EDUCATION
Testing Forced Wort Samples
PROCESS OVERVIEW
Whether or not a heat exchanger is free of spoilers is one of the persistant enigmas encountered by craft beverages producers.
While a typical “forced wort” (aka “wort stability”) test can broadly indicate a heat exchanger’s cleanliness, it provides no insight into the nature of a contamination, should a sample become turbid and/or generate CO2 during incubation.
By running FastOrange bouillon broth product tests in parralel with standard “forced wort” samples, it becomes possible to determine whether the culprit is lactic acid producing bacteria (LAB) and/or wild yeast.
Additionally, wort samples enriched in FastOrange media can then be used to run PCR test.
TARGET SPOILERS
LACTIC ACID BACTERIA
Lactobacillus
Pediococcus
STRICTLY ANAEROBIC BACTERIA
Megasphera
Pectinatus
WILD YEAST
Brettanomyces
Diastaticus
IMPORTANT NOTICE
DO NOT AUTOCLAVE
FASTORANGE PRODUCTS.
They are sterile and ready-to-use
directly out of their container.
ESSENTIAL
Create a STERILE FIELD and follow ASEPTIC SAMPLING TECHNIQUE when performing the testing steps below.
FAST ORANGE USES
More Testing Topics Coming Soon…
> Chasing Brettanomyces
> Chasing Diastaticus
> Isolating Wild Yeast
> PCR Pre-Enrichment
> Propagating Brettanomyces
> Testing Barrels
> Testing CIP Rinse Water
> Testing Draft Systems
> Testing Gaskets
> Testing Hoses
> Testing Pitching Yeast
STEP 1
Prepare Media Pipetting Area
-Follow procedure for preparing work area for sample processing
STEP 2
Prepare FastOrange Medium
-Working inside the area just cleaned…
-Pipette or pour 50 ml of 2036 or 2039 media into the number of sterile flasks or whirl-paks that equal the number of tests being performed.
-Close or cover media containers
-Reseal and set FastOrange media bottles aside.
STEP 3
Prepare Sampling Area
-Ideally, forced wort samples are collected as close to the downstream side of the heat exchanger as possible and before the wort comes in contact with rubber hoses
-Since this sample will likely be collected in the brewhouse area and not in the lab, it is essential to exercise additional care in order to minimize the potential for sample contamination:
- Clear the sampling area of buckets, handtrucks, spent grain, wooden pallets, yeast, CIP gear, keg-filling equipment, etc.
- Turn off fans
- Close doors into and out of the brewhouse
STEP 4
Prepare Sampling Valve
-Follow aseptic procedures for gathering samples from a sanitary valve
STEP 5
Combine Product and Medium
-Return sample to the pipeting area
-Re-establish a sterile field
-Working inside the sterile field…
-Open the sample container and pipette 50 ml of wort into the prepared flask(s) or whirl-pak(s) of FastOrange media
-Repeat if testing the same package across multiple FastOrange media or if running duplicates of the same medium.
STEP 7
Interpret Results
-Whether or not and how quickly incubated samples become hazy, change color, and/or produce gas bubbles indicates severity of contamination.
see table in WHITE
| Change Within | Heat-X Condition | Action | Cleaning Intervention |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 hours | Very dirty | Dump batch + yeast | Break down plates |
| 48-72 hours | Significant contamination | Monitor beer; dump yeast | Extra long cycle* |
| 3-6 days | Moderate contamination | Monitor beer | Long cycle* |
| 7+ days | Very clean | None | Normal cycle* |
*Consult chemical manufacturer’s recommendations for duration of “normal cycle,” concentration, and temperature.
STEP 8
Next Steps
-See Heat Exchanger cleaning interventions above
-Consider using an alternative alkaline cleaner or customary cleaner at an elevated concentration and/or temperature*
-Break down and manually clean any T-, Y-, or cross-shaped connections along wort transfer path
-Include wort transfer hoses and O2 stone in heat exhanger cleaning loop, first making sure they can withstand cycle temperature
-If not already a part of standard SOP, set up the cleaning loop in reverse and connect a fitting to allow chemicals to flow out of the O2 stone
-Run an acid cycle on the heat exhanger loop
-Consider introducing a new, dedicated wort transfer hose.