Microbial concerns are significant in the modern fermented beverage industry, both due to potential for taste degradation and as an indicator of larger-scale sanitation issues.  However, integrating microbial testing into the brewer's quality control regime can be problematic.  Cell counting with a microscope and/or a flow cytometer is an industry standard, but these tedious (for the former) and sophisticated laser or fluorescence based systems (for the latter) come at a cost beyond the resources of most micro-breweries.  In recent years, inexpensive laser pens and high-resolution cameras have become readily available, suggesting the possibility of constructing a cytometry system of adequate accuracy and precision from such devices.  Towards this objective, light scattering experiments quantifying the light scattering characteristics of commercially available yeasts used in beer production are performed.  The resulting intensities are analyzed using various chemometric techniques in search of signatures for the important microbes, with interest in detection of common contaminants, too.

Light scattering cytometry for microbrewing applications

247th National Meeting (2014)

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