Jessie Smith

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

No brewery is too small or too short-handed to get a sensory panel going, and the education and expertise gained can be invaluable to the business. Here’s how to get your panel off the ground.