
• Raised in beautiful Michigan
• Graduated from Grand Valley State
University in 2008 with a B.S. in
Chemistry and Bio-Chemistry
• Previously worked in Quality Labs in
the Pharmaceutical Industry
• For the Last 5 years have been working
at Founders Brewing Company
What are the goals of a Quality
Lab
• Consistency
– Analytical
– Make the same product time and again
– Verify the same technique is used
• Integrity
– Micro biologically stable
– Is the product the what you want
What size should be lab be?
Less Than 15,000 bbl
Basic Setup
ATP Illuminometer
Swab Surface Hygiene Using ATP
Bioluminescence
CO2 Measurement
Measure the Dissolved CO2 in a tank
Hydrometer
Used for measuring the gravity of a solution
Microscope
Observation of Micro Organisms
pH Meter
Measuring the Acidity of a solution
Refrigerator/cooler
Sample Storage and chemical storage
Sieves and Shaker
Grist and Mill Analysis
Stir and Hot Plate
Degassing, Chemical and Micro Preparation.
Basic Balance
Fill Volumes, and Media Prep
What size should be lab be?
20k - 30k bbl
From Closet to Laboratory
Everything Previous
**
For O2 growth; Brewhouse Yeast and Wild
Yeast
Aerobic Incubator
Basic Sensory
Equipment
Off Flavor tasting
UV-VIS Spec
IBU and SRM Testing
Centrifuge
Used with both IBU and SRM Testing
Shaker
Used with IBU Testing
Autoclave
For Sterilizing Instruments and media
CO2 Incubator
Hood
For Growth of Anaerobic Bacteria
Sterile Micro Working Space
What size should be lab be?
35k - 50k
True Beer Lab
Everything
Previous
**
Alcohol Meter
Getting Detailed ABV Values
Turbidity Meter
Measuring the true haze of you beer
What size should be lab be?
50k+
World Class Lab
Everything Previous
**
Starting to look at GC
VDK Testing
3rd Party Testing
• Advantages
– No equipment to buy
– Trusted results
– Can be submitted to governing bodies (TTB)
• Disadvantaged
– Time
– Costs can quickly get very expensive
– At $60 a test you will spend $20,000 in under
350 tests
In House Testing
• Advantages
– Fast (relative) results
– High volume testing generally results in
favorable ROI
• Disadvantages
– Equipment can be expensive
– Upkeep can be demanding
Buy New or Used
• Questions to ask before buying used
– What are the savings for buying used?
– If it breaks, can I fix it?
• General Tips
– How complex is the machine
– Do a lot of people make these
– GET A GAURENTEE, EVEN IF ONLY FOR A
SHORT TIME
Buying New
• GET AN ACCOUNT!
– Nearly all companies offer accounts.
– Sticker price is bunk. And inflated.
– Ask for a better price
• You don’t really need to negotiate, just ask
– Do the same for their competition
– Eg. Grainger, VWR, Fisher Sci.
What order should I buy in
1.
Basic gear
1.
Hydrometer ($30)
2.
Refractometer ($30)
3.
pH Meter ($400)
4.
Microscope and Hemocytometer ($550)
5.
Temperature Probe (Under $200)
6.
Hot Plate with Stirring ($200)
7.
Scale, at least 0.1g sensitivity, max load over 500g ($350)
8.
Aerobic Incubator, small (can be found for under $200)
9.
Zahm and Nagel SS-100 ($1,450)
10. ATP Testing Equipment ($250/case)
11. If packaging into bottles or cans Zahm Head Space Sampler ($900)
________________________
Total Cost: About $4,000
What Order Cont.
• Micro Lab Set up
1. Laminar Flow Hood
1.
$4,500
2. Autoclave or pressure cooker
1.
Varies Greatly in price depending on need
3. Filtration Set Up
1.
$450
4. Anaerobic Incubator
1.
Varies greatly depending on size, expect
several thousand
What Order cont.
2. Next Step
1. Spectrometer set up
1. UV-Vis Spectrometer
2. Shaker
3. Centrifuge
_____________________
Total Cost: About $6,000
What Order cont.
2. Next Step
1. Alcohol Measurement
1.
Option 1: MultiScan
1.
2.
$14,000
Option 2: Anton Paar DMA (Detailed test, but
expensive)
1.
$65,000
Calculations <--> 3rd Party --> In House Testing
“Free”
or what you already can do
• Keep a record of everything.
• Every department has a large amount
of data that should be collected.
• Keep detailed track of all LOT numbers
for every ingredient
– The department of agriculture requires this
“Free”
What you most likely have
• *Excel
– Great for keeping records
– Making schedules
– Powerful, take the time to learn the in’s
and out’s
•
•
•
•
Thermometers
Hydrometers and Refractometers
Scales
pH meter
Where to use what you have.
• Brew house
– Brew Sheet
•
•
•
•
•
Every ingredient
Temperature at every stage and times
Volumes
Gravity at each stage
Amount and type of yeast
• Cellar
• Packaging
Where to use what you have.
• Brew house
• Cellar
– Tank Tag
• Daily Gravity and pH of all fermenting beers
• Dates and times of any changes
–
–
–
–
–
Dry Hops
Crashes
Adjuncts
Notes on taste
Volumes racked
• Packaging
Where to use what you have.
• Brew house
• Cellar
• Packaging
– Package Log
• Fill Volumes
– Weights or true measurements
• Gravity and pH*
• Alcohol concentration
• Analytical testing
Detailed Tests at no cost!
• With a hydrometer and refractometer
many detailed analytical tests can be
performed with just calculations.
• Disclaimer
– These calculations are good, but not as
accurate and precision made machines. Use
to verify consistency of the product.
Calculations
Let Excel do the work
• Brewery Calculations work sheet!
• https://www.dropbox.com/sh/pxh0dim89qxcj
db/AACcJClizlrbpggMz-_Akg3ha?dl=0
Upgrades to think about
• While hydrometers are great, digital
density meters are much better. Far more
accurate, and remove objective readings
user to user
– Don’t get this ->
– Look at items like the DMA 35 from Anton Paar
($3,700). Or the Snap 40 (~$1500)
What to Buy First?
• Microscope (Under $500)
• Hemocytometer (~$100-$200)
• Basic Staining Chemicals (~$100 or less)
– What you can do
• Yeast
• Basic Micro Checks
– Upgrades in the future
• Digital Camera Adaptor ($100 Celestron)
• Auto Counter ($20,000 Nexcelom)
CO2 Measurements
• Zahm and Nagel
– Allows to you measure the CO2
volume in bright tanks
Series 1000 - ($1,450)
6000 - ($945)
• Gehaltemeter ($18,000-$32,000)
– Allows accurate measurements of multiple
gasses and removes user error
IBU and SRM
• UV-Vis Spectrometer (Under $5000)
– Needs to measure in both the visible (430nm
and UV range (275nm)
– Need quartz cuvettes, at least 2 (amazon for
$70)
• Shaker (required for IBU test)
– Model Pant Shaker ($20 on amazon, Vortex
and shaker head ($150 total, eBay)
• Centrifuge ($900)
– Must hold 50mL tubes
Mill Testing
• Set of Sieves and a shaker (1,000) {Us
sieves)
• Allows verification of what your mill is
doing.
• Needs a scale for test
Turbidity Meters
• When producing unfiltered beer haze
can be a large issue
• Allows you to put a number to the
clarity
• Hach (under ($4000))
Alcohol
• Start with calculations and 3rd party
when needed
• Multiscan Series 1000 – ($14,000)
• Anton Paar (~$65,000)
Diacetyl and VDK
• Start with a hot plate and a nose
– Heat up sealed and then smell for butter
• Gas Chromatograph ($70,000)
– Will give true and accurate T-VDK results
Quickly tells you if fermentation is fully
complete
Helpful Fast check for infection
Micro Lab
• Goal is to verify the health of your
product
Primary Offenders
Wild Yeast
Bacteria
Lactobacillus and Pediocauccus
ATP swabbing
• Instant verification of
microbial activity
on surfaces
• Fastest way to verify
equipment is clean
• Neogen in East Lansing
– Offers free tester if you purchase swabs
from them
• Swabs cost $250 per case or about $3 per test
Micro Lab cont.
• Minimum needed
– Hot plate ($300)
– Incubator (large range in price and style)
• Aerobic (cheaper, but limited)
• Anaerobic (makes a CO2 rich environment)
– Gas Packs can be an alternative for under $5 per run
– Laminar Flow Hood
• $4,500
• Not just a cover
Micro Lab cont.
• Vacuum filtration
– Allows large quantity of sample to be
plated
– Media arrives ready to use
– Can be combined to sample environmental
areas for contamination
Types of Media
•
•
There are many types of media that test for a variety of different
organisms
Start with HLP (white labs)
– Doesn’t require an autoclave
– Identifies primary offenders
– Easy to make and use
•
L.W.Y.M.
– Used for Wild Yeast Tests (Non-Brewers Yeast)
•
U.B.A.
– Will Grow almost anything found in beer
– Can prevent growth of Brewers Yeast
•
WLD
– Can be used with vacuum filtration
– Will show growth for a wide range on organisms
•
Yeast and Mold Media
– Great for verification of facility
– Best used with swabbing areas around the brewery and packaging lines
Micro Lab cont.
• What Media
– HLP ($120 per jar, White Labs)
– LWYM (prep on site)
– UBA (prep on site)
– WL-Differential
• Can be used with vacuum filtration
• Grows all types of bacteria
– Many more options
Environmental Swabbing
• Swabbing and Plating for growth
• When used with vacuum Filtration can
allow you to see what is living around
your brewery
Aim For the Stars
Feel Free to Contact me at anytime by email
[email protected]
Questions
• Once again, everyone has different
needs. If you ever want advice or have
questions feel free to contact me
• [email protected]