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Beer analysis

Do you want to test beer for beverage spoilers? For fast and specific screening and detection of microbiological spoilage parameters in breweries, a wide product line of qPCR kits is offered.

Spoilage bacteria and yeasts can cause turbidity, change of taste and off-flavors in beers. To avoid losses or recalls, it is important to test for spoilage organisms in all areas of production. For fast and specific screening and detection of microbiological spoilage parameters in beer production, we offer a wide product line of test kits. The following spoilage bacteria and yeasts are of special interest in the beer industry and should be monitored:

Dekkera bruxellensis (anamorph Brettanomyces bruxellensis) is a spoilage yeast in beverages, especially important for the wine industry, where it has been shown to produce high amounts of volatile phenols (4-ethylphenol and 4-ethylguaiacol) imparting off-flavors to red wines. The yeasts of the species Dekkera bruxellensis are responsible for serious economic losses in the wine industry owing to their ability to spoil wines by the production of ethylphenols. Some authorities consider “brett” to be responsible for 90% of the spoilage problems in premium red wines. However, in the production of beer (especially craft beer or Belgian beer specialities), Dekkera bruxellensis is often not considered as contaminant, but as flavor enrichment.

Lactobacillus may be part of a regular fermentation process, but can also cause undesired acidification of beer or spoilage of fruit juices. Lactobacilli are killed by standard pasteurization.

Megasphaera are gram-negative, strictly anaerobic bacteria. They are well-known as beer spoilers producing off-flavors and turbidity.

Apart from Megaspaera, Pectinatus is another important spoilage bacterium in beer production. The gram-negative and strictly anaerobic bacterium causes turbidity and off-flavors reminiscent of rotten eggs.

Pediococcus is a genus of gram-positive lactic acid bacteria which are considered as contaminant in wine and beer. However, in some beer styles, the presence of Pediococcus may be desired.

Pichia is a genus of yeasts in the family Saccharomycetaceae. It is used in the fermentation process in winemaking, but it can spoil wine when present in high quantities. Pichia may also cause turbidity and off-flavors in beer.

Saccharomyces is a genus of fungi including various species of yeasts. One of the best known species is Saccharomyces cerevisiae which is used in the production of beer, wine or bread. The species Saccharomyces diastaticus is a spoilage yeast in the wine and beer industry.

Beer analysis with GEN-IAL® can help you to avoid product recalls, to minimize production losses and to prevent damage to brand image. We offer test systems for in-process control and/or for on-line final product control. Use different analytical modules to establish your customized monitoring of microbiological beer spoilage organisms in beer and beer products: Either extremely fast or maximal sensitive detection and specific identification is possible by combining different methods of sample preparation and detection with real-time PCR.

Our GEN-IAL® portfolio includes screening kits and beer-specific kits. The new GEN-IAL® QuickGEN line is characterized by a simple and rapid sampling and assay process, providing results within two hours after sampling. The test is based on filtration or centrifugation with subsequent qPCR and allows an extreme rapid and specific screening and detection in beer without pre-enrichment (reduced sensitivity, no differentiation in vitality). Analysis is very easy to perform even for untrained users.

The established qPCR kits based on pre-enrichment of the sample allow a sensitive screening and specific detection. The new concept of pre-coated 8-well qPCR strips (TPBD, TPYB) enables the user to screen and identify safely over 30 beer spoilage bacteria and yeasts in one qPCR run without misinterpretation and can be performed on common multiplex blockcyclers.

GEN-IAL® product overview

You can find more information on our real-time PCR test kits for beer analysis in our free brochure.

Test kits for beer analysis

ProductDescriptionTubeArt. No.
GEN-IAL® QuickGEN P1 ScreeningQualitative detection of bacterial and yeast contaminationshighQ021
lowQ022
whiteQ023
MGQ024
Q025
GEN-IAL® QuickGEN P1 Screening without yeastQualitative detection of bacterial contaminationshighQ031
lowQ032
whiteQ033
Q035
GEN-IAL® QuickGEN P1 and S. diastaticus ScreeningQualitative detection of bacterial and S.diastaticus contaminations in filtrated beer and beer mixes.highQ041
lowQ042
whiteQ043
MGQ044
Q045
GEN-IAL® QuickGEN P1 Screening and Hop resistanceDNA screening and differentiation of beer spoiling bacteria and hop resistance geneshighQ051
lowQ052
whiteQ053
MGQ054
GEN-IAL® QuickGEN P1 Screening and Hop resistanceDNA screening and differentiation of beer spoiling bacteria and hop resistance genesQ055
GEN-IAL® QuickGEN Beer yeast and bacteria differentiationMultiplex detection and identification of beverage spoiling bacteria and yeastshighQ071
lowQ072
whiteQ073
GEN-IAL® QuickGEN Beer Differentiation PCR KitMultiplex detection (30 species) and identification (19 species) of relevant beer spoilers (bacteria and yeasts)highQ081
lowQ082
whiteQ083
GEN-IAL® QuickGEN BiofilmSpecific DNA detection of Lactococcus lactis, Leuconostoc mesenteroides and Pichia anomalaQ095
ProductDescriptionArt. No.
GEN-IAL® QuickGEN Hop resistanceSpecific DNA detection of hop resistance genesQ105
GEN-IAL® QuickGEN Pectinatus/Megasphaera differentiation lowSpecific detection and differentiation of Pectinatus and MegasphaeraQ112
GEN-IAL® QuickGEN Enterobacteriaceae spp.Multiplex PCR-detection of enterobacteriaceae as indicators for hygiene and postprocessing contaminationsQ145

Please note: The last digit of the article number identifies the tube version (1=high, 2=low, 3=white, 4=MyGo Pro, 5=liquid reagents without precoated strips). For example, the article number Q331means high tubes, Q332 means low tubes, Q333 means white tubes and Q334 means low MyGo Pro tubes.

DNA preparation:

ProductDescriptionArt. No.
GEN-IAL® QuickGEN Sample Preparation CentrifugationDNA preparation of beverage samples, CentrifugationQ002
GEN-IAL® QuickGEN Sample Preparation FiltrationDNA preparation of beverage samples, FiltrationQ004
GEN-IAL® QuickGEN Yeast Sample Preparation CentrifugationMicrobial DNA-Extraction from samples with high yeast cell counts e.g. yeast tanks, propagation etc.Q005

What is the right test kit for you?

Our “decision tree” helps you to find the real-time PCR kit that best suits your needs in beer analysis.

Product portfolio

ProductDescriptionNo. of tests/amountArt. No.
QuickGEN PCR Kit Yeast universal -low-

Qualitative detection of yeast contaminations in beverages. For exapmple: Saccharomyces spp. Dekkera spp. Zygosaccharomyces spp. Rhodotorula spp. Torulaspora spp. Kluyveromyces spp. Debaromyces spp. Candida spp. Hanseniaspora spp. Pichia spp

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48 reactions: 48 x Dye Strips (freeze-dried, incl. IC-DNA) Q982
GEN-IAL® QuickGEN P1 and Dekkera spp. Screening low MG

Qualitative detection of bacterial and Dekkera spp. contaminations in filtrated beer, beer mixes and yeast containing samples.

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48 reactions Q094
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