Just curious, who uses a photospectrometer regularly in their quality control? And if so, for what purposes?
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Not currently.
But typically in larger breweries, it would regularly be used for colour analysis (430 nm) and bitterness or IBU measurement (275 nm - Ultraviolet range).
Good summary discussion of colour (and there is some debate to the adequacy of this measurement) can be found here.(PDF)
This is a pretty good summary of how to hop component analysis using your spectrophotometer.
Current methods are available in the ASBC handbook.
Spectrophotometers can be used for many other things in a brewery as well. Depends on your size, what you use in your process and what you want to analyse for. And also, I guess, how much peoplepower you wish to devote to gaining this information.
Pax.
LiamLiam McKenna
www.yellowbellybrewery.com
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We have been using a spec for years. We currently use it to do several analysis : color, ibu, chlorine levels in the water pre and post carbon filter, as well as using it in a diacetyl test and will start using it for a FAN test. But the possibilities are nearly endless. A copy of the ASBC methods and some reagents and there are a wide variety of tests you can run, provided you have the time.
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We haven't for B-glucan so far, but it may be a good idea. We get good analysis on out base malt, so it is less of a concern. And when we have difficulties in the mash, there are often mechanical or methodological issues that factor in first.
That said, there have been some mystery mashes that are only correlated by the lot of grain, not the user or the recipe.
For alcohol we use a distillation method and densitometer.
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Yeast counts
I know this is an old count, but you can determine yeast counts (not viability) using a spec. It would need to be calibrated against the hemocytometer counts in the beginning, but it would be a quick way for yeast counts. Blank against the wort (you can spin a sample down on a lab bench centrifuge) and shoot the yeast sample at 600nm. Using a standard curve, you've got your yeast count. I'm such a nerd!
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